Alex's (POV)
I first hear a small bang, then it's immediately followed by a long whistling sound.
Everyone pauses what they're doing, looking up at the sky.
There's a huge resounding BOOM as the first firework of the night explodes into millions of tiny lights.
My heart stops.
Everyone's cheering now, glad the fireworks have finally started.
My breathing picks up, and I'm no longer aware of anything but the sky.
How'd it get so dark all of a sudden?
Guess it doesn't really matter now.
The frisbee drops from my stiff hands like a bag of bricks, and I start to slowly back up, my eyes transfixed on the dark sky.
My heart is beating a mile a minute, and I can feel sweat break out everywhere on my body.
Three more small bangs resound, whistles, then three big BOOMS. One right after another.
I hear a whimper.
A couple more bangs, whistles, and then they explode.
I involuntarily flinch at each one.
"Alex?"
I snap my gaze down from the sky, only to see Lucy looking over at me with a highly concerned face.
I don't answer her, my gaze frozen.
She walks closer to me. "Alex, what's wrong?" Her voice sounds muted in my ears, like someone's tied a bag around my head.
I'm about to try forming some sort of answer, when there's the biggest firework yet.
BOOM!
I forget about everything as an overwhelming panic takes over.
Turning, I run.
Somewhere in my frantic mind I must have rationalized that the best place to escape was the Brown's car.
Because that's where I ended up.
I stop beside it, trying to catch my breath.
Only I can't.
There's a warm tingling in my chest, a tightness in my throat.
And I can still hear all the fireworks!
I slide down against the side of the car, curling up as I bring my shaking hands up to my ears.
Giant explosions echo throughout the whole building. Walls falling, glass shattering.
People screaming out in terror.
Too loud, it's too.....LOUD!
Something touches me.
People screaming.
I lash out with my right arm, immediately feeling it connect with something hard.
That breaks me out of my whirlwind of a memory for a moment, and I open my eyes I hadn't even noticed I'd closed.
They land on Lucy who's sprawled out on the ground in front of me.
My eyes widen in disbelief.
Did I do that?
My breathing picks up even more, and I can feel myself trembling all over.
More loud explosions fill the air, and soon I can't concentrate on anything but my thoughts and the loud noises.
Not able to escape.
Subconsciously I feel strong hands gently grab my shoulders.
I flinch away, an unbidden whimper slipping out.
But I don't strike out again.
I feel myself being lifted, then my uncomfortable concrete seat is replaced with a soft cushion.
Peeling my eyes open, I see I'm back inside the car.
Lucy quietly slides in beside me, slowly wrapping her arms around me. I place my head on her shoulder, curling up once again.
Glass breaking, huge explosions, walls crumbling.
Crawling towards me with a knife, wild eyes.
I'm shaking uncontrollably, tears falling from my tightly shut eyes.
I feel the car start moving.
Soon the loud explosions from the fireworks fade away, and the comforting sound of the car engine fills my ears.
I feel exhausted, like all my life's been drained from inside me. And soon enough, I feel myself drifting off to sleep.
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Lucy's (POV)
I had just thrown the frisbee to Alex when we heard the first firework.
Smiling, I look up at the sky where I know for certain they'll be at. It's a beautiful sparkly red one that looks like an umbrella, one of my favorites.
Everyone starts to cheer, and I join in.
I suddenly hear something lightly hit the ground behind me. Turning around, I see the Frisbee is laying discarded on the ground.
I look up at Alex who's standing above it, immediately knowing something's wrong.
He's slowly backing away, his eyes which are solely focused on the sky are wide and frantic.
Three more fireworks light up the sky, filling the air with their mighty BOOMS.
He whimpers.
My eyes widen, dread settling in my heart.
What's wrong? Why is he acting like this?
A couple more fireworks go off, and I see him flinch at each one.
Finally, my tongue-tied-mouth manages to say something.
"Alex?" I question.
His gaze immediately snaps down to me, his eyes vacant and unfocused. He just continues to stare at me, almost like I'm not even there.
I walk closer to him. "Alex, what's wrong?"
From behind me, I hear the biggest firework of the night go off.
I watch frozen in shock as Alex's face turns into one of pure terror.
Turning, he runs full speed towards the parking lot.
I snap out of it, turning around I'm met with the sight of Mack staring wide eyed over where Alex had just been standing.
Ignoring him for the moment, I walk up to Molly, grabbing her arm. "Can you grab our stuff and drop it off tomorrow?" I ask. "Please, we have to go now." My eyes flicker back towards the parking lot.
She must've heard the desperation in my voice because she wordlessly nods, turning back to the fireworks.
I tap Don on the shoulder. "Come on!"
Running, I head to where I hope Alex went.
I feel immediate relief when I see he is actually where I had assumed he'd be. But that relief doesn't last long.
Alex is sitting with his back against the side of the car, his knees drawn up to his chest.
He's holding both hands over his ears, noticeably hyperventilating, eyes shut tight.
Wordlessly, I crouch down in front of him. Reaching out, I gently touch his knee.
That was a mistake.
