A/N: hey guys :) I'm sorry for not updating on time. To make it up, this chapter is longer than the others. It's 3k words :) so I hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think as it motivates me. Enjoy! <3

"Where do you think you're going?" the dull monotonous voice rings through my ears, blocking the sound of chattering of people and the whistling of the train. People around me keep walking and I stop dead in my tracks, as if a spell is cast on me.

I look around, not sure which direction the voice is coming from to see Mike standing a few feet behind me, with his hands crossed, his smirk growing larger and larger. His image is lively and vivid that everything else is moving in slow motion. The train stops and opens its doors while people flow in and out in a turtle's speed. The wind blows gently and slowly and he just stands there gawking at me, and I wonder if he's looking at me or through me.

"What are you doing here?" when I hear my own voice, my stomach turns into knots. The bold tone that is preserved just for this asshole has lost its way to my throat. Instead, a low undecided voice flies into the air, with the wind. And instead of the assertive harsh famous 'hand on my hip' move, my hands fall loose on my sides, completing the picture.

What the hell is happening? Why am I back here?

The station gives the feel that time is passing slowly, with people moving like robots and not looking at us, as if we're invisible. I look at him again and he's not answering just yet, taking advantage of my shock to make me more nervous.

"Answer me! What the fuck are you doing here?" my voice comes out as a sharp annoying squeal that I don't recognize it's mine. The chill that ran down my spine makes my hands and feet numb, and my knees tremble like a baby in a cold winter night. Even the familiar lavender odor lingering in the station is barely existent.

Without a word, the bastard tucks his hands in the pockets of his dress pants. He looks as if he's going to an event, all dressed up, with his usually messy dark hair combed and styled back, his menacing coal eyes bearing an evil gaze that has been there from the start and his eyebrows creased in a wicked way above a daunting stare.

"I'm celebrating." is all he says.

"What is there to celebrate?" just when I'm about to take a step back and try to walk away from my doomed ex husband, my mom along with my dad appear behind him, creeping up their way toward me. It's only when they get closer that their blurred figures clear up and they look like zombies walking with their hands up in front on them. 

It's so weird when I'm the one used to yelling and scaring off my parents with my pranks and now it's the other way around. My heart races in my chest that it skips a few beats and my feet betray me, not budging at all.

"You will never get away from me again baby." Mike says with a smokey voice and his sinister laughter fills up the whole background and echoes in my head.

Maybe it is the disgust I feel towards him or just his troublesome tone that gives me some control back over my legs. I start running backwards only to trip over my own feet and fall on my back.

The atmosphere darkens up, the air gets sucked out of the place and all three of them approach me, with hungry expressions on their faces, eyes reddening with anticipation, hands in front of them as if to choke me.

"Happy one year anniversary wifey..."

"Your husband loves you Aidan..."

"Your husband wants you back..."

Their voices pile up and get louder and less intelligible with the annoying laughter still invading my ears, and all I can do is jerk my eyes shut and block the noise with both hands on my ears as hard as I can.

"Go to hell, all of you!" the overwhelming feeling has me screaming and shielding my body with my hands that I don't even realize Myra is pulling them away from me.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. It's a bad dream. Wake up!" I struggle to open my eyes and see that she's pulling my hands and making me hug her. She reassures me by rhythmically tapping on my shoulders, not letting me slip my hands from around her. She sits at the side of the bed next to me and lets me lay my head on her lap, with occasional reassurances.

"It's alright sweetie, you're okay. No one's here. Take a deep breath." It takes me a while to inhale and exhale slowly until my breathing came back to normal. I keep on holding onto her and she massages the back of my sweaty hair, a habit that makes me relax and puts me at ease.

"I'll go get you some water, okay?" I still feel hypnotized because I just nod at her when she pulls away. I sit down and reach to turn the light on. The clock on my side table shows 1:23 am.

I was rubbing the sleep from my eyes and the sweat from my forehead when Myra comes back with a glass of water.

"Thanks." I gulp it all in one go.

"You were screaming and tossing in bed like a dog is running after you," she has always been a light sleeper. Sometimes, a small creak of the door opening wakes her up. "What's happened?" she takes the glass and places it on the table, giving me the worried look.

"The jerk's haunting me in my dreams..."I sigh and look at the surprised eyes before me. "I just need to take a shower. I'll be fine. Don't worry." I say before she can add another word and she just nods. Myra knows damn well when I'm terrified, I don't like to talk. I'm aware that it's a bad habit, I should share my fears with someone but keeping silent is way easier.

I'm really  grateful to have Myra in my life. She keeps up with my shitty moods, problems and life in general and always supports me, without being judgmental. Like right now. She doesn't force me into the details of something that I don't know how to feel about. It's been a great couple of days in here that I started to forget the past and get out of my cocoon. I've started to know the meaning of living a normal life again. But this nightmare is like a wrecking ball, it comes to destruct the robust walls that I've tried to build with no mercy.

"Okay. Tell me if you need anything. Or if you can't go back to sleep." She sends a warm smile my way before closing the door.

