Love Letters

Chapter 22 - Memories

Pic at the top is Chloe's outfit for her date with Will.

Sterling rushed out of the house, closely followed by Will and Chloe, all of them worried and nervous. I was trapped in my own world, but I felt myself being lifted by two pairs of strong arms. I knew one of them had to be Sterling, and with the amount of electricity coming from the other pair, it had to be Hunter; no one else could make me feel that way. I was lifted into Hunter's arms bridal style, and I sobbed into his chest once more.

When we got into the house, I was rushed to Hunter and my room where I was put down on the bed. By now, the memories had become more vivid. The sound of water getting louder, black spots clouding my vision, my screams not being heard by anyone. As everyone could see, putting me on the bed didn't help, I was pulled into a pair of arms. "Shhh. It's not real, Saffron." Hunter soothed. I just continued sobbing. He kissed me on the forehead and continued to rock me in his arms. The memories faded slightly and I stopped sobbing. Tears flowed down my face, but Hunter continued to soothe me. My hands trembled in his own. When he realized I was a bit calmer, he set me down on the bed again and left the room.

"No!" I cried. "Don't go." He got the message and climbed into the bed next to me. He wrapped his arms around my waist. "You know you love me." He smiled.

"Not the time." I shook my head and cuddled into his chest.

...

When I woke up, Hunter was gone, but Chloe was holding up two dresses in front of my full body mirror. She saw that I was awake and bombarded me with questions. "Don't worry Chloe. I've had worse. I just haven't had a panic attack in years." I was lost in my thoughts for a second. "But," I got up. "You still have a date to get ready for. I'd pick the second one." Chloe smiled and went to the bathroom to put the dress on. I set up the hair curler and got all my makeup stuff out. I curled her hair and gave a natural look with mascara, eyeliner, nude eyeshadow and pale pink lip gloss.

"Perfect." I squealed. She hugged me and we made our way downstairs, where Will was waiting for her with Hunter. When we got down the stairs, I was impressed by Will's appearance. Usually, the guys would just wear what they wear everyday, but Will actually took the time to look decent. He wore a blue button down shirt with beige trousers, gelled hair and a bouquet of roses in his hand. They both stood and stared at each other. So adorable!

"You look amazing." Will literally couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"Thanks." Chloe replied breathlessly. I kicked her in the shin and she continued moving down the stairs, but I stayed where I was. Chloe accepted the roses and grinned at me. I gave her a thumbs up and the pair left the house. I leaned against the wall and smiled sadly, lost in my thoughts.

...

Hunter and I went to Will's parents' ballroom; The Turner Ballroom, to help the others decorate for Sterling's party tomorrow night. "You good?" Hunter asked when we began putting balloons everywhere.

"Yeah." I came up next to him. "Thanks for the save by the way." He nodded in response.

"Has it been happening again recently?"

"No, actually. That was the first one since the last time."

Flashback from 6 years ago

"Demi plie, rise. Full plie, port de bras." I was alone in the studio/ basement, trying to get in a bit of practice. The Sanchez's were over; they were all down in the studio with me. My parents were arguing, causing my brothers to argue and me to have a headache; being the only girl wasn't always good. I was finding it really hard to focus, with all the yelling and Ronnie laughing. I just finished a demi plie, when I heard a loud crash. I froze and my hands started trembling. 'Not again.' I thought. I started hyperventilating, but the Sanchez's didn't realize. I started crying and images of belts and blood filling my mind. "M-Mrs. San-ch-chez?" I stammered. "It's happening-" I covered my ears and screamed. The entire house went silent and Mr. Sanchez tried approaching me, but even 'The Dr. Sanchez' couldn't calm me down. I was screaming and crying, in a fetal position against the wall. Then, Hunter stood up slowly and inched his way towards me.

"Saff?" He whispered. "I'm going to sit next to you okay?" He sat next to me and pulled me into his arms. He was 11 years old, but he knew his stuff. I struggled in his grip, but he was firm and wouldn't let me go. My panic attacks were really random sometimes, and you just had to wait for them to pass, so he did just that. I stayed in Hunter's arms until my hands stopped trembling and he helped me to my room; for some odd reason, only Hunter was able to comfort me.

Present tense

"What'd you see this time?" He asked. Everytime I had a panic attack, it was because of a troubling memory. There's a bit of information you don't know about me. When I was 7, I was adopted by the Rhodes family. My real mother divorced my dad and my father became an alcoholic and abused me. That's why I saw belts and blood in one of my panic attacks, and that's why I wouldn't talk when we first moved to America. Hunter knew about this of course.

"I was drowning." I whispered.

"Wow. The famous Saffron Rhodes? Drowning? When did that happen?" He asked.

"Russia." I replied. "I was warming up for a race, and I was pulled down by someone; you know how crowded warm up pools are. I couldn't get to the surface in time."

"Oh." He said. "I assume you haven't been swimming recently then?" I nodded once. It was time to change the subject.

Plot twist! Saffron's adopted! How'd you like that chapter? honestly, the panic attack part was kinda random. I guess I needed more drama in this. Anyway, thatnk you sooooo much for reading my story!! cherylxx