Sang's Break GA+SB

Chapter Ten

A/N I know I mentioned I hate filler in literally the chapter before this, but I'm too excited for Sang's Birthday Bash. So here's a short chapter so we can skip to the good stuff.

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I'm being swallowed whole.

I wake up gasping for air. My face is wet, and I feel weight over my torso. I whimper as I struggle against the weight. I know I'm waking from another nightmare, but I can't fully register my surroundings. I don't know what's on me.

"Trouble, Sweetie, listen to my voice. It was just a nightmare. Take a deep breath. That's right, take another." Gabriel moves his arm from my torso and cups my face, turning it towards him. His thumbs swipe at the tears I was unknowingly shedding. Luke squeezes me, his arm still resting over me.

"I'm sorry," I breathe out.

"You don't need to apologize. Is everything okay; do you always have nightmares?" Luke asks me.

I nod and look at Luke. "They're not always nightmares, sometimes they're memories. My stupid brain never learned how to forget."

"Was this one a memory?" Luke questions.

I sigh, "Yeah."

"What do you mean your brain never forgets?" Gabriel chimes in.

"Oh y'know, photographic memory and all that. A blessing and a curse, unfortunately." I move to stretch, not wanting to delve into my past or discuss my ability to remember everything. I've worked with therapists, but there's only so much I can do. It's easy to heal from trauma when you don't remember every second of it, but I can. I've improved in some ways. I used to only be able to take baths, but now I can shower again. Sometimes I still get panic attacks while trying to shower, but there are other triggers that lead to it usually.

That wretched woman had nearly killed me, one of her many attempts. She tied me to a stool and left me in the water for hours. First burning my skin with hot water, only to suffocate in the freezing water when it died out. Eventually Marie, my half-sister, demanded that I get out. She released me but didn't bother helping me any further. I could barely crawl into my bed. Changing clothes and bandaging myself was impossible.

"If you ever want to talk about it, we're all open ears. You only need to tell one of us, and we'll do what we can." Luke rests his hand on my bare back, rubbing soft circles. I relax at the touch and lay back down.

"So, Meanie. What have you got planned for my birthday tomorrow?"

He bops me on the nose with his pointer finger, "You wish, Trouble. It's a surprise."

"Which means you have no idea, huh?" I tease.

He grumbles, "It's hard! We're still learning about you, and I only had three days to work with."

He looks so cute. He's pouting and tugging at one of his blonde locks in frustration. I move my hand and grab the one near his face, pulling it to me and holding it. "Can we do another sleepover? There's still a lot of sleepover activities we didn't do."

"That sounds like a great idea, Cupcake," Luke adds.

Gabriel contemplates the idea. "Do I at least get to dress you up for a nice dinner first?"

I beam at him, "I did promise that you can do my hair, and I'd love if you would pick my outfit and make me pretty. Would you pick my pajamas too?"