Canvas & Keys

2. You're Not Helping My Insomnia

***Guys, I've got to say one thing before this chapter. 

I have the most awesome best friend in the entire world.  Why?  because she got a tattoo in honor of TTH - Praeteritum, Praesens, Futurum.  I was in awe when she sent me the picture!  

Sorry, I just had to brag!  :D

And now...chapter 2!***

Chapter 2

You're Not Helping My Insomnia

I wasn't asleep for long. The screaming woke me up.

As soon as I heard it, echoing down the hallway, I bolted up from my bed and ran out of the room down to Ash's. I could hear Emmy and Violet trying to calm her down, but it was no use.

Ash was sitting up, eyes wide with tears streaking down her cheeks. I knew she must have been in pain. There was no way she couldn't have been with the amount of injuries she had, even thought it had been two weeks. Who knew, though? Maybe, to her, it was only a few hours, minutes, or seconds that had passed.

But when she saw me, she paused before gut-wrenching sobs came out. "Hattie!" she cried, holding out her still slightly bruised arms. "Hattie, what...?"

I rushed forward, dropping down to the bed in front of her before taking her into my arms. She buried her face in the crook of my neck, still sobbing. "Shh. Everything's okay now. You're okay."

Emmy and Violet were standing close behind me. Out of the corner of my eye, John, Drake, and Cruz appeared in the doorway, poised for a fight they thought they would meet. As I held onto Ash, I nodded my head toward the doorway, silently asking if I could talk to her alone. There was no way I would get her to calm down enough with everyone there, wanting to hear what had happened. Emmy and Violet nodded back and had to push the guys out since they weren't budging much.

"Shh," I whispered to her, finally just the two of us. "You're okay."

"No, I'm not, Hattie," she whispered back, shivering against me. "None of us are."

"You're okay now."

"But the others..." She sniffled, leaning back to look at me with red, puffy eyes. "They're not...they're not here, are they?"

I shook my head, swallowing the lump quickly forming in my throat. "No. You were the only one who they...who they dropped off."

"So Beau and Gage...Savannah...they still have them?"

"Yeah," I said gruffly. "Yeah, they do."

Ash's bottom lip trembled as she closed her eyes and shook her head. "How long have I been here?"

"Two weeks," I told her. "You were in horrible shape. A deep muscle bruise, several broken ribs, broken nose, and your wrists...they had you chained up and they were rubbed raw."

She opened her eyes, her gaze going to the gauze that covered her wrists. "We tried everything to get out of them, but they were so tight. All of us had deep gashes by the end of the first day. Except Gage. He..."

I reached up, brushing her tangled hair from her face. "Ash...can you tell me what happened? Can you remember anything?"

She laughed humorlessly. "I remember everything up until they dragged me into the helicopter, Hattie. That was the only time they were nice enough to knock me out."