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Finishing your dinner, you placed your plate into the sink, washing it before putting it on the rack to dry. You stood there, looking at the circular ceramic as the water dripped from it. It looked familiar to you, seeing liquid slide down the object.
An image flew through your head, sending shivers throughout your body and making you take a step back from the rack. Turning on your heel, you walked away from the kitchen, not wanting to see another image.
You found yourself in the living room, so you plopped down onto the couch, pulling your legs up to your chest. Sighing, you placed your head onto your knees and thought about what life would be like with her still in it. Your childhood best friend, that is.
She was your rock and you two did almost everything together. You two were practically sisters at that point, and she even called your dad as her own, since she didn't have one at the time. But, her life ended too quickly; she had so much more room to grow and mature.
You wiped the tears that spilled, cursing as you did so. Soon, a shift in the couch made you perk up, making you look to the right of you. You didn't have time to process what was there before a slimy tongue ran across your face.
"Ah! Sumo!" You giggled at the St. Bernard, falling over as you tried to push him off of you. He continued to lick your face, trapping you underneath him as he hovered over you.
You started to groan and laugh at the same time, not liking the drool on your face, but accepting the love from your dog.
"Y/n, we're home!"
Sumo's ears perked up to the sound of his owner, his head popping over the couch. The dog that was in your lap got off and went over to the front door to your dad. You sat up, wiping the spit from your face and sighing in relief, now being able to breathe properly.
"Heh, you look like shit."
You glared at your dad, seeing a smug grin replace his neutral look. He rested his hands on top of the couch and leaned over to look at you.
You shared the same from he gave you and scoffed. "So do you, old hag."
He raised a brow at your remark, obviously impressed at his daughter's boldness. He ruffles your hair and chuckles. "So I see you're as bold as ever."
You smile for a moment, but feel guilt swell inside of you. You've never told Hank about your anxiety, and you didn't plan on telling him for a while.
Especially since he has been through tough times that are worse than yours and you didn't want him to succumb to that again. He was the only one you ever trusted, but you still kept your deepest secrets close to yourself.
"I learned from the best."
You reached up and hugged him tightly, receiving the same from him as well. He lets go and pats your head before he turns around to go to his bedroom. You notice the familiar android in your peripheral vision, standing close to the front door.
"Howdy there Connor." You tip an imaginary cowboy hat to him, snickering a bit at his very robotic stance.
Furrowing his brows, his LED glows yellow before going back to its sky blue color. He dips his head to you and gives you a short grin.
"Hello to you as well, Ms. Anderson." Your eyes widen at his formality, feeling a bit weird as you've never been called that before. You hop up from the couch and dust yourself.
"Quit the formalities, Connor. I'm 15, not a business woman."
You see Sumo walk up to Connor, nuzzling his head into his calf. He leans down and pets the dog's fur with delicacy, a gentle look lining his face.
"So you've been acquainted with good ol' Sumo, eh?"
Connor stood back up to look at you and nodded his head. You make a clicking sound with your tongue, calling Sumo over as you took a couple of treats out from your pockets.
You extend your hand to him and he began to eat from your hand. "You're a good boy, aren't you Sumo?"
He looks up from your hand and sticks his tongue out, showing his happines. You kiss his forehead before he left to his spot on the loveseat chair. Connor still stood there as you got up from your position on the floor.
You spontaneously jumped back onto the couch. You patted the spot next to you and motioned him to sit there.
He reluctantly sat down, making his posture straighter than your life. You groan and reach for the t.v remote off of the coffee table in front of you.
"Just relax for a bit, will you?" You flicked through the channels, having the t.v on already.
You found one that was playing movies from around the late 2010's. You got excited quickly, leaning on the edge of your seat as you waited for the next movie to play.
"Infinity War? Damn, I haven't watched that in a long time."
Your head spin to the sound of your Dad's voice, seeing him grab a couple of drinks from the fridge and come to the couch. He sits on the other side of you, opening a beer bottle. You did the same, except with a Coca-Cola bottle because underaged drinking is a big no-no.
Connor, all the while, gazed upon your figure, suddenly having the need to protect you at all costs. The feeling was incomprehensible, but he could feel something inside of him wanting to guard you.
And he didn't want the feeling to stop.
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The movie had finished and was halfway through another movie when Hank noticed your unmoving shape. You had fallen asleep on Connor's shoulder as soon as the second movie started, leaving you in a deep sleep.
A ring came from Hank's phone, making his head turn to the device. He read the message sent by one of his colleagues at the DPD, telling him another case has opened. Hank groaned in annoyance as he stood up from his spot on the couch, stretching at the same time.
