Underthink

Chapter Twelve // Safe

- James' POV -

The train journey was silent, Louise fell asleep listening to music beside me and I stared out the window with too much on my mind. I didn't know what to expect from the sleepover we were having at Louise's dads house, all I knew was I would be there to support her and keep her calm if things got out of hand.

Louise's phone vibrated loudly on the table and a message appeared on her lock screen from a random guy named Steven, I leant across her chair slightly and looked at her phone.

"Don't look at my phone" Louise said loudly as she sat up and grabbed it, I jumped and looked at her.

"Who the fuck is Steven?" I asked, an old lady facing us stared at me in disgust at my language.

"How am I suppose to know? All he said was hi, calm down" Louise said in frustration as she deleted the message quickly and looked away from me, I sighed and lowered my head. Our stop was coming up so we made our way to the doors of the train and waited for it to stop, Louise's dad was supposedly waiting for us in the car park.

"I'm nervous" Louise whispered as the train slowed down, I looked at her for a minute before giving her a reassuring smile. Louise is strong, she can do anything.

We got off the train and I carried four heavy bags while Louise walked on in front of me, she glanced around the train platform looking for her dad. A car horn beeped suddenly and a man waved in a black jeep, that must be him.

Louise looked back at me until I had caught up with her and then we walked towards the jeep together, she smiled at her dad as he rolled down the window.

"Hello Louise, hello James" He said in a posh accent, I threw our suitcases and bags into the boot and then got into the back of the jeep with Louise. She grabbed my hand tightly and smiled at me.

"How was your train journey?" Louise's dad asked while driving, I stayed silent.

"It was fine I guess, where are we eating tonight?" Louise asked while messaging her friends as usual, she let go of my hand.

"Oh it's a surprise!" He shouted enthusiastically, his house wasn't far from the train station but boy was it big. His house looked bigger than Louise's and that's saying something, her house is like a mansion.

We pulled up beside a fountain just outside the huge house, Louise's dad went to the boot and I helped him lift out our bags as Louise stood there and messaged her friends again..

"Thank you James" He said with a smile. We made our way into the spotless house and were greeted by a very fancy lady in a red dress, Louise looked her up and down in confusion.

"Guys this is Melissa, my partner" Louise's dad said while putting his arm around the tall lady's waist, Louise looked shocked. She grabbed her bags in anger and dragged them up the glass stairs, I sighed loudly.

"Lovely to meet you" I said to the woman before running after Louise who was clearly angry over the fact that her dad was in a new relationship.

"Louise stop!" I shouted, she made it to a bedroom and slammed the door before I could reach her. I thought I was here to support and help her? How can I do that from the other side of a door?

My phone began to ring, I walked to the end of the huge corridor where I could take the call in peace without Louise loudly sobbing in the background. It was Iris, why is she calling me?

"Iris?" I said weirdly when I answered, the wind was blowing loudly into the microphone and deafening my ears.

"James! Where are you?!" She asked, she sounded like she was worried.

"I'm at Louise's dads house for the night.. Why?" I questioned, she sighed loudly.

"Something is wrong with Sophia, she messaged me saying she couldn't breathe and that you weren't answering her and she needed help" Iris explained, I instantly began to freak out.

"Fuck!" I shouted angrily, I didn't receive any of her calls or texts because I was on a train with no service.

"She could be having a panic attack, her anxiety is really bad" I said while biting my lip, I have no idea what to do.

"She has panic attacks? I never knew" Iris said with a huff.

"I can't go to her, I'm at a family thing and I won't be home for another few hours" She explained, I nodded and she apologised for not being able to help.

"It sounds like she really needs you James.." Iris said quietly as the wind blew into the microphone deafening me once again.

"I'm over two hours away, I don't know what to do. I can't leave Louise here she needs me tonight" I said while pacing in frustration. Me and Iris were silent for a second, I was stressing out.

- Sophia's POV -

Do you ever get those moments where everything is so loud, so bad and so scary that you can't control your body? Your body just shuts down, it aches and you can't help but cry and struggle for breath.

My bedroom floor was cold and so were my hands, they shook violently and wouldn't stop for hours. I was home alone and terrified. Nobody was coming to save me from this nightmare and I had to face it on my own but I couldn't.

My phone was out of reach but it was constantly vibrating on the wooden floor as if somebody was spamming me with text messages, I began to pull myself across the floor even though moving in the slightest made my head spin faster than ever.

My eye sight was blurry but if I stared at the screen long enough I could make out what it said, they were messages from Iris.

"I called James but he can't come and get you, I'm so sorry Soph"

"Are you okay? Do you need me to call you?"

"Sophia answer me!!"

"James told me that you have bad panic attacks, I'm here for you"

I threw my phone across the room and it landed in my washing basket, looks like I'm not getting any more calls or texts for a while.

I lay still on the floor for a moment, staring at the ceiling and trying to breathe properly. It was almost as if someone had hit me on the head repeatedly with a hammer, I was in so much pain.

Suddenly there was a loud banging noise from downstairs and it made me jump, I began to cry again because my anxiety was rising.

"SOPHIA!!" A voice screamed from downstairs, the banging noises got louder and louder. Somebody was at the door.

"SOPHIA LET ME IN!" They screamed, I couldn't make out who it was. I sat up slowly and held my head for a moment but I couldn't get up. I was too dizzy for that.

The banging got louder once again and then it sounded like the door had been broken open, thumping came from the stairs and suddenly James appeared at my bedroom door. I looked up at him and burst into tears all over again, he rushed over to me and sat down on the floor before pulling me into his chest and holding me tightly.

"You're okay, You're safe, It's going to be okay" He said quietly before kissing my forehead, I kept my arms wrapped around him for as long as I could.

I was safe.