When the first episode was over, Carly begged to watch another."Please? More," Carly pointed to the TV and nodded softly. "Yes, more."
Eya shrugged and chose the next episode, not seeing the harm in watching one more before they went to bed. She'd almost drifted off to sleep when she felt two hands shaking her awake.
"More," Carly smiled, pointing to the TV. Eya wiped her eyes and checked the time on her phone, groaning when she realized they'd stayed up later than she had planned. She sat up and shook her head, turning the TV off with the remote next to her. Carly tilted her head to the side.
"It's time for bed," Eya yawned and stood up, walking over to the stairs. Carly followed slowly, walking only on her tiptoes.
"Sleep?" Carly inquired once they reached the top of the stairs. Eya nodded and opened her bedroom door. Carly stood hesitantly in the hallway.
"Cold," Carly shook her head.
Eya sighed and grabbed Carly's arm, pulling her into the bedroom to avoid waking anyone up. "I have warmer clothes you can wear," she said, walking over to her dresser and searching through her drawers. "Here," she handed the smaller girl a long sleeved shirt.
Carly looked at the shirt in her hands, opening her mouth to say something but noticing the annoyed look on Eya's face. She quickly grew quiet.
"Remember, this is your side of the bed," Eya mumbled, pointing to the side where Carly had slept.Eya didn't wait for a response before crawling under the covers and turning away from Carly.
Carly stood quietly, holding the shirt in her hands. She slowly slipped out of the t-shirt of Deanna's she had on and tugged on Eya's shirt. Frowning, she realized it didn't smell the same as Deanna's. So instead, Carly hugged Deanna's t-shirt to her chest and padded over to the bed.
"Eya?" she whispered, standing at the edge of the bed and looking at the other girl. There was no response, Eya had already fallen asleep. Carly sighed, hugging the shirt even tighter to her chest and wiggling under the covers. She bit her lip, not happy that Eya had put a pillow in the middle of the bed to separate them.
With a soft sigh, Carly curled up into a ball and brought the shirt up to rest in the crook of her neck, inhaling the scent she'd already become so comfortable with. She lay for a while in silence, staring blankly at the darkness in front of her. After entertaining herself with her thoughts for what felt like hours, her eyelids grew heavy and slowly closed shut.
Sleep had just overtaken the small girl when suddenly her breathing intensified. Memories came back in flashes of white and red, and a bead of sweat dripped down from her brow. Carly gasped for air, waking herself up. Her heart was beating erratically and she sat up quickly, hugging Deanna's shirt underneath her chin and scanning the room anxiously.
Every shadow, every small beam of light suddenly adopted the possibility of danger. Carly shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't like this. The small girl wiped frantically at the sweat on her forehead, trying to catch the breath she didn't know she'd lost.
Cautiously, she looked over at the girl in the bed next to her. Eya was fast asleep. Carly considered waking her, but she knew in just the next room over, there was someone who she'd rather be with. So quietly, she held Deanna's t-shirt tightly to her chest and tip toed quickly to the door, checking around her once more for anything that could be harmful. She peered out in the hallway to make sure it was safe before slipping out of Eya's room.
****
Deanna hadn't been able to sleep that night. She was too busy reliving her high school days, trying to make a list of everything Carly had ever done to hurt her. The only direct thing Carly had done was read her texts, though. The rest of Carly's offenses had just been caused by her volleyball friends. This confused Deanna even more.
And the Carly she knew in high school was completely different than the Carly who had shown up at their apartment two days ago. Dare she say it, Deanna wanted to get to know the new Carly. She continued to push the thought to the back of her mind, cursing herself for even thinking of being nice to the girl.
She'd been staring at her ceiling for over an hour when a flicker of light brought her out of her thoughts. She sat up quickly, staring at the crack in the door. "Wha...?" she yawned, running a hand through her messy hair and narrowing her eyes to try and see who was there.
The door creaked open slightly and a small figure entered the room. She should've known. Carly.
"What do you want?" Deanna sighed. When she didn't get a response, she rolled over on her side and reached to turn on the small lamp next to her bed. Her heart jumped when she turned back over and could finally see the smaller girl.
Carly's hair was still in the same bun from earlier that day, but half of it was falling out on one side of her face. Small pieces of hair were sticking to her forehead, which was glistening with a thin layer of sweat. The small girl was visibly upset, Deanna could tell by the pained look in her eyes and the irregular speed of her breathing.
"What's wrong?" Deanna asked, tilting her head to the side and sitting up in her bed. Carly tilted her head the same way Deanna had.
"Didi?" Carly whispered, taking the tiniest of steps forward and hugging the t-shirt close to her chest.
Deanna chose to ignore the nickname the girl had given her. It was actually kind of cute. Kind of. But barley. Deanna actually hated it... no she didn't. "Yeah?"
Carly took a deep breath and glanced nervously around the room, as if she were afraid of someone watching them. "Are you my friend?" There was a pleading tone in her voice, and Deanna could tell Carly was on the verge of some sort of breakdown.