"Another deviant case. I'll go alone this time, I don't like having my daughter without supervision after midnight."
Connor was to protest but Hank told him his decision was final. Hank quickly got changed into normal clothing and left you and Connor alone in the house. The android looked down to your fragile frame, wondering how he was going to be able to get you into your bed.
You, in other words, were having a nightmare. And not just any nightmare, it was one where you re-lived what happened the day your best friend died.
You didn't want the dream, but you couldn't move or wake up, so you were trapped in the living hell of the visions in your head. Connor detected high uncomfortability and stress levels coming from you, now knowing that you were having a hallucination.
He didn't know what to do in this situation, so he waited it out, resisting the whimpers protruding from your throat. He placed an arm securely around you, hoping that would help a bit.
It didn't do much, but you felt more relaxed in your dream. You couldn't stop the event from happening, and your eyes wouldn't close, resulting in you having to see the crash happen.
You tried screaming for her, but nothing came out. Soon a car crashed into the one she was in, flipping the vehicle over a few times before landing on the roof.
You see her upside down body slip out of the window of the car, falling onto the concrete. You raced to her side, cradling her head in your arms; as you did for the hundredth time.
You whispered for her to not leave you, but the blood dripping from her body left you unable to hold your tears in. Like the other times this dream has occurred, you prayed for all of this to be fake.
You screamed her name in the dream, waking up to yourself shrieking in real life. Beads of sweat ran down your face, heavy breaths emerged from your mouth, and you felt the world spinning.
You felt two secure arms wrap around your shoulders in a worried manner. You see Connor with a concerned look on his face. Tears fell down your face, not stopping anytime soon.
"I'm s-sorry for the w-waterworks.." You leaned into his chest, feeling vulnerable to everything around you. Your breathing became wretched, suddenly being unable to breathe.
"Y/n?! Listen to me, okay? You need to calm down, and take slow breaths."
Connor's voice entered your catastrophic mind, trying to end the storm of anxiety and panic. It worked in the slightest, feeling a small wave of calm come over you, but it was suddenly overcome with a bigger wave of trauma and fear.
His arms pulled you closer to him, wrapping his arms around your waist. One of his hands caressed your head, while the other traced your spine with soothing movements. Your gasps hit Connor's chest fast and hard, making it harder to breathe, but you wanted to hold someone close to you.
Your hands gripped tighter onto his jacket, turning your knuckles white as you hyperventilate quickly. He whispered calm phrases into your ear, praising you for being able to calm down.
"That's it..just breathe. Everything will be okay, just focus on my voice."
His voice soothed and eased your tense muscles up to a certain point. You nodded against his chest, feeling your heart rate slow down. The grip on his jacket loosened, signaling to Connor that you were calming.
The images in your head continued racing, so your breaths were difficult to control. At one point, you were in serenity because of the RK800's words and actions, but at other points, you were having difficulties in deciding if it was real life or just a hallucination.
"Y/n, it's alright. You know it will be okay in the end. Everyone loves you and will be there every step of the way to get in a better state. I'll be here for you."
Your gasps for air became quiet sobs as you cried into his white button up. You just wanted the panic attacks to stop. But you knew that it would never happen, you were too far down the rabbit hole to climb back up.
Connor continued to mollify you, rocking your shaking form back and forth on the couch. Sumo had also come to your side, having been woken up by your howls of fear and anger.
You could hear Connor's thirium pump beat against his chest as you leaned on him a bit more comfortably. You tapped your fingers on his forearms, syncing the tempo with the beat of his pump. You started to loosen down more, feeling safe in the android's arms.
For a little while, he kept you inside of his protective embrace, wanting to make sure you were fully okay to do anything else. You smiled against his chest, feeling the bliss in having someone to comfort you.
"Thank you, C-Connor.."
He looked down at you, a gentle smile gracing his features. "You don't have to worry now. For the better, I will inform Hank about this, okay?"
You bit your lip, debating on what your dad's reaction will be. He would either comfort and talk it out with you, or go into a fit of rage because of you not telling him. You sigh woundedly, giving up on the outcome of the situation.
"I guess my dad knowing about this could help." You looked up a Connor and seeing him happy made you smile just a bit. You yawned out loud, feeling your eyes droop once again.
"Goodnight Connor.."
You fell into another slumber, and this time, there were no nightmares or dreams, and only a peaceful abyss was there to surround you.
The android cradled you gently, unbeknownst to what he was feeling. What he didn't quite comprehend was the fact that when he comforted you, his red wall didn't show up. He knew that he wasn't deviant, but who knows?
Maybe it was just in his programming to act as your protective brother.
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