Metal Chains {Dylan O'Brien}

Chapter 6

"I had a really nice time tonight." I told Dylan as we stood in front of my front door. "I did too." he replied, smiling at the way I hugged my teddy bear to my chest. I stood on my tip toes and kissed his cheek. "Thank you." I whispered in his ear. "You're welcome, beautiful." he said, causing me to blush. I hoped he couldn't tell in the dim lighting. "Goodnight Dylan." I whispered, and then slipped through the front door.

I quietly climbed up the stairs, still smiling over the thought of tonight. He was just such a gentleman, and he was so sweet. I grinned at the thought as I got dressed for bed. I realized how cold I felt all over and wondered if it was because I knew what it felt like to hold Dylan's hand, how it felt to feel his warmth radiate through me. I never felt that way when Adam held my hand. I opened up The Maze Runner and started to read again.

I woke up hugging Sonny to my chest and the thoughts of yesterday flooding my mind. Without even thinking, I shuffled down the stairs, still clutching the orange bear to my chest. Everyone was still asleep so I began to prepare breakfast, still smiling. After about a half an hour of dancing around the kitchen and humming, I had nearly made enough breakfast for my whole family.

"Something smells nice." I turned around to see my mom smiling at me.

"Thanks, I just thought that since I was the first one awake I should—"

"You're glowing." she cut me off, still staring at my face.

"I'm what?"

"Glowing." she repeated. "How did last night go?" She took my place at the breakfast bar and watched me flip the bacon. "It was amazing mom. He's such a gentleman and he's sweet and caring." I told her. "He's just so perfect. It's got to be too good to be true." I confided in her, hoping my older brothers wouldn't eavesdrop and see my girly side. "He's a very sweet boy honey. I know you've been hurt in the past, but I think Dylan might be the one to help you heal." My mother stood up and poured herself some orange juice.

I don't know why, but her comment upset me more than encouraged me. Suddenly, my mother paused and stared straight ahead. "Mom? Are you o—" Before I could finish, her glass shattered on the ground in slow motion as she began to crumple to the tile floor. I dropped the spatula and rushed forward to catch her, but I didn't make it in time. There was a sickening crack as her head smashed against the tiles, then fell to one side, unconscious.

I knelt down next to her and shook her. "Mom?" I shook her again. Nothing. "Mom?" I repeated, and shook her again. "Come on, wake up." I pushed her back off of the floor and lifted her head on to my lap. Then I saw the puddle of red on the floor. Blood. "Oh god, TRISTAN! MATT, AUSTIN!" I screamed their names over and over, praying that they'd hear me. "Wake up! Mom?!" I let tears slide down my cheeks. "What's wrong?!" one of my brothers called and I heard footsteps pounding down the stairs. "Call Dad, call 911, do something!" I wanted to scream.

"Oh my god. Mom?!" Austin knelt down next to her and shook her, but like me, got no response. With shaking, bloody hands, I stumbled over to my cell phone that was sitting on the counter. Dial 911, dial 911. My fingers kept shaking and I kept hitting all of the buttons more times than I meant to. Austin took the phone from me and dialed. I didn't hear what it said, all I heard was my own screaming thoughts. Please don't be dead. Please, please.

"Ambulance is on their way." Austin knelt down next to our mom's lifeless body and again, called for our other two brothers. I couldn't breathe. My breath was shallow and forced as I gasped for air. Austin looked at me and panic flashed across his face, knowing that I was having another anxiety attack. "Katy." The word fell from his lips with caution. "Katy, I need you to breathe." Austin tried to talk to me. Again, he called for Matt and Tristan. This time, both boys were already running down the stairs. "What's going on?" one voice asked as they walked in, probably not taking in the scene yet.

"Help Katy, I've got mom." Austin told the two boys, who must have looked panicked. All of a sudden, hands grabbed my cheeks. "Katy, look at me." Matt's hands felt warm against my cold skin. "Katy." he spoke again. My eyes darted around trying to find his eyes, which always calmed me down whenever I had an anxiety attack. "Right here, right here Kates, just breathe. Remember how we practiced?" Matt stared into my eyes and took deep breaths with me. "You're okay. You're okay. Mom is okay. Just breathe."

I looked at my brother, and nodded, trying to take another deep breath with him. "There we go. You're okay." He grabbed my hand in his and squeezed it. Then, with his free hand, he pulled me into a hug, shielding me from the rest of the world. I could hear the ambulances approaching, and Tristan is the one that ran outside and showed them where mom was. The whole time, I was having a terrible time trying to comprehend what was going on.

It wasn't until I saw the ambulances pull my mom out on a stretcher and put her into the back of the ambulance that I totally lost it. I started to cry uncontrollably on the ground, my hands and clothes still covered in my mother's blood. Suddenly, I was pulled into someone's arms. I didn't care who it was, I wrapped my arms around the person and cried. It wasn't until I had calmed down that I recognized the familiar scent. "Dylan." I whispered. "What are you doing here?"

"I had this feeling that you would need me today, so I came." He didn't release me and I didn't release him, I rested my head on his shoulder which was already wet from my tears. "Let's get you cleaned up." After a short while, he let me go and stood up. Then he helped me up and lead me into my home.
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Yikes this was pretty intense to write, but we needed some conflict, eh? I hope you guys liked this. Have a nice day/night.