forum Under The Painted Sky (O/O CLOSED)

Started March 18, 2019 by Deleted user

tune

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“We’re going to be here whenever you need us from now on,” Ashley whispered, hugging her best friend tightly. A few tears dropped down her cheeks, and she buried her face in Lucas’s chest.

“He had blindfolded me that night,” Eden found herself whispering. “So I wouldn’t know what he would do to me and also to terrify me. It had worked. I was so terrified… he violated me and then decided I wasn’t worth it, so he left me. He left me just like that, but he promised he’d be back…”

Lucas’s grip on her tightened.

“I’ll kill him,” he swore, voice shaking with anger. “If I ever see him again, I’ll kill him for doing that to you.”

“I’m pretty sure there’s a line now, Luke,” Ashley whispered, only partly joking. “Because I’m definitely going to do the same.”

“I’m tired,” Eden mumbled, her vision going black. “So tired…”

“Let’s get you to bed, then,” Ashley murmured, pulling away slightly. “One of is can stay with you if you want. Or both of us.”

“Stay,” she murmured, tightening her hold on Lucas’s shirt. He kissed her head again. “With me. The nightmares are relentless.”

“We’ll stay with you, then,” Lucas promised. “Come, let’s get you to bed.”

Eden nodded, pulling away slightly. Lucas didn’t let go of her, though. He kept his hold on her as they walked into her room where Eden promptly collapsed on the bed. Lucas pulled the blanket on her, running a hand through her hair.

Ashley followed them in, leaning into Lucas’s side. She glanced down at her friend on the bed, and then up at her boyfriend. With a blink, she tilted her head in silent question of, “Where should we sleep?”

“I can get the air mattress,” Lucas suggested, rubbing the back of his head. Two people could sleep in Eden’s bed, but not three… and besides, she probably didn’t want anyone that close. “You stay here.”

“Okay,” Ashley whispered, kissing his cheek softly. She gave him a halfhearted smirk. “Don’t be gone too long.”

Lucas rolled his eyes.

“Of course,” he said, moving to walk out before he added quietly, “Keep an eye on her.”

Ashley nodded. Of course she would. She wasn’t going to take her eyes off of the girl, not for as long as she could afford to do so.

Lucas left the room to get the air mattress, sighing. His little sister… how could he have failed her so miserably? And then the whole situation with Sterling… it was clear that he didn’t know. What were they going to do about him, especially since Eden was developing feelings for him?

He quickly grabbed what he came for and went back into the room, plugging it in and turning it on, hoping the noise wouldn’t bother Eden.

Ashley stepped over to Lucas and wrapped her arms around him, leaning into him even as she kept an eye on Eden. “We made some progress,” she whispered. “Let’s hope we can keep helping her.”

Lucas tightened his hold on her, kissing her shoulder softly.

“Yeah,” he agreed. His little sister had fallen asleep quite quickly, but that wasn’t a bad thing. He was glad that she had, more so because there was no school tomorrow. She could get her energy back. Tomorrow, he’d make sure she ate plenty. Her starving days were over, too, along with her harming herself. “I just—I can’t believe we never noticed…”

“I know… I feel awful,” Ashley mumbled, burying her face in his shoulder. “But we’re going to help her get better. She’ll get better.”

“What are we—what are we going to do about Sterling?” He asked quietly, running his fingers through her hair. “I told you he likes her, right? And now they even kissed and he’s probably… I don’t know…”

“I don’t know either, Luke… I think, for now, we trust him. But we don’t tell him what happened,” Ashley sighed, leaning into his touch. “That’s for Eden to do.”

“I wouldn’t dream of telling him,” Lucas kissed the top of her head before moving to switch the button for the air mattress off. He pulled her into bed with him, grabbing the pillow and the blanket he brought as well. “She’s going to avoid him for as long as she can, isn’t she?”

Ashley sighed again, long and slow, as she curled up beside her boyfriend. “Probably… Maybe we should just tell him not to worry, that she needs some time. Without specifying why.”

“I hope she gets better soon…” Lucas wrapped his arms around her. “I want her to smile again.”

“Me too… I want her better and smiling soon, too,” Ashley whispered, looking up into Lucas’s eyes. She gently cupped his cheek, brushing her thumb against the skin. “It’ll be okay. It has to be. She deserves it to be.”

Lucas leaned into her touch. “Yeah, she has to be…” he murmured. “Let’s sleep?”

Ashley hummed, nodding. She leaned over to press their lips together softly before pulling away to murmur, “Night, Lucas… Love you.”

The next morning, Ashley and Lucas had just finished up eating breakfast and were now washing up the dishes from it. The former glanced over at her boyfriend from the corner of her eye and smiled, which turned into a smirk as she playfully flicked her wet hand at him, spraying him with water.

Lucas gaped at her before he wet his own hands and flicked water at her, taking it a step further and smearing soap on her cheek. “You’re on, love,” his eyes sparkled mischievously.