Alex rocked slowly back and forth. Somewhere in their mind, they knew it wasn’t real, that it wasn’t happening. But the screams kept coming back, and the phantom smell of blood was getting stronger.
“Alex?” Hayden pushed open the door to see them a bit more. “You alright there?”
They couldn’t manage more than a whimper and a shake of their head. Hayden bit aer lip, staring at them. After a moment’s hesitation, ae came closer, crouching next to Alex.
“Still there, darling?” Alex never paid any attention to aer use of nicknames before then, maybe just a passing thought, but they latched onto it, searching for some familiarity. They took a shuddering breath before nodding, still rocking. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.
Hayden gently touched the part of their hoodie which they were chewing on. “Want to take this out?”
Alex fervently shook their head. “No,” they said, muffled by the clothe, “please.”
Hayden sighed before scooting closer. Ashton would be way better at this than aer. So would Kathie. Ae only knew Alex for a short time, and ae was uncomfortably aware of that fact right then.
Still, ae wrapped an arm around Alex firmly. Ae remembered that they didn’t like light touches and hoped that aer arm was heavy enough. Hayden rocked with them, making quiet comforting sounds at times.
Alex only presses closer and kept rocking.
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