Break the Chain

Pasts and promises

How would things be working with Lauren again? Would she work quietly next to you or would she try to be best friends with you? This made you turn your head to Flip, watching his pouted lips as he laid there peacefully.

Your mind flashed back to when Ron was in the hospital, seeing Flip and Lauren at the end of the hall. You thought you felt your entire world crumbling at that time, your insecurities getting the best of you. There wasn't anything to be worried about back then and you wished you knew that...

Flip made it obvious to you that you were together after that. It was adorable seeing him on your picnic together, nervous when he handed you a bouquet of flowers. It was even cuter when he agreed to match for Halloween. Even though there were some issues with Jen, you and Flip had a really good night if you counted the porch swing...

But of course, that's when you started to notice something was off. The SUVs following you around in your neighborhood. You didn't know at the time, but they were following you everywhere, waiting for the perfect moment to snatch you. They had impeccable timing, dragging you away after your fight with Flip.

Alexander really knew how to tear you down, putting in your head that no one cared for you. No one was even trying to look for you and that everyone's lives were much better with you gone. You knew it was his job to make you lose all hope, but you had to admit that you started to believe it after a while.

The tipping point was Abigor. You felt like your life was slipping through your fingers the moment he held that knife against your chest. Every time you thought about it, you could have sworn that spot on your chest twinged with pain. You really thought he was going to kill you...

"Goddammit." You whispered to yourself, sitting up in bed. You still felt Flip's arm tightly around you as you ran your hands through your hair. You shut your eyes for a moment as you sighed. You didn't want to think about this stuff for a reason, knowing you would go into a downward spiral. Once you cracked it open, it would just come flooding back to you.

You turned your head over to Flip, watching as he nuzzled his head against his pillow now. You chewed on your bottom lip, managing to free yourself from his hold. You took a deep breath before tip-toeing out of the room and down the stairs. Your body was on autopilot, pouring yourself a glass of water.

You knew you shouldn't shove this kind of stuff to the back of your mind, considering you were in therapy. Probably something you should discuss with Dr. Stanford, right? Even though your next appointment was in a few weeks, she gave you her personal number in case anything happened. Again, normal people don't have their therapist's number, let alone a therapist.

You sipped on your glass of water, leaning against the counter. You looked around the kitchen. It was ironic, really. Everything around you was calm while there was a storm inside your head. It was almost too quiet in the room that you were in, getting an unsettling feeling. You shook your head to yourself, taking another sip of water. You set the glass on the counter next to you and turned towards the stairs.

You tried to be quiet, careful not to wake up Flip. You held your breath when you heard a few steps creaking underneath your foot. It seemed like it was yelling to the entire house where you stood. When you made it to the top of the stairs, you held your breath, seeing the bedroom door open. The light on your nightstand was turned on, meaning Flip must have woken up. You felt your shoulders tense up before walking into the bedroom.

"Baby?" Flip's sleepy voice hummed over to you. He was sitting up in bed, rubbing his eye. You watched a yawn possess him as he held his other hand out, gesturing for you to get back into bed with him.

"What are you doing?" He whispered over to you, pulling your back against his chest when you laid down.

"Can't sleep..." you trailed off in a whisper, pulling the covers over you. You could feel the slow rise and fall of his chest against your back, adjusting the pillow under your head.