Iris

06 | sleepover

      Tears trickled over my pale cheeks and dripped onto my open palm as I continued to breathe heavily. I hated crying, especially in front of others. But remembering everything that had happened to Bun and that I was the reason behind an innocent bunny's death made it difficult to stop crying.

I was selfish. I shouldn't have thought of making a "friend" that day. I should've known that James would get angry.

"Try calming down, Iris. Breathe slowly, in and out."

My head shot up, my teary eyes meeting Roman's cold ones. His jaw was clenched and his grip on my shoulder was firm, perhaps indicating that he was afraid of letting me go.

"You're safe," he told me, sincerity lacing his voice. "You'll be fine with us. Nothing's gonna happen to you."

I tried to breathe slowly and to steady my rapid breathing, but it seemed to be the most difficult task at that moment. My lungs were pleading for air; any small amount of it. And my throat was begging for the oxygen to pass through it, rather than getting trapped within.

My hand clutched onto my abdomen at the searing pain that had taken over.

I squeezed my eyes shut, attempting to block all the events from Bun's death out, only for the blurred flashbacks from the night I was admitted to the hospital to flash through my mind. A sob escaped my lips as I instantly reopened my eyes.

I didn't want to remember that night; it was terrifying. Yes, I couldn't remember every single detail, but the ones my mind managed to grasp onto were enough to pump fear throughout my body.

A gasp left my lips once I felt a warm hand engulf my cold one. I craned my neck upwards, my blurred vision landing on Marcus. Concern and distress swirled within his hazel eyes that stared back at mine. One of his hands started to rub mine in circles while the other one cupped my face.

"Inhale and exhale, slowly and calmly," he spoke, his soft tone void of sarcasm and mocks; a contrast to how he had sounded over the past week. "It's not that easy, I know. But try focusing on something else. Distract yourself."

Try focusing on something else.

Something other than that night.

I was safe. I was going to be fine. And James was no longer a part of my life. He couldn't hurt me anymore.

Bun was in a better place.

"It's working, isn't it?" Marcus asked softly, giving a reassuring squeeze to my hand. I hesitantly nodded. It wasn't better, but the last thing I needed was to draw more attention to myself.

"It's getting b-better," I whispered, inhaling and exhaling slowly just like Marcus had said.

"That's good," spoke Marcus, pulling his hand away from mine. My heart skipped a beat in sudden fear as I instantly missed the warmth my brother's grip had provided.