Shattered Girl (Emmy)

Chapter 22

OK 78%

When the world came back into focus, I was so confused. There were extra voices in the bathroom, and my hand was cold. Looking down, I saw I was holding onto several ice cubes. I had no idea how they got there. I was sitting in the middle of the bathroom, Jake and Josh hovering nearby. Josh had his phone in his hand, and that's where the extra voices came from. They had called Drew and Mike. I groaned, dropping the ice from my hand and drying it off on the towel that one of the twins had covered me with. Josh crouched next to me, turning his phone around so I could see Drew on the screen, with Mike looking over his shoulder.

"Hey princess, how are you feeling?" Drew asked. I thought about it for several minutes.

"Honestly, I don't know. Kind of like I spent two days locked in a cold basement with no clothes or food." At the horrified looks on the guy's face, I began to think I shouldn't have shared quite so much. Mike was swearing, pacing behind Drew, and the twins looked heartbroken for me. Drew studied me carefully before he spoke.

"Princess, was that what your flashback was about?" he asked softly.

Not wanting to risk reliving those horrific days again, I just nodded. "Why was I holding onto the ice?" I was still confused, but Jake jumped in to answer.

"Drew told us holding onto ice would help bring your brain out of the flashback." I rubbed my hand against the towel again, still feeling the tingle of ice against my skin.

with a blanket. He stopped a couple of feet away from me, and for the first time since I met him, he looked unsure. My heart cracked seeing the guilty, unsure look in his eyes, "Josh." I said his name, and my voice shuddered. I held my arms out to him like a child, asking to be picked up. That was all it took. He rushed over, wrapping me in the blanket and lifting me into his arms. I clung to Josh tightly, resting my head against his chest as he carried me into the bedroom. Josh settled us into the overstuffed chair I had convinced the guys to move into my room, and Jake, pulling out

little bit," Jake said, walking out of the room and closing the

let go of me long enough to help me put my pajamas on and then cuddled me back into his arms, wrapping

in the crook of my neck. I could feel his body trembling, so I turned until I was holding him, making shushing noises;

were red, his voice trembled, and he whispered he was sorry again. Pulling back a little, I cupped his face in my hands and, staring straight into his eyes, leaned in and kissed him. "I'm not mad at you; no one knew that just playing around would send me into that flashback. I don't blame

on the door, followed by Jake pushing it open with his hip. He came in carrying a tray with three mugs and several different kinds of snacks. Setting it down on

"Yum, grown-up hot cocoa,"

could all use some grown-up hot chocolate

our spiked cocoa and ate all the

5

1/2

15:14 Thu, Sep 12

Chapter 22