After I shake the dark images from my head, I push the comforter and jump into the shower. I don't usually love showering all day and I'm not the type of person who washes their hair daily, but at this time, I need anything that will distract me. Like in the summertime, cold showering is my best friend. It eases my tension and relaxes my muscles. This time is no exception as I turn the faucet on and let water flow all over me, peeling my fears and anger and stress away.

Fifteen minutes later, I wrap a towel around my body and another around my hair and go to my room, humming the lyrics to one of my favorite songs. I take my time to dry my hair, curl it with the straightener, taking extra time to curl my fringe. I then stand next to my closet to take my pajamas. But when I look back at the messy sheets and the sweat soaked pillow, I get a mini heart attack at the thought of having a similar nightmare.

I take a look at the clock again, it's only 3:09 am. So damn early. There's no way I'm going back to sleep tonight. That nightmare is enough for an eternity. There has to be something I can do at this time.

Before I know it, I'm all dressed up in navy blue high waisted shorts, a flowery crop top and some sandals. I throw on a denim jacket, take my phone with me along with the keys and head out into the wilderness, making sure I don't wake anyone up.

Maybe it should be no surprise that Leeds would be awake at three in the morning. Hell, it is to me. Nighttime in this city feels like rush hour in midday. Cafés, restaurants, fast foods and many cutlery shops are still open and in business. It's as if people are eating like it's the end of the world. The bright colors and lighting are so tempting, and the smell of freshly made pizza along with the odor of hot coffee fills my nostrils and waters my tongue.

I continue my walk down the street, my hands in the pockets of my shorts, letting my gaze wander around. A couple of guys pass by, holding some beers and laughing like they own the street. Some couples lurk here and there, either holding hands or chatting and exchanging sweet glances.

The overall atmosphere is enough to make me forget my worries and chill. It's when I wake up from my daze that I notice I'm walking in an unfamiliar street, and there's a faint noise of music in the air.

My feet walk me further into the night and after some turns and crossroads, I'm completely lost. My brain starts to freak out but I quickly take my phone and open my GPS. Luckily, I've pinpointed Myra's apartment in it and I can get back easily.

The moon light is enough to shine in a dark alley on my right side, and I hear coughs. Coughs that sound familiar that they remind me of that night I found Ethan coughing upstairs in that house. Coughs that are so tense and loud that I am drawn to the person. I take a cautious step into the dark alley, my heart racing against my chest, and get closer. 

This could be a burglar, a murderer, my mind tells me. But as soon as a car drives past the street, its light flashes in his direction allowing me to get a glimpse.

"Ethan?" I hesitantly question, and instinctively take a step back when vomit starts pouring out of his throat.

"OH MY GOD, what happened?" I hastily approach him again and put my hand on his shoulder, my stomach aching for him as puke spills from his mouth again.

"Fuck off!" He yells and chases me away with his hand, still bent on the dirty wall to support his shaking body. His voice is harsh and raw, as if I hear him for the first time.

What?

"It's Hanna. Are you drunk? What happened!"

He doesn't answer. Instead, he rubs the rest of the saliva with the back of his sleeve and leans his side on the wall, with a sudden temper taking over his face.

"Why the fuck do you always come to rescue?...Shouldn't you be asleep next to your boyfriend or something? Go away." the words cut deep into my heart and bring out many sour pictures, but I remind myself that I need to focus on what is important: Ethan is drunk, he is so intoxicated that he can't filter his words nor his facial expressions. He has a hostile look, one that almost throws me off, one that makes me want to walk away from this stranger in front of me. The rest of his face is not clear but it's not hard to feel the tension as he flares like a volcano.

"Can you tell me where your house is? Let's take you home." Surprisingly, he doesn't resist when I bring his arm over my shoulder and help him walk. Instead he stares at me dumbfounded, his eyes boring into mine deeply as we start walking. "Please, just try to remember. What do you have in your neighborhood? Something familiar. Anything." It's really hard to stay focused on the seriousness of the problem here when I have a pair of big innocent eyes openly gazing at me, and his face a few inches away from mine.

"The gym is there. The gym... I think... It's where I work out.. It's fucking fun to work out.... You should join..." he slurs, almost defeated, as he follows my footsteps. I drag him out of the dark and he helps me by moving his feet. The smell of vodka lingers in the air, and it's so strong that I get scared it will affect me.

I search the name of the gym on my GPS and start walking since it is within walking distance. Myra and I have been near the gym before and for the first time, I actually want to thank her for showing me something useful.

Ethan's body is a lot heavier than I expected. His abs tower over my small frame. And what doesn't help is his sudden shift of mood and the weird movements of his hands in the air, along with the loss of balance, that makes him sway and bring me along with him.

"You're a good girl Aidan. A gorgeous smart girl. Aren't you?" he rambles with his hand waving around while I struggle to walk him to his house. His voice is now slow and calm, and he laughs between sentences. He continues when I don't speak. "Of course you are. I wish I can be your friend. We'd be great friends, we'd be best friends forever. Heck, we'd make a cute couple. We'd be couple goals. Huh?" at this point, I'm aