Before It Ends • Hessa • Emery Scott

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚢 𝙽𝚒𝚗𝚎

She comes back in, her eyes are red with anger and her arms are crossed over her chest. "Why didn't you follow me?" Her voice echoes through the room, laced with anger and determination. It sends a shiver down my spine and I shake my head.

"I don't know! Just help me for fucks sake!" I panic, trying to pull my feel from the floor's grasp. She makes no move to help me.

"You should've followed me out when you had the chance. You might think you're safe in here, but you're not." The little demon child explains. As she speaks, I sink further into the floor and I feel my heart rate increasing. "Stop holding onto things that aren't holding onto you. You'll end up killing yourself." She speaks, lifting her chin as if she knows it all. She doesn't know shit about me.

"You don't know shit!" I shout.

"Yes... and who's the one sinking into the floor here?" She sarcastically asks with a smirk. She doesn't wait for my snarky remark, "Why didn't you fucking follow me?!" She screams so loud that it hurts my eardrums. Her voice seems to make the floor pull me in faster and I let out a yelp as I fall completely into the floor, my whole world becoming black.

◉‿◉

I fling myself from the covers, desperately trying to find air. I'm out of the bed quicker than the speed of a bullet. I don't want to be enclosed into a warm heap of blankets right now. I can hardly breath as it is.

I'm on my hands and knees on Cole's hard wood floor, desperately gasping for breath as I try to grip the floor like a blanket. I've never felt so panicked in my entire life. I feel like I just touched noses with death and lived to tell the tale.

I feel arms wrap around my torso and pull me from my position. I collapse down into Cole's lap like he's a little boy forcing a cat to stay in his arms and he hugs me close to him. Little does he know that I don't want to be held right now. I don't want to be touched.

My breath is almost as loud as my thoughts as Cole tries to whisper things to me. He's going to need to yell for me to hear him through this silent chaos. But as the seconds pass, my breathing subsides and I realize that maybe this is what I need to calm down.

I let out a loud sob, bending over Cole's forearm that's wrapped around my stomach. I know he's confused. I know he's worried. I don't give a fuck. From all the dreams I've had, of Robby not listening to my pleads, or Chris forcing himself upon me, this has to be the worst night terror I have ever had. This night terror spoke truth. Truth I didn't want to hear.

I need to give up. I need to move on and forgive. Why is it so hard?

◉‿◉

I sit at Cole's kitchen counter while his mother makes me something to eat. I guess I was so loud that I woke her up and she felt so bad for me that she gave me a big fluffy blanket and some food.

It's around 7:00. The sun is just now waking up. What the fuck am I doing awake?

I don't know where Cole is. My guess is he's upstairs either showering like he was going to do last night or he fell asleep again.

"Here, honey. Do you like hot chocolate?" She questions and I just nod my head. She pushes a mug across the countertop to me and I take a small sip.

My insides are immediately warmed and I smile at the comfort. "This is good." I mutter and she nods.

"Thank you." She twists back around and continues to cook. I don't feel like looking behind me when I hear Cole— or maybe his dad's footsteps. I look up to see Cole's mom staring shockingly at her son. How do I know that? Because I've seen that face before from my own mother. That face is pure shock and fear at the sight of those purple and blue bruises.