Letting her hands drop to her sides in defeat, Deanna sighed heavily. "Yes, I'm your friend," she nodded slowly, suddenly feeling glad that she'd said those words. Carly's face lit up for a second, but she quickly remembered why she was here and her expression quickly faltered.
"Promise?" Carly mumbled, her voice barley a whisper. Her anxiousness was killing Deanna, so Deanna quickly held out her pinky in front of Carly.
"Promise," she nodded once. Carly sighed in relief, slowly reaching out and interlocked their pinkies. Deanna felt how warm Carly's hands were and only grew more concerned. "Now what's wrong?" she asked, adopting a softer tone and patting the spot on the bed next to her.
Carly looked surprised by Deanna's sudden change in character, but if she was, the smaller girl didn't question it. She practically jumped on the bed next to Deanna, landing on her knees and quickly tucking her feet under her. She glanced around the room once more.
The small girl leaned in close to Deanna, as if she were telling her a secret. "There are bad things here," she whispered, before drawing her face away from Deanna and quickly scanning the room to see if anyone had heard them.
"Bad things?" Deanna questioned, growing even more concerned than she already was. Carly took her bottom lip in-between her teeth and nodded quickly. "What bad things?"
Carly shook her head violently and squeezed her eyes shut, practically making the entire bed shake. Deanna quickly reached out and grabbed the girl's shoulders to try and still her. Carly's eyes shot open and she almost flinched backwards, but she realized who the hands belonged to and remained still.
"There's no bad things here," Deanna motioned around the room. "See? It's just my bedroom. I sleep in here every night." Carly took a deep breath. Deanna slowly drew her hands back from Carly's shoulders and the smaller girl looked around nervously.
"There are bad things," Carly repeated herself. She hugged the shirt tighter to her chest. Deanna sighed and thought for a moment, trying to figure out how to calm Carly down.
"Here," Deanna scooted back on the bed and lifted her comforter. "It's a fort. We'll be safe under here, c'mon," she slid under the covers and motioned for Carly to do the same. Confused but curious, Carly crawled next to Deanna. Deanna pulled the covers over both of their heads, using her knees to keep the blankets from smothering them.
Carly instantly whimpered when the darkness overtook them and Deanna quickly fished around in the sheets to grab her phone. Moments later, the phone's flashlight was flicked on and she set the device between them to give them light.
"We're safe under here," Deanna said softly. Carly lay on her back next to Lauren, still breathing heavily. "Why did you come in here?"
"Bad things," Carly mumbled, pointing to her head and tapping it gently.
"Bad things in your head?" Deanna asked, slowly catching on to what Carly was trying to explain to her. The small girl nodded quickly, confirming Deanna's suspicions.
"Did you have a nightmare?" Deanna inquired. Carly tilted her head to the side. "Did you see bad things in your sleep?" Deanna rephrased her question. This earned a slow nod from Carly, and Deanna noticed the smaller girl's bottom lip was trembling.
"Hey, hey, don't cry," Deanna shook her head and sat up, pushing the blankets off of them. "Everyone sees bad things in their sleep sometimes, even me."
"Even Didi?" Carly asked, sitting up slowly next to Deanna.
The older girl sighed and nodded. "They're called nightmares," Deanna explained. "Sometimes they can be really scary, but want to know a secret?"
Carly nodded slowly.
"They can't hurt you," Deanna gave the girl a soft smile, trying to reassure her that she was safe. "They're only in your head," she reached up and tapped on Carly's forehead like the girl had done before.
"Promise?" Carly whispered, holding out her pinky finger. Deanna nodded softly and interlocked their fingers, already realizing she was getting too close to this girl. But she was met with the overwhelming need to protect her.
Carly was still breathing heavily, and Deanna watched as she tugged at the sleeves of her shirt.
"Are you hot?" Deanna asked, motioning to the heavy shirt of Eya's that Carly had on. The younger girl nodded, looking at Deanna pleadingly.
"And I'm guessing you want to wear one of my shirts?" Deanna raised an eyebrow and sighed, knowing what Carly's answer would be. The smaller girl smiled instantly and nodded.
Deanna laughed. She laughed, surprisingly. Honestly, the older girl was just relieved that she'd somehow managed to calm Carly down. She slid out from under the covers and opened the first drawer of her dresser where she kept her t-shirts. Grabbing a blue shirt with the name of her college printed on it: "ATENEO". She tossed it to Carly. Luckily, the smaller girl didn't seem to have a problem catching it.
Carly stood up, peeling off her own shirt. Deanna turned around and nearly gasped. She hadn't expected Carly to change in her room. But more importantly, she hadn't expected what was under the shirt Carly had been wearing.
"What happened?" she asked, crossing the room and stopping Carly before she could pull the t-shirt on over her head. Her body was covered in bruises. Some dark purple, some light green, some large, some small. There was no pattern, they were just randomly splurged all over her body. Deanna had to stop herself from reaching out to touch them, to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.
