It's Always You

Chapter 3: Nightmare

The soothing sound of a guitar relaxed every inch of her being. She was laying on soft grass with her eyes closed and her favourite person in the world sitting next to her. The woman playing the guitar paused for a second, gently running her fingers through Alexis's hair before returning to the instrument. It was like it was before. When she was happy. So what if she never met her parents; she had someone who was basically already doing the job of two parents and doing it well. So what if she didn't have friends; she had her older sister. That was all she needed to be happy.

Even when she would come home from work exhausted, she always seemed to make time for Alexis. When she had a bad dream, she'd be there to comfort her. And on those nights where her sister would be out of the house and she'd cry herself to sleep but her sister would be there in the morning for her. She never knew fully why she left the entire night sometimes, but she'd just say she was protecting her. And she'd always believe her because that's what she was.

Her protector.

Suddenly, the sound of the guitar stopped and she was no longer laying on the soft grass or felt the heat of the summer sun. Instead, she heard the flickering of flames and the sound of cheering. The cold winter wind bit at her skin through her thin clothes with only her long scarf to bring her warmth and comfort.

She wanted to keep her eyes closed. Because if she kept them closed, it's like it never happened. And if it never happened, then she could cling to her happy dream.

But no matter how hard she tried to keep her eyes closed, some invisible force pried her eyes open to witness the horror no ten-year-old should ever see. In front of a large bonfire and resting on a spike was-

''Alexis! Wake up!'' she bolted up right, her heart hammering painfully against her chest. Her entire body was drenched in a cold sweat, her muscles snapped tight and refusing to move an inch as her mind raced. Her eyes darted to every corner of the room, not recognizing where she was at first. 

When she felt someone rubbing her back, she forcing herself to look to the side. It was Miranda, her worry filled blue eyes barely visible due to the dim lighting of the room. Before she could say anything, Alexis practically tackled her, burying her face into her neck and trying to keep herself from breaking down in tears. There was whispering and distorted voices ringing in her ears. They laughed and mocked her as she clung desperately to Miranda like she was leaving her.

After a few minutes of back rubs and head kisses, Alexis managing to calm down. She pushed herself off of Miranda and turned her back to her. She squeezed her eyes shut as Miranda turned on a lamp. Taking in slow, deep breaths; she was able to push back tears she didn't want to shed. She felt arms around her and Miranda's chin resting on her shoulder.

''It was about Lex, wasn't it? Do you want to talk about it?'' Miranda muttered quietly. Alexis merely shook her head, pressing her hand against her forehead. ''You know I'm here to talk about these nightmares.''

''Nightmares you can wake up from. Memories you can't escape.'' she muttered. Miranda didn't say anything and pulled Alexis a bit closer, which she didn't protest or fight back against it. Her eyelids felt heavy and whenever she tried to keep them close she would feel a burning sensation that would force her to open them.

''Is there anything I can do to help you fall back asleep?'' she asked, pressing an innocent kiss on her jawline. At first, she thought of something dirty but it wasn't appealing at the moment for obvious reasons.

''I think I'm going to make myself something to eat. I'll be back in a bit.'' she said, grabbing her scarf and leaving the room before Miranda could say anything.