Flowers on the Floor

CHAPTER XIV: LOST IN TRANSLATION

I follow Meredith through a sea of swaying bodies as the music fills the space. Holding onto my drink, I offer Johnny a nod as he removes the rope for us at the bottom of the stairs. Making our way to the top, I find a few familiar faces throughout the VIP lounge.

Meredith guides me towards the back and I take a drink from my glass as we approach a table of people. Lowering it from my view, I find Hailee and Niall sitting together — unaware that I'm here.

"Hailee?" I ask, shocked at what I'm seeing.

She doesn't hear me as Meredith takes a seat beside her and joins the conversation. I watch as Niall leans in and whispers something in her ear, making her blush the same way I do.

"What the hell... Hailee?!"

She looks over at me as if she can see right through me. Turning back to him, she grabs his face and kisses him in front of me. I watch as his hands move their way down to her waist as she pulls him closer, lifting her leg up so he can grab onto it. My lips part and my chest tightens at the sight of his hands on her skin.

I drop my glass as I feel myself being pulled away from a scene I could've went without seeing.

"Baby?! Hey... hey! [Y/N], wake up."

A feel a hand on my face and another shaking my shoulder. I open my eyes and find myself in the dark with nothing but the glow of the fireplace illuminating the opposite side of the living room.

Holding onto her arms and trying to catch my breath, I find Hailee on her knees next to me, concern painted across her face. "You were calling my name. I think you had a nightmare." She says, pulling the blanket off of me.

I can hear the rain pouring down from outside as I try to slow my breathing and make sense of what just happened. It was so real. She was there. He was there...

"You're sweating." Hailee says, placing a hand on my forehead. "I'll get you some water."

I close my eyes and take a deep breath as she leaves the room. I listen as she turns on the kitchen light and I open my eyes to find it leaking onto the living room ceiling. "Here..." She says, kneeling down next to me again and handing me a glass of water.

I lean up and accept it. Taking a drink, I feel the water travel down my throat. I finish the glass and Hailee takes it from me, placing it on a coaster on the coffee table. I look at the flames dancing in the fireplace and try to rid myself of the scenario I just created in my head.

"Hey..." She says, looking at me and caressing my arm. "Come to bed with me. Please?"

Her voice calms me down as I feel my heart rate slow. I nod at her suggestion. All I want is to go to sleep next to her. She pushes the blanket off the rest of my body and grabs the remote for the fireplace, turning it off.

She grabs my hand, intertwining her fingers with mine and leads me upstairs to the bedroom. Crawling onto the bed, she pulls me with her as she makes her way to her side. I pull the covers over my body as Hailee lifts her arm so that I can lay my head on her chest.

Listening to her heartbeat, I close my eyes and take a deep breath as I wrap my arm across her body. "I'm not ashamed to be with you." She says, softly. "Whatever the media throws at us, we'll handle it together. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you about New York."

I listen to her words, feeling the wound open and close all at the same time. "It does trigger me..." I admit. "What you said in the gas station, you were right. It may not bother me forever but it's still so new and I can't stand the thought of someone else having you... touching you-"

"Hey..." She says, lifting my chin so that I'll look up at her. "Don't think about those things. I'm yours. I'm with you."

"I can't help it. It's the same way the situation with Eiza gets under your skin. The thought of you being around him makes me sick, Hailee." I lower my head as she continues to hold it up. If I keep talking, I know I'll cry.