"Ouch," Carly whispered, hanging her head down. She looked almost ashamed.
Deanna bit her lip. She knew better than to push Carly on any explanations tonight. They were both exhausted. "It's okay," Deanna said softly, shaking her head. She took the shirt from Carly's hands and helped the smaller girl slip it on over her head. Carly looked down at the shirt and then smiled brightly up at Deanna.
"We've got to get you back to bed," Deanna nodded, turning towards her door. She paused when she didn't hear Carly following her back to Eya's room, and turned back around to find the smaller girl already sitting happily on her bed. Sighing in defeat, Deanna pulled her door closed behind her and walked over to the bed.
"Your hair is a mess," she noted, giving in to the temptation and reaching forwards to brush the matted hair out of Carly's face. Brown eyes looked up at her contently. Deanna just sighed and grabbed her brush from her nightstand. "I'll braid it for you."
Carly didn't respond, so Deanna just crawled up on the bed behind the girl and reached up to let the hair fall from the rest of the bun. Long, dark waves cascaded down her shoulders.
In high school, Carly had always worn her hair up in a high ponytail, along with a bow that matched their school's colors.
As soon as Deanna ran a brush through Carly's hair, she realized just how knotted it was. Riri had said that Carly knew how to shower, but she obviously didn't know how to get the tangles out of her hair.
"Ouch," Carly mumbled as Deanna began to slowly work the knots out from each layer of her hair. "Ouch, ouch," she huffed.
"I'm almost done," Deanna said quietly. She tugged gently at the brush, separating the small hairs and moving onto the next knot. Carly had more hair that she appeared to have.
Luckily, Carly sat quietly while Deanna finished getting the mats out of her hair. Once she was done, Deanna realized just how much better Carly's hair looked. It was wavy and smooth, and it lay much more flat against her head now that the knots were gone.
"Now I just have to braid it," Deanna explained. She slowly ran her fingers through Carly's hair a few times, getting a feel for the texture. It smelled like her shampoo, which she assumed Carly had used when she was showering earlier. She grabbed a section of hair at the top of Carly's head and began a fishtail braid that extended down the back of her head and curved to the side. Braiding soothed her, and she didn't even realize she had been humming.
"Music," Carly noted, turning to look at Deanna. The older girl had to lean forward to keep her hold on the unfinished braid, and she used her other hand to turn Carly's head back around.
"I was humming, yeah," Deanna shrugged, quickly finishing off the braid and securing it with a hair tie. "All done," she swept the braid over Carly's shoulder so the girl could see.
"Pretty?" Carly asked, turning back around to look at Deanna. The older girl nodded. Carly yawned, still retaining the soft smile on her face.
"Tired?" Deanna raised an eyebrow. Carly bit her lip hesitantly, and Deanna tilted her head to the side. "What?"
"Scared," Carly mumbled.
Deanna sighed and pointed to the blankets. "That's our fort, remember? Nothing can hurt you under there. Plus, remember what I told you? Dreams aren't real. I promised."
Carly thought for a moment before nodding, remembering what Deanna had told her. She quickly shimmied under the covers, and Deanna sighed heavily. What had she gotten herself into?
Too tired to try and fight with herself, Deanna crawled over to the other side of the bed and pulled the covers over both of them. Carly scooted closer to Deanna, and the older girl noticed. It was as if the smaller girl wanted to get as close as she could to Deanna without touching her. Deanna knew arguing wouldn't do any good.
Her phone buzzed and brought her out of her thoughts. She glanced at Carly, who hadn't noticed. Deanna grabbed her phone and narrowed her eyes to read the message on her screen.16
[1:23 - Eya] Have any of you guys seen Carly? She's not in bed.
Deanna sighed, reading the message from Eya in the group chat. She was going to have a lot of explaining to do. Her fingers tapped slowly at the keyboard, glancing over at the small girl in bed next to her.
[1:24 - Deanna] I've got her.
She could only imagine Eya's reaction when she got her text14
[1:24 - Eya] You're kidding me, right?
Deanna sighed, biting her lip and trying to think of a reply. Her phone buzzed before she could, though.
[1:25 - Ivy] Miss Eya Laure, may I remind you that we have class in less than 9 hours? Get your ass in bed. We can talk about Carly's game of musical beds tomorrow.
Deanna laughed softly to herself, thankful for Ivy and her tendency to be a light sleeper. She set her phone next to her pillow and rolled onto her back, closing her eyes and trying to fall asleep. Deanna eventually fell asleep after reliving the entire day in her head, until she finally let sleep overtake her.
****
Carly opened her eyes every few minutes, checking to see if Deanna was still awake. Once she was assured that the older girl was asleep and wouldn't try to sneak out on her, Carly closed her eyes for good. She fell asleep quickly, glad that Deanna didn't do what Eya had done and make a pillow barrier between them.
****TO BE CONTINUED***
a/n: you find a little bit more about CARLY in this chapter!! yay!