under the magnolia tree - dreamwastaken x oc

chapter 16 - nightmare.

!!!TW: MENTAL ILLNESS!!!

After I started the music I went downstairs quietly making sure not to wake her and I went to go talk to her mom.

-

I got downstairs and found her mom in the kitchen cleaning up for the night.

"Well hello, Clay how is Alyssa? She hasn't come out of her room all day. What was she so upset about?" Her mom asked me concerned.

"She is doing much better now. She was really sad earlier about her dad. I don't know what caused it or how it started but something brought up all her memories with him, and she just got really sad. I helped her though we ended up just watching a Disney movie after and now she's asleep." I said reassuring her.

"Oh my god thank you much Clay. It's been hard on all of us. She was definitely closest to him and I know it hurts her. Her depression became awful. I am pretty sure he is the reason she started to hurt herself." She said.

My eyes became wide.

Why would she do that to herself?

"Well, it seems now she is doing much better. I think it just got a little too overwhelming, but I do have something to ask of you, and it is totally fine if you say no I was just wondering." I said getting nervous.

"Yea Clay was is it?" She said.

"Is there any way I can stay over here tonight. Just to make sure Alyssa is okay through the night. I can sleep on the floor. I just want to make sure she is alright tonight." I said very very anxiously.

Before I could say anything else I was stopped.

"Clay it is perfectly fine if you stay over. She probably needs it anyway. I can tell she really likes you and you guys have been friends forever. See with a boy she brought home I would've never let but if it's you it's different." She said in a soft voice.

I couldn't help but smile and thank her before heading upstairs back to Alyssa. I started to walk away but I was stopped by her mom talking again.

"And Clay." She said.

I turned around.

"You don't need to sleep on the floor." She said with a smile.

I smiled back and went back to Alyssa's room to see her sprawled out on her bed. I slowly took off her comforter and her bedsheets slipping her under and then making room for myself.

I turned off her fairy lights and went on my phone.

I was on my phone for about half an hour before I heard Alyssa move.

She had rolled on putting her head on my chest and laying a hand on my stomach. I couldn't help but smile. Soon enough I fell asleep with a hand on her back and my other under my head.

It was around 4 am and I woke up hearing heavy breathing and crying.

~

Today was a very tough day for me but Clay made it better. I feel bad for ignoring him earlier today now but I am pretty sure he forgot about it, or at least I hope he did.

He set up a movie tonight to calm me down which was nice. We started to watch Moana but I fell asleep. Another Disney Princess movie I fell asleep to. I have fallen asleep in front of Clay before so I didn't really care if he was there or not.

[This part is a dream or I guess more of a nightmare]

I was in a field with tall grass. Suddenly the grass changed to a flower field. I was a young child and I had a basket with flowers in it. I then started to run towards a man. He looked like my dad.

He started to walk towards me and I got scared. Soon enough the whole sky was filled with gray clouds everywhere. I ran into the woods on the side of the field and now I was full-on sprinting.

My dad had a beer bottle in his hand and he was chasing after me trying to catch me. He was yelling things and he was trying to hurt me. I eventually ran out of breath and tripped on a rock cutting my chin.

I had dropped the basket of flowers and they went everywhere. I was quiet and couldn't hear any noise from the forest, not even wild animals.

The next thing I know I turned and my dad was right there with the beer bottle in his hand ready to swing it at me.

I had woken up from a terrible nightmare rising from my bed not being able to breathe. I didn't even realize Clay was next to me because I was having yet another panic attack.

I was trying to catch my breath and I just couldn't. This one was one of the worst ones I've ever had.

Clay had finally awoken to me sitting up grabbing my throat gasping for air. I felt a hand on my back and turned around very quickly looking into his eyes and freaking out because the last image of my dad was still in my head.

I flinched backing away from Clay.

I was scared of him.

"Hey hey, what's wrong? What's wrong. Hey." He was terrified trying to figure out what was happening with me.

He noticed me gasping for air again and he tried his best to help me.

"Alyssa oh my god. Hey, I'm here. I'm right here. No one is going to hurt you. You are perfectly fine. I am right here. I am right here and I am going to stay right here. Hey, you are okay. You are fine." He said grabbing my arm and wrapping me with his body.

He tucked my head under his and rubbed my back again. By this point, the panic attack was over and I was in tears. I couldn't help but cry from the scary nightmare and the fact that I had a very bad panic attack.

He rocked our bodies side to side as I cried in his arms grabbing onto one harder and harder because I was so scared.

He kept repeating the same words over and over getting me to finally calm down and talk to him.

I was still in tears when he tried to talk to me.

"What happened? What was the nightmare about?" He said sadden by my crying.

"My dad," I said weeping in his arms.

He didn't even say anything after that. He just hugged me tighter. As tight as he could.

I cried more before calming down after 5 minutes. Once again I looked up at him and he wiped my tears away this time with the back of his index fingers.

I let out a soft smile before he tucked me back in this time holding me. He continued to rub my back and right as I was falling asleep I heard him say one last thing.

"Today was just not a good day and that's okay. Tomorrow will be better I promise Lysa." He said as he kissed the top of my head. He continued to rub my back until I fell asleep again and I am assuming he fell asleep not long after.

We slept through the rest of the night and by morning we woke up in the same spot.

His arm still wrapped around me on my back and he was facing me but this time he was asleep.