Something About The Way || Greta Van Fleet

Chapter 16 - Nightmares

TW: mention of suicide

One Month Later

We spent the next few weeks trying to get back to the way we used to be. This might've been a stupid decision but we figured, why not pick up where we left off? So we bought the house and moved in.

Jake refused to have Josh help, which is understandable. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that situation. I've stayed off social media solely because I was scared to see what everyone was saying about it. Though Layla mentioned it was a good idea I stayed away from it, I got curious and checked one time.

They had the sweetest fans, but some, some were just plain crazy. They all think I've stolen their beloved singer from them, but that was so far from the truth and I couldn't even speak out about it.

Jake and I decided to keep the gender a surprise since we were so close to the finish line. We did a gender-neutral nursery but Jake tried so hard to make it more girly. He still had his mind set on the baby being a girl.

On the topic of us getting close to the finish line, my mental health has been at an all-time low. I'm a high-functioning depressed person so no one could tell, but it was so hard for me. My nightmares came back and it was hard for me to sleep. So many things on my mind at once and I can never bring myself to talk about any of them. To anyone.

I shot up out of bed shaking, sweating, and trying to catch my breath.

Jake woke up instantly, "Hey hey, you're okay." He sat up trying to pull me back down with him and I flinched, "It's just me." I leaned back down in bed in his arms as a tear fell down my cheek, "As long as I'm here no one can hurt you."

I looked up at him, "I'm sorry I keep waking you up."

He wiped my tear, "Don't be sorry, do you want to talk about it now?"

"No," I said, turning away from him. He scoffed as he moved away from me standing up from the bed, "Where are you going?"

He turned to face me, "When will you start opening up to me? We're about to have a baby and just moved in together and yet you've not once told me about what's bothering you."

"It's not that I don't want to...I just can't," I looked away from him.

"Okay well let me know when you can," he slid on pants and a sweatshirt before grabbing his keys.

"Are you leaving?"

"Yes, I'll come back when you're ready to talk. I can't keep sleeping in bed with a complete stranger," he walked out of the room slamming the door behind him.

Jake's Pov

I texted Layla as I got in my car asking if I could come over for a bit hoping she was awake this early. Luckily she was so I started driving to her house. I was angrily gripping my steering wheel the entire drive. How was I supposed to start a life with someone who tells me nothing about them?

I knocked on her door and she opened it immediately, "Why are you here so early? Is everything okay? Is Allani okay?"

"Yes she's fine, at least I think she is. I wouldn't know because she doesn't tell me shit."

"Oh god, you guys had another fight about this?" She rolled her eyes opening the door for me.

"I wouldn't call it a fight but I left because I was annoyed," I said, walking toward her living room.

"So a fight," she chuckled.

"Sure whatever, I just don't understand why she won't tell me anything. She won't even talk to me about the nightmares she's been having."

She looked at me with wide eyes, "The nightmares came back? Why didn't you tell me!"

"Came back?" I gave her a confused look, "I didn't mention it because I didn't think it was a big deal."

She put her head in her hands, "This is bad, Jake."

"Why? It's just nightmares, everyone has them."

"No, these aren't just nightmares. These are her nightmares," she said, running her hands through her hair.

"What's so bad about them?" I couldn't have been more confused at this point.

She hesitated before talking, "She's had a really hard life."

"I know, she's told me about her mom and brother," I interrupted.

"Did she not tell you about her dad?"

"She said that he left when she was three, that's why her mom was the way she was and that's about it."

She looked at me shocked, "He didn't leave when she was three, he left when she was fifteen and he was terrible to her."

"What did he do?"

"I feel bad telling you without her permission, but I think it'll help you understand." She took a deep breath, "He raped her on multiple occasions and was abusive in every sense of the word, then he left. Her mom was shitty just because, not because of him. She started making music because it was her escape from everything. Then she got thrown into this life and had to make friends in the industry, they were also extremely shitty people. Took advantage of her in any way they could." She paused as tears started pooling in her eyes, "I knew about the nightmares but I didn't know how much they were affecting her until...I went to her house one day and she wasn't answering the door so-"

"Please tell me you aren't about to say what I think you are," I felt a lump forming in my throat as my vision started getting blurry from my tears.

"I am, and I know it's hard to hear but you need to hear it because that's how bad these nightmares are. I knew she was home and I was worried that she wasn't answering, so I broke one of her windows. I was running around her house trying to find her and when I finally did she was laying down on her bathroom floor, paler than I ever thought possible. I thought she was dead, but I called 911 and luckily they were able to save her. I always feel like shit when I think about it because I remember her trying to talk to me multiple times but I was always too busy. She's the worst when it comes to asking for help, yet she still tried and I would always shut her down."

My mind was all over the place I didn't know what to think or how to act. But then I realized I had just left her alone at home after she just had one of the nightmares.