The cuts healed, her heart didn't.
Chris:
I thought the days were bad.
But the nights were worse.
So much more worse.
Arya was wheel-chair bound. Every time she tried to walk, her legs would collapse under her weight. We called some friends to help install wheel-chair friendly furniture in our home- including a stairlift and some shelves that were the appropriate height.
Zack thanked the doctor and she handed him a paper with instructions on how to look after Arya. We walked to the car, trying to talk but each conversation fell flat. I wrapped an arm around Arya's shoulder and she jumped. I immediately backed away, palms up, stammering out apologies. She managed a tight lipped smile and I cautiously lifted her into the car. She tensed in my hold, but didn't flinch away.
Zack started driving. Every now and then, he would glance in the mirror and check on Arya. She was staring diligently out of the window, hands clasped in her lap and slightly hunched over. At one point, Zack was forced to brake sharply. Arya's head nearly slammed into the seat in front of her but I managed to pull her back in time.
"A little warning next time please Zack!" I exclaimed through gritted teeth.
"Sorry!" He snapped, "That idiot cut in front of me! Is Ree okay?"
"She's fine," I exhaled and pinched the bridge of my nose, "let's go home."
We pulled into the driveway and Caleb opened Arya's door, helping her into the wheelchair. She wrapped her arms around her frail body and shivered. I pushed her up the driveway and Nick opened the door.
"Home sweet home!" Caleb cried out, trying and failing to inject a tone of happiness into his voice.
"Boys? Arya!" Renée's face lit up like a Christmas tree and she rushed to Skittle, clutching a small brown bag in her hands. She abruptly stopped in front of her. She dropped the bag in Ree's lap and smiled nervously.
With jerky movements, Arya picked up the bag and tilted it so its contents slid out. Tears slipped from Arya's eyes and landed on the cover of the book that featured a skeleton in a fedora and a woman with dark hair.
"Thank you," she signed and clutched the book to her chest.
Renée tilted her head and Kit translated for her. She nodded and smiled at Ree.
"I'll call Marigold and she can help Arya get ready and take a shower," Issac muttered.
I helped Arya into the stairlift and grinned as she slowly whirred up to the landing. Her lips twitched upwards and she pushed herself off, gripping the banister tightly for support. We slowly helped her to her room and eased her into the bed.
Marigold and Jacob showed up an hour later and Renée left, claiming that the restaurant would fire her if she didn't go back. Wyatt dropped by to share his condolences and promised to find the woman who kidnapped Arya. The boys and I smiled through all of these visits, trying not to drop dead from exhaustion and fear.
Finally, the clock struck ten pm. Everyone had gone home and the silence- which would usually be filled with Skittle's singing or laughter- was profound.
We were gathered in Ree's room, trying desperately to keep her company. But as the minutes ticked by, it felt like she was being dragged further and further away from reality- away from us.
Eventually, we tottered out to our own beds, sleepiness overcoming our will to stay awake for our friend- no matter how hard we tried to fight it.
'That wasn't so bad.' I thought, burying myself in the blankets. 'Things will be better tomorrow.'
Naturally, things got worse.
X
I don't know why I woke up.
Something felt... off.
Like a hungry crocodile was gnawing a huge pit in my stomach. I couldn't shake the feeling, so I stumbled out of bed and felt my way down the corridor until I reached Arya's room. I pushed the door open and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw her still curled up on the bed.
I was about to turn away when I realised something was wrong. Arya was shifting around a lot and she was gasping and gargling- something was trying to force its way out of her throat.
"Arya?" I whispered, gently shaking her. She thrashed about harder and I became frantic. "Arya!"
She groaned like a wounded animal, digging her nails sharply into her flesh, drawing out thin streams of blood.
The door burst open and the others stormed in, guns raised and sleepy expressions contorted into confused anger.
"She's- she's having a nightmare!" I cried out, fear coalescing in the pit of my stomach. "What do we do?"
"Hey, Arya?" Zack asked, gripping her shoulder, "wake up! You're safe now. Arya?"
Her eyes snapped open, wide and afraid. Her chest heaved and she latched on to me, burying her face in my chest.
I held and rocked her gently, whispering comforting words into her ear. Half of it was nonsense- random memories I pulled from the depths of my brain. But it seemed to work. Within a few hours- or minutes, I really didn't know- she was fast asleep.
I must've fallen asleep too because when the dawn peeked between the gaps of the curtains, I was in exactly the same position. The boys had curled up in awkward positions around us and I smiled slightly.
I extracted myself from Arya's grip and slowly crept out of the room. The twins followed after me, then Zack, and Ethan emerged last, his expression reminded me of a disgruntled baby.
Neither of us talked. We just went to our own rooms. But I couldn't sleep, too haunted by what I had seen just a few hours prior. And I'm sure the others didn't either.
End.
So sorry for the late update! I've got exams coming up so I've been incredibly busy!
I hope you guys liked it!
Stay safe and thanks for reading :)