Broken & Pretty..Steve Harrington

055.

THE MEMORIES

⇾best day of my life by american authors

i'm never gonna give it up, no, please don't wake me up

⸺TIFFANY stood in an open field surrounded by tall grass that just went up past her knees. The sun was setting and the clouds in the sky turned pink. A small breeze passed through her hair and the grass danced along. Tiffany looked around, hoping to find some indication of where she could be, but all of a sudden, her focus was brought to something else.

Cory Henderson and Billy Hargrove.

Her two closest confidants walking side by side through the grass. A numb expression on their faces and their steps perfectly in sync. Cory in his Scoops Ahoy uniform, his hair tousled around and his eyes a cloudy white colour, almost as if the life had been drained from them. Billy's hair was damp, his clothes covered in his own blood, his veins black and a large wound in his chest.

Tiffany's breathing started to speed up as she saw her two dead friends walking towards her. She tried to take a few steps back, but her feet were frozen in place. The two get closer to her and begin circling around her.

"You did this to me." Billy says in a harsh tone which is followed by a remark from Cory. "I lost everything because of you."

"You made me do this." Billy comments right into Tiffany's ear.

"You forced me to die." Cory spits out. They both begin to harshly say insults, insinuating that their death is the fault of Tiffany. The insults begin to flood her brain and no matter how much she tries to drown them out, their voices just get louder. Tiffany put her hands over her ears and began screaming, trying to get the pain away, but it just got louder and louder and louder until...

Tiffany sprung up, breathing heavily. She put her hand on her chest and her sudden wakening woke up Steve who was laying next to her. He sat up as well and put his arm around her, pulling her close to him. "Hey, hey, Tiff. It's okay. You're gonna be okay. It's just a dream. It's not real."

Tiffany held on to Steve's arm as tears fell down her face. Her breathing was unsteady and panic still flooded her mind. Steve made sure to hold her close to give Tiffany some kind of comfort. This wasn't the first time Steve had to help her in the middle of the night.

Tiffany had gone so long without a nightmare, but recently, it's been getting worse than before. Ever since that night in the mall, Tiffany has been burdened with horrible guilt. She's under the impression that the death of Billy and Cory was her fault. She's been blaming herself for a year.

Tiffany's dreams mostly consisted of reliving that day or Cory and Billy almost taunting her, but there's one that she's remembered and that's because it had nothing to do with either of them. She sees this little boy sitting in an attic with jars of spiders in front of him. There were candles near the jars and his eyes were closed. There was blood running down his nose and suddenly, the nightmare flickers. It switches to the same boy sitting in a chair as Dr. Brenner tattoos the numbers 001 into his arm. She didn't know what it meant, but it was definitely weird.

After Tiffany had calmed down a little, she went to the bathroom just to fully compose herself. Tiffany splashed some cold water at her face, hoping to wake up some more. She looked at herself in the mirror and immediately looked away. Tiffany was disgusted with herself. She hated herself. She couldn't look at herself. She knew it was her fault. It was all Tiffany's fault.

Tiffany looked down at her hands and saw the small scars scattered everywhere. She looked away and shook her hands a little, trying to shake away the nightmares. Tiffany walked through the small house and back into her and Steve's room where she saw him sitting on the edge of the bed. He immediately looked up when he saw Tiffany come back into the room and motioned for her to walk over to him. Tiffany did as she was told and stood in front of him, to which Steve put his hands on her waist and looked up at her.

"I still think you should try talking to someone." Steve suggested. He had been suggesting therapy for a very long time, but for obvious reasons, Tiffany didn't like that idea.

"Therapy is just a trick for scam artists to get rich." Steve let out a small laugh. Even when she's upset, Tiffany had her unique kind of charm. Steve tapped the bed next to him and Tiffany sat down. He put his arm around her shoulder and Tiffany wrapped her arms around his waist. They sat there in each other's arm just for a few minutes, enjoying where they were when Steve decided to speak up. "Maybe it'll help if you accept their death. I mean, you didn't go to their funerals."

"You know I couldn't." Tiffany hated herself because she figured that it was her fault they died. When Cory and Billy had a funeral, she was supposed to give eulogies at both funerals and she was ready, but as soon as she got there and saw the coffins, Tiffany couldn't do it. She broke down crying both times and ran away.

"I know, and I don't blame you. You went through a lot." Steve said as Tiffany laid her head on his shoulder. "But maybe it wouldn't hurt to at least see them?"

Tiffany took a deep breath and stood up. She rubbed her face in frustration since she really didn't want to do it, but she knew that Steve was right. "Alright. Neither of us have work today, so can we get this over with?"

"Way to be enthusiastic, babe." Steve said sarcastically as he stood up as well. He gave Tiffany a chaste kiss before pulling her into another hug. Tiffany let out a shakey breath, mentally preparing for her visit. Tiffany was going to see her family again.

A/N

This story is going to be edited before I upload the next chapter, but I'll try and get it done quickly