Page 8 of Psycho Saviors

I prayed we made it out of here in one piece. I wanted to see Noms again, and Ray.

I stared down at the small skeleton in my arms, the sight gouging a hole in my chest as I sobbed, the bones crumbling into dust between my hands.

Why did this happen to me? Why was she taken from me?

A horrid snicker had my head snapping up as the old room came into focus, the room that had been my prison with him.

He stood over me, sneering down at me.

“You’re both better off dead. Absolutely useless.”

“Fuck you!” I screamed as I shot to my feet, wanting to claw his eyes out and tear him apart for what he’d done. He’d destroyed me, broken me into pieces, and he deserved to pay for his crimes.

My hands met thin air as he vanished, his sickening laugh echoing around me as the walls closed in, the pain and grief clutching tight at my heart as I crumpled to the floor.

It was so dark here, so cold and suffocating.

“You belong with her. Are you ready to see her again?”

I gasped, sucking in air as my eyes flicked around the room wildly, trying to orientate myself.

Where was I? This wasn’t the apartment.

“Scarlet, it’s okay.”

I stilled, registering Julian’s voice and trembling in his arms as he held me tight. One hand slid up to stroke my hair as I drew in ragged breaths.

“It’s not okay,” I hissed, hating how my voice broke. I didn’t want to cry, to let him see this vulnerable side of me.

I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting the waves of emotions threatening to pull me under.

“You’re right, it’s not. We’re locked up, prisoners, but I’m here with you. Kenny is here with you. You’re not alone.”

I ground my teeth together, finding some comfort in his words as he continued to caress my hair, the strange warmth and gentleness taking me by surprise.

His other hand rubbed my back in soothing circles, and I focused on calming my frantic heart, taking deep, steadying breaths.

“Want to talk about it?”

I pulled back, my sweaty shirt plastering to me as I met those dark eyes. I froze as he reached up to brush some hair from my clammy face.

“No,” I mumbled, entranced by the odd softness in his eyes.

“We’re going to be here a while, pyro. They say talking about nightmares and trauma helps you overcome it,” his voice was gentle, almost sympathetic, and I clenched my jaw.

“Says who?” I said sharply.

“You wanted to chat to pass the time, remember?” he said with a sigh, his hand falling from my face.

“And you just happen to want to ease my mind, huh? Listen to me trauma dump?” I scoffed as I sat up fully, straddling him for a moment before I moved to squish between him and the wall.

He thankfully moved to give me the room to sit, and I pulled my knees up in front of me, the nightmare still fresh in my mind.

“We all have some sort of darkness in our past, love. I told you some of mine,” he stated as he sat up and moved to sit beside me, our shoulders touching.

“You keep telling me we aren’t friends,” I muttered as I rested my chin on my knee.

“True. But we’re not strangers anymore, either. I think now’s as good a time as any to get to know one another more.”

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