What Lies Beneath

cнapтer 8 - 'oн мy jeѕυѕ lord alмιgнтy... ιnтιaтe нearт aттacĸ.'

"Oh my god." A masculine voice utters.

I ignore it, my body convulsing in sobs, the darkness almost fully consuming me.

I hear a muffled scuffling as strong arms encircle me. I'm quickly pulled into a hard, yet warm, body; their arms and legs enveloping me.

I'm stiff at first, but when a glowing light leaks into me, the darkness begins to recede, allowing my body to relax a bit.

I wrap my arms around a rock hard torso and press my face into the soft fabric of a T-Shirt. I continue to cry, the tears seemingly never ending. However, the longer I stay wrapped up in this person's arms, the more the darkness retreats, along with the agonizing memories.

My tears begin to slow as hands soothe small circles into my tensed back. The more time that passes, the harder it is for the darkness to remain steadfast. I listen to the heavy, yet even breathing that moves my head up and down, matching my breaths to theirs.

As I sense more of the golden light seeping into my core, the darkness cannot withstand its' position any longer and promptly disappears. However, it leaves a message for my now clear mind to interpret. It would've completely taken me over, without mercy, and that has never happened before. Ever.

I was millimeters away from being lost; lost to an uncontrollable and malevolent darkness. I whimper, the thought daunting.

"Shhhh, it's ok. It's all going to be ok." A male voice whispers and my tears finally stop, his mellifluous voice effectively soothing me.

~Liam~

I'm awoken by a continuous thumping. I groan, mushing my face into my pillow trying to stifle the sound of elephants running around the house. Suddenly the noise stops and it's quite.

I slowly begin to sink back into a deep slumber when a resounding slam of a door has me jolting fully awake. What the hell!?

I sit up and throw my comforter off of me, quickly rising to my feet. I exit my room and look down the hallway, glancing around. Nobody.

My brow furrows as I begin slowly walking to the stairs. Before I begin going down them, I catch the sight of Harry's door slightly open. Confusion and curiosity swirl chaotically throughout me, the sleep induced haze that covers me not helping.

I shake my head and start down the stairs. Halfway down, I hear a muffled sob full of an aching despair that pierces my heart. The drowsy haze is swiftly whisked away as I rush down the rest of the stairs, glancing around and trying to find where and who the sound is coming from.

A wail echoes from behind the laundry room door right in front of me. Instantaneously, I scamper towards the door. I burst through it only to come face to face with darkness, so I hastily flip the light switch to my left.

My eyes widen, the image of Isabelle's sunken form slumped against the washer machine, branding itself onto my brain. She looks up at me, her once piercing yet slightly clouded green eyes now bloodshot, full of despair and desperation. Her face is drenched in tears and her bottom lip is bloodied from being bitten too hard. There's something else though. Something about her and in the air that rubs me the wrong way, as if... As if there's something sinister lurking underneath her flawless skin.

She doesn't spare me more than a few seconds before her gaze is locked back on the floor, whimpers ushering out of her. She looks so broken and devastated that I can't help the whispered words of unbelievable surprise that leave my mouth.

"Oh my god."

Isabelle doesn't even acknowledge me, her body starting to convulse in sobs. I immediately rush over to her corner, the door closing behind me and bend down to sit in front of her. I reach my arms out and wrap them around her, pulling her between my legs and to my chest. My thighs press into her sides and my ankles lightly touch her lower back, keeping her close to me.