Moving To Silence

Sixteen. After Amalie

Tell me that you love it

Please, Please, stop it!

Not until you admit it

The cold sweat that covers my body is not an unusual sensation when I forget to take my sleeping medication, it is becoming more common when I spend nights with Storm. Even with the packet of pills stored safely in my bag, he makes me forget I need them and sometimes I don't, but an orgasm doesn't mean the nightmares won't still come.

"Nel, Nel, wake up!" His voice is distant and sounds further away than it would be, somewhere deep in the recess of my mind I recognise Storm's voice and warmth.

My mind is still too hazy with the cloud of nightmare, my instincts kick in and I jolt forward and grab his outstretched arm, he falters before I twist his arm behind his back and straddle his hips. His face pushed into the pillow I was sleeping against mere minutes ago.

"Nel, Nellie!" Storm's voice finally clicks in my scattered brain, I tumble off of him, hugging my knees to my chest and burying my blazing face there. "Hey, I got you, you're okay"

Breathing heavy, my eyes flicker around the room in a paranoid frenzy, they aren't here but I can feel them like ghosts licking my skin, an infestation I can't kill. He doesn't push for details of this nightmare, not when my hands shake as they hold me together around my knees.

"I'm going to pull you in for a hug, okay?" He says, detailing each movement he makes before he does it, as soon as his soft hands wrap around my wrists, I am flinging myself into his embrace.

He holds me tight against his chest, my arms around his neck and face nuzzles in there, finding comfort in his warmth and the way his hands rub calming circles into my chest to return me to the safe haven he is.

"You're good, I promise" I can only nod into the base of his neck, attempting to snuggle further into his body than is physically possible while relishing in the fact I'm not doing this alone anymore. As I pull my head away Storm's eyes scan me for anymore shaking and when he realises, he is feeling better he begins to smile.

"That was a real ninja move you pulled on me" He grins, tugging his hoodie over my head before grabbing one for himself, despite the fear of this morning I feel giddy now.

Sorry, I mouth to him again but he only chuckles in reply before tugging me downstairs to be greeted with the smell of pancakes... burnt pancakes to be exact.

"Please tell me Aiden didn't burn the pancakes again" Storm groans as we enter the very tense kitchen, not the atmosphere I expected.

"He burns five batches and somehow I am the one who isn't allowed near the stove" Sutton groans, I stifle my amusement before rounding the bench and remaining mix and spatula from Aiden's grasp, his sad eyes still follows me.

"See Aiden, this is how you make pancakes" Cedric jabs, setting the toppings and cutlery on the island for everyone to choose from. I feel proud of myself for the third time in twelve hours for sinking back into their lives again.

"I am usually in charge of breakfast, but apparently we were the last one's down and Aiden got too hungry to wait" Storm explains, making sure I don't feel left out.

How can a group of people go from saying things so hurtful and making a person feel so unwelcome, to sitting around a table smiling and joking around; like it has always been that way. I can't manage to take my eyes off Storm either, he captures my attention in every moment.

After what happened last night and the way he cared for me this morning I am eternally grateful for the kindness he has shown me, I don't think I will ever be able to express how that has made me feel. It's as though none of that fucked up stuff happened, and a part of me thinks now that I do fucking deserve something good after everything else.