Yellow

- seven -

"It's fine," Karina sighed, opening the door wider and motioning for Winter to come in. Giselle looked shocked, and Karina just shrugged. "If you want sleep, this is the only way you're going to get it."

Obviously not buying her excuse, Giselle smirked and winked at Karina. Clapping her hands excitedly, Winter ran into Karina's room and dived onto her bed. Karina quickly picked up her art supplies off of the floor and hid them on the top shelf of her closet where Winter wouldn't find them. When she turned back into her room, Winter was rummaging through her dresser.

The small girl held up a yellow shirt that Karina had gotten from a school fundraiser. She tilted her head to the side. "Yellow?"

"You can wear it, yeah," Karina sighed, walking over to her bed and sitting down. Winter nodded, tugging off her shirt and revealing the same bruises Karina had seen the night before. The thought of someone doing that to Winter made her sick to her stomach, so Karina had tried to tell herself they were probably just from cheerleading.

"Do they hurt?" Karina asked before she could stop herself. Winter looked at her, tilting her head to the side. The brown eyed girl stood up and ran her fingertips over one of the bruises on Winter's shoulder. "These, the bruises, do they hurt?"

Winter looked at her arm and bit her lip. She blinked a few times, trying to remember if they hurt or not. "Once upon a time they did," she looked back up at Karina, trying to explain as best as she could.

Karina nodded softly. "Did someone do this to you?" She asked, being driven by general concern for the younger girl. She saw Winter's face drain of colour and instantly regretted it, but before she could apologize, the smaller girl spoke.

"Bedtime," Winter nodded once, keeping her voice calm. Karina decided not to push anything else, and helped Winter pull her shirt on over her head. Both girls crawled into bed, and Winter lay in the same spot as the night before, staying as close to Karina as she could without actually touching her. It was as if there was some invisible barrier between them. Karina fell asleep quickly, exhausted from a long day of chasing Winter around.

Karina broke the barrier.

She was awoken a little after midnight by panicked whimpers. She rubbed her eyes, lifting her head and looking at the trembling girl beside her. Winter was in the same state as she had been the night before when she came into Karina's room.

"Winter?" Karina whispered, nudging the girl's shoulder. There was no response.

"Winter, wake up," she said louder, grabbing the girl's face in her hands. Winter's eyes opened instantly, and a look of terror crossed her face. Karina quickly let go of her, not wanting to scare her. The smaller girl instantly relaxed when she saw who it was, though.

"Yooji," her voice trembled. Winter sat up, hugging the pillow to her chest and looking around frantically. "Yooji there are bad things," she whimpered. Karina sat up and shook her head quickly.

"There are no bad things," Karina reached out and set her hand on Winter's knee, being cautious in case physical touch would scare the girl. Winter looked down at Karina's hand, gently taking it between her own two hands and bringing it up to her face. She pressed the palm of Karina's hand against her cheek, causing the brown eyed girl to shiver.

"There's nothing to be afraid of," Karina said after a few moments of silence, Winter was still holding the older girl's hand against the side of her face, and Karina ran her thumb over Winter's cheek soothingly. "There are no bad things here, I promise."

"Will you keep the bad things away?" Winter asked slowly, as if she were considering each word carefully. Karina bit her lip and nodded softly. "Promise?"

"Promise," Karina whispered. She saw Winter attempt a small smile, but it faltered. She could tell the small girl was still scared, and it was killing her. All she wanted to do was figure out what was hurting Winter and make sure it never hurt her again. The smaller girl looked anxiously around the room and her bottom lip began to tremble.

"Winter," Karina whispered, feeling horrible that she didn't know what was bothering her. The smaller girl continued holding Karina's hand against her cheek, as if it had some magical healing powers.

"Yooji," Winter mumbled, squeezing her eyes shut. Karina saw how close she was to crying and gave in.

"C'mere," Karina said softly, using her free hand to pull Winter closer to her. Winter looked up in shook, but quickly crawled closer to Karina, still looking at her hesitantly.

"You're safe here, okay?" Karina nodded slowly. Winter nodded, trying to believe the older girl, but she was still trembling in fear. The first tear broke against her waterline and ran down her face.

"Hey, hey, no tears," Karina shook her head and pulled her hand away from Winter's face. The smaller girl whimpered, but silenced when Karina wrapped her arms around her waist and Winter was pulled into her lap. The brown eyed girl hugged Winter close to her chest, feeling just how fast the girl's heart was beating.

Winter melted into Karina instantly, knowing Karina had broken the invisible barrier between them by allowing her to be held. She sniffed, hiding her face in the crook of the girl's neck.

"I don't know what's scaring you so badly, Winter," Karina sighed, rubbing circles in the younger girl's back. "But if it helps, I'll try and help you get rid of the scary things."

Winter looked up slowly. Karina's heart broke when she saw the small girl's face. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, but she wasn't making any noises. It looked as if she was trying to cry silently, not to disturb anyone. It made Karina's heart ache.

"Yooji," Winter whispered, reaching out and pressing her own palm against Karina's cheek. "Yooji is good," she nodded, reaffirming the fact to herself. Karina's breath caught in her throat and she felt her cheeks blush red.

Winter reached up and scratched her face, becoming frustrated when the tears didn't go away. Karina noticed this and used the sleeve of her hoodie to wipe the tears from the younger girl's cheeks. "Do you want to try and sleep?" Karina asked after they sat there for a few minutes in silence.

Nodding slowly, Winter sniffed and wiped her eyes just as Karina had done. The older girl grabbed her phone, turning on soft music in hopes that it would sooth Winter to sleep.

Karina lay down, only to find Winter curled up against her side moments later, with legs wrapped around hers. It was as if Winter couldn't get close enough to her. Sighing, Karina realized she was already in way too deep.

Both girls fell asleep very easily, comforted in knowing that the other was right beside them.

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