What Could Have Been: Don't Breathe A/U

What Could Have Been - Part 2

Hearing his girlfriend start to mumble something in her sleep, Alex glanced over to the figure lying beside him in the bed. The boy had been up for a while, just lying in bed and staring at the white ceiling above him in the dark bedroom. He, Rocky, and Diddy have been living in California together for almost three months now. They had found a small two-bedroom apartment that was affordable, and Diddy was going to a nearby school regularly with some friends she had made in her time of being in California. Turning on his side, Alex watched Rocky as she kept mumbling incoherently to herself. With this kind of thing being routine by now, the Miller boy already knew that his girlfriend was having another nightmare about that night.

When her mumbling began to get a little louder, and when she began tossing and turning, the teen sat up a little and gently placed his hand against Rocky's shoulder before he began trying to wake her up from the nightmare she was having. When Alex saw his girlfriend begin to stir, he gently spoke her name, causing the girl to suddenly sit up in the bed and glance around the dark room until her fearful eyes landed on him. As soon as she saw the boy beside her, the blonde haired girl instantly felt relieved as she pulled her boyfriend into a tight embrace. In response, Alex wrapped his arms around her as he slowly rubbed her back in a comforting gesture.

After some time, the boy had calmed his friend down, and she had told him what her nightmare had been about. As suspected, the nightmare had taken place during the time the the two friends had robbed The Blind Man's house along with their deceased friend, Money. But in her nightmare, Alex didn't make it out alive. Instead of escaping the house unscathed, the Miller teen had been shot and killed right in front of her just seconds before they were able to escape The Blind Man's house together. Knowing that Rocky's nightmare was based off of events that could have easily happened, the boy knew how realistic and scary the bad dreams could be. As the couple found comfort in each other's presence, they both lied back down with their arms wrapped around one another. Being in Alex's arms was a reassurance to Rocky that he was simply there with her, alive and well.

Waking up a few hours later, the boy soon realized that his girlfriend had left to drop her younger sister off at school for the day. Getting out of bed, Alex got changed into a pair of jeans, and a t-shirt with a hoodie to complete the look. Once he was dressed, the Miller boy made his way to the kitchen area to fix himself some breakfast. After getting himself a simple bowl of cereal, Alex sat down at the circular kitchen table and slowly ate his food alone in the quiet apartment. At one point, the right sleeve of the boy's hoodie slipped up ever so slightly, but it was enough to put him in a daze when he caught sight of the many scars that covered his wrist. All of a sudden, it was like the teen found himself in a frozen state as he couldn't help but remember all the memories that the many straight-lined scars encased.

Suddenly hearing a door open and close after a few minutes, Alex was quick to come out of his daze and pull his sleeve back down to cover his scarred wrist as he heard footsteps near him. "Hey, Alex." A soft voice greeted as he felt a pair of arms wrap around his shoulders from behind. "Hey, Rocky." The boy replied, glancing at the girl and giving her a small smile before she let go of him and sat down in the chair beside him. "I'm sorry about last night." The blonde haired girl spoke quietly, her gaze locked on the table. Forgetting about his breakfast, Alex moved his attention to the girl. "It's ok. You don't need to apologize for anything. I get nightmares too, sometimes." He said reassuringly as the Miller teen gently placed his left hand over Rocky's. And he was telling the truth. He did get nightmares as well, but not all of them were about that same day. Some of Alex's nightmares were of the times his father had abused him or blamed him for his mother leaving them years ago.

"Alex?" Rocky asked after a few minutes, gaining the boy's attention again as he turned to look at her. But as soon as he did, he noticed that the girl wasn't looking at him, but rather, she was looking down at his hand. "What are those?" She asked as she kept her gaze on his hand, or, more specifically, his wrist. The teen followed the girl's gaze to see that his sleeve had come up just enough to reveal just a couple of his many scars. "It's nothing." Alex said, quickly pulling his arm back and pulling his sleeve back down as well. "Is that why you wear jackets and long sleeved shirts all the time?" She asked, slowly putting pieces together. Becoming ashamed of his past actions, the boy became silent as he moved his gaze to his lap. "Why didn't you tell me, Alex?" Rocky asked quietly, concern coating her voice. "Because I knew you were dealing with your own stuff, and I didn't want you to worry about me. Besides, I haven't done it in a while." He said with a small sigh as he still kept his gaze down. "Why did you do it?" The worried girl asked carefully. "It doesn't matter anymore." The boy said. "Of course it does, Alex. I care about you, and I want to be able to help you and be there for you any way I can. Do you trust me?" Rocky asked, causing her friend to slowly look back up at her.