"You're worthless!" He spat at me. His breath lingered with alcohol which wasn't anything out of the normal. It was actually more worrisome when his breath didn't smell like alcohol.
"Shut up." I fought back because I just had to be a stubborn little asshole. I should've known better than to fight him because I always lost and ended up with a new bruise or ache in my body.
"You little bitch." He approached me as I walked backwards until I felt my back hit a wall; I was trapped. "Don't you ever tell me shut up. I'm the boss and you should respect me."
"I don't have to." I retaliated. Part of me wanted him to hit me. Maybe I deserved the pain that he was causing me.
At least if he hit me, I'd have a reason to spend the night at the Irwin's.
"Oh sweetheart," he ran his rough fingers against my face as I turned to the side to avoid any sort of eye contact that I could have with him. "Do you want to take that back?"
I shook my head no and even without looking at his face, I knew that he was getting angrier by the moment. "WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SUCH A STUBBORN LITTLE-" He didn't finish his sentence. "YOU'RE JUST LIKE YOUR FUCKING GOOD FOR NOTHING MOTHER."
"DON'T TALK ABOUT MY MOTHER LIKE THAT." He could insult me all he wanted, hit me, emotionally destroy me, but he could not talk about my mother like she was nothing. She was the most wonderful woman in the entire world and how she had ended up with someone like him was a mystery to me.
"Why? What are you going to do about it?" He placed his arm next to my head and leaned in closer to me. "Huh?" He continued to challenge me.
I ducked under his arm and started to run. I had gotten pretty quick because I felt like I was constantly running from him. I tried to shut my door behind him in my efforts to slow him down, but I didn't really need to do much because he was already drunk off his ass and unstable.
I skipped step after step until I made it to the front door, grabbing my jacket that was hanging next to it. I turned the door knob so that I could leave this house and run to the Irwin's but as I exited the door, something stopped me. Well, I more like ran into something.
I fell backwards onto my ass and scratched my head. I glanced over my shoulder and I couldn't hear my stepfather's footsteps chasing after me anymore and part of me felt relieved. I stared up to see what had caused me to fall and I saw Calum towering over me.
"Cal?"
"Hey Peyton," he greeted me. Something was different about his greeting though. It wasn't warm hearted and filled with love; it was filled with a devilish tone that was telling me that this wasn't the Calum that I had grown to be close with.
"What are you doing here Cal?"
"I'm here to see you."
"Now isn't a good time." I stood up and suddenly the footsteps were back. This time they were slower and softer than before, but they were getting louder by the moment.
"I just want to talk Pey."
"Can we talk later Cal? I gotta get to Ashton's house." I pointed at the lit house across the street.
Calum didn't respond so I decided for him and moved to the left so that I could get past him and attempt to run again. However, Calum scooted over and cut off my clear path.
"What the fuck?"
"Why can't we talk now?"
"My-"
"I'm tired of your personal reason bullshit Pey." He spoke slowly as I saw my stepdad appear at the top of the stairs with an evil smirk on his face.
"He's after me Cal."
"Who is he?"
"I'll tell you once we get out of this house."
"No, let's talk now." Cal grabbed my arms and pushed me back into the house more as my dad walked down the stairs to meet us.
"Thanks for the help Calum." My dad slurred.
"No problem." Calum shut the front door with his foot, locking me inside with both of them.
I rapidly looked back and forth between Calum and my stepdad before I realized what was happening and started to scream for Ashton, even though I would be surprised if he could hear me from across the street.
"ASHTON! HELP! ASHTON SAVE ME HELP OH MY FUCKING GOD ASH!"
My body shook as my eyes fluttered open and I found myself sitting in a dimly lit hotel room with Ashton hovering over me. "Peyton! Wake up!" He screamed in my face.
It all hit me at once; it was just a nightmare and nothing more than a nightmare.
I sighed deeply and felt my eyes fill up with tears that were trying their hardest not to fall out of my eyes. My body shook as I chewed the inside of my cheek.
I leaned forwards and hugged Ashton. He rubbed my back and tried to calm me down as tears managed to escape my eyes. I inhaled and exhaled deeply, trying to control my speeding heart rate.
"Let me know when you're done crying." Ashton spoke softly in my ear and I nodded, leaning back and releasing Ashton. I wiped the tear residue from my face and looked him in the eyes. He looked exhausted and like a child who had just cried. The bags under his eyes were evident but so was the concern that was currently being expressed on his face.
"I'm done." I announced.
"So, what was the nightmare about this time?"
Ever since Calum and I got in the big fight, a few things had happened.
First, I hadn't seen Calum in almost a week because it was his turn to avoid me.
Second, my old habit of having nightmares returned. It was something that happened frequently before I officially moved in with the Irwins four years ago.
Third, Ashton and I had to start sharing a room because Molly could never figure out what to do with me when I woke up screaming or crying because of the nightmares.
Four, I had been opening up more, well with Ashton. I didn't hide a lot of things from him because he already knew almost everything and I actually found it easier to tell him about my nightmares so he knew what I was dealing with. Plus, knowing Ashton and his protective and persistent nature, he would find out eventually.
"It was pretty much the same nightmare that I've been having for years. I was at home with my stepdad and we were fighting, as usual. He insulted my mom and I had to be stubborn and challenge him. I was able to get out of his grasp and I ran down the stairs because I was going to go to your house so that I didn't have to be with him anymore." I breathed deeply.
"Did you make it to my house?" When I used to have this nightmare, sometimes it would end with me making it to Ashton's house and other times it would end with me getting the living shit kicked out of me.
"This one had a twist."
"A twist?" Ashton raised his eyebrow.
"Calum was in it."
"Calum? What the hell was he doing?"
"Preventing me from running to your house. He was in the doorway of the front door and he wouldn't let me get past him. He forced me back into the house and then him and my stepdad were basically congratulating each other because they prevented me from leaving."
"Well, that's new."
"I know and I hate it." I swear that my body was shivering.
"Is it because you and Calum have been fighting?" Ashton was like a personal doctor.
"I guess, but it doesn't really make sense. We've been fighting for a week and this is the first time that he's appeared in one of my nightmares."
"Maybe you miss him." Ashton shrugged.
"I mean-" I missed him, but I didn't want to admit it, "maybe but wouldn't good things happen if I missed him. Like, I don't get it."
"Dreams are crazy Pey." Ashton told me, as if I didn't already know.
"I just don't understand it."
"Dreams aren't meant to be understood." He yawned.
"I don't even want to talk about this anymore. It's too confusing to try to understand so early." I whined. "Plus, this is the only time it's happened so it probably means nothing. It's probably similar to the time that Eric from my 3rd grade class appeared in my nightmare. He never did anything wrong and he just appeared and it was only once." I reminded him. "Calum being in my dream probably was just a coincidence and it probably means nothing." I reassured him.
Ashton's stomach grumbled and he read the clock that was resting on the nightstand between the two of us. "Do you want to go grab some breakfast?"
"What time is it?"
"It's 7am and I know that neither of us is going to fall back asleep right now, so might as well eat." He shrugged once again.
"Yeah, sure."