Laced

Laced - Chapter 27 (Sleepless Nights)

I slowly lowered her arm, and after realizing how close we were, she took a step back. "What are you doing here?" She questioned me, bringing her arm up to her face and wiping at something.

Had she been crying?

It was then when I noticed that her eyes were indeed red, and they looked like they had been tear-stained.

"Are you okay?" I asked her, my voice full of genuine concern.

Her tough expression fell, and I could see that she was not okay underneath the façade she put up. She brough her hand up to her earphones, yanking them out of her ear and throwing them onto the floor, along with the iPod she kept in her pocket. "I don't know."

Her eyes seemed defeated - everything about her seemed defeated. She looked like she hadn't slept in ages, and she'd gotten thinner after the panic attack she'd suffered after almost being forced to sleep with Sykes.

If she hadn't even slept with him, and all this happened, I wondered what it would be like if he actually did rape her.

I put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, and she flinched when my fingers touched her bare skin. Her tank top strap didn't cover much, so I pulled my hand away. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Her arm pulled up and wrapped around her body, as if she was holding herself from falling apart into millions of pieces. Her blonde head slowly shook, and she looked down. "I don't know."

I crouched down onto the floor, and took a seat. I crossed my legs, looking up at her. "Come, sit. You can tell me."

"I don't want you to feel, uh..." she hesitated, biting her lip.

I shook my head. "Perrie, what happened before is history, okay? What we were before is behind us. We can still be friends, and I'll always be here to listen. Don't worry, I don't feel like that for you anymore. You're just my friend, and I'm just yours." I stated simply.

The doubt in her eyes was replaced with warmth, and I smiled as she sat down across from me. She pulled up her knees against her chest, hugging them close to herself.

"So, what's going on? You haven't been yourself lately." I stated, running a hand through my hair. This was not how I planned my workout to be, but I couldn't care. A friend was in need, and I was here to listen to what she needed to talk about.

She bit her lip, staring at her shoes.

"Perrie, you can tell me. It's okay." I assured her.

She inhaled a large gust of hair, and released it before she spoke up. "I can't sleep, Harry."

I cocked an eyebrow. "You can't sleep? Why not?"

She moved her shoulders up and down, unsure.

"What's keeping you up at night?"

Shs closed her eyes. "Everytime I get in bed to go to sleep...I can't help but think of what almost happened when Master took me to Sykes...I keep getting flashbacks. I-I- I can't sleep." Her voice cracked, but she didn't stop talking. And I let her tell me everything.

"I can't sleep, I can't eat, I can't do anything. I don't feel myself, Harry. I just want to be happy, Harry. But I can't." Her voice cracked again, and her eyes were brimmed with tears.

Before I could say anything, she continued. "And he's being so distant! He barely even acknowledges me! I don't know what happened, Harry - I used to be his favorite, and now he won't even talk to me..." she trailed off.

She played with her fingers, which were sticking out of the kickboxing glove.

"Perrie..." I began.

She looked up at me, waiting for me to continue.