He immediately reacts by flinging his arm out, hitting me square on the shoulder with more force than I'd thought he could muster.
Making me lose my balance in the process.
I fall backwards onto my backside, automatically using my arms to catch myself before I fall flat on my back.
Looking up at Alex, I see he's staring at me with wide frightened eyes.
He closes them again, his breathing picking up even more. I see he's trembling from head to toe, sweat matting his hair.
Is this a....panic attack?
More loud fireworks streak across the sky.
Don comes bounding in between cars, stopping in surprise when his eyes land on Alex.
"What happe-" I cut him off, no time for chitchat.
"Don, lift Alex into the car." I tell him, standing back up.
He nods, walking over towards Alex. Carefully he grabs him on his upper arms, preparing to lift him.
Alex flinches away like we've burned him, another whimper slipping out.
Don try's again, concern stretched across his face. I open the door, and Don sets him inside. shutting the door, I head over towards the other car door.
Getting in, I see Alex is leaning against the door, looking around with cloudy unfocused eyes.
My motherly instincts kick in.
Sliding over so I'm beside him, I wrap my arms protectively around his shoulders.
Don exits the parking lot.
Alex suddenly surprises me as he lays his head down on my shoulder, legs tucking underneath himself, arms wrapping around his stomach.
He's trembling uncontrollably, and I can feel his tears soaking into my shirt, hear his quiet sobs he so desperately tries to muffle.
But thankfully his breathing seems to be getting easier, to the extent he's not hyperventilating.
Soon, we're far enough away the fireworks are reduced to just faint bangs, the long main road putting a good distance between us.
Looking down, I see Alex is surprisingly asleep, his breathing deep and even.
Frowning, I notice he's still trembling.
He suddenly snuggles closer to me, and I can feel my frown turn into a small smile.
I feel questions forming in my head.
What happened to him?
What causes such a nice boy to be so afraid of loud noises, knives, and something that has to do with water?
I might never know.
Sighing, I come back to the present.
Rotating my aching shoulder, I notice he must've bruised it when he hit me.
For being so skinny, he sure has strength.
"So what happened?" Don whispers, looking back at us for a second.
"I'm not sure, but I think he must have a fear of loud noises." I quietly say while gently moving some hair out of his face.
Don's quiet for a moment. "What about, Mack?" He questions, continuously looking at me from the overhead mirror.
Earlier I had agreed with Molly that I'd keep him with us while both Molly and Frank go on a business trip.
It's normal routine for us. Frank and Molly own the town bank so they go on business trips often.
But I'm thinking it might not have been the best option for right now.
I noticed earlier Mack was behaving rather.....childish.
But he's just jealous.
Before Alex moved in, Mack would spend most everyday at our farm. But since Alex has been here, Mack hasn't been over once.
His parents don't exactly spend a lot of time with him, they're to put it shortly; Workaholics.
And that's why he would be jealous.
"We'll figure it out." I say more confidently then I feel.
Mack will just have to get over it.
We pull into our driveway, parking shortly later. Turning off the engine, Don gets out, coming around to open the door on Alex's side.
Carefully, I scoot us over.
Don picks him up bridle style, heading for the house.
Getting out, I follow him to the front door. Unlocking it, we walk up to Alex's room.
I pull the covers back so Don can lay him down, slowly taking his shoes off before I pull the covers back up.
I sit on the edge of the mattress, next to his head while Don heads over to the door.
I look up as Don clears his throat.
"I'll come out soon." I tell him.
He nods, walking away.
Five minutes later, I make a move to get up when Alex's face suddenly contorts to one of pure misery.
He starts thrashing his head around, mumbling incoherent words.
I touch his shoulder, and he suddenly sits up with a sharp gasp.
Breathing hard, he looks around with half lidded eyes. When they land on me, he reaches out with a trembling hand, placing it on my arm as he breaks down crying again.
"I-I'm s-sorry." He forces out between his gasps for air.
Confused for a moment, I just stare at him. Then I remember....
He pushed me earlier.
"Alex, it's fine. I'm fine." I try to reassure him, placing my hand on his shoulder.
But he just starts crying harder.
"I-It's all m-my f-fault." He stutters out, holding his head down as if he's too ashamed to face the world.
I start to gently tug his shoulders down in a attempt to try and get him to lay back down again, because it's obvious he's half asleep and doesn't even fully realize what he's doing.
"Hush, Alex. It's alright." I whisper to him, running my fingers through his hair as I try to calm him down.
His eyes flutter.
"E-Everyone a-always gets hurt b-because of m-me." He says, desperation leaking from each word.
Thinking it might have been the dream, I come up with a reply. "Everything's alright, Alex. It was just a dream."
But even as I'm saying it out loud, I know in my heart what I said isn't true.
It wasn't just a dream.
He's laying back down now, and I just continue to run my fingers through his hair, quietly whispering soothing words to him.
When he's finally asleep once more, I just continue to comfort him.
I don't bother leaving.
He's had too much of that in his life.
Being alone.
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A/N
I think I almost cried in that last bit...so emotional.
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Thanks!!
Edited: 5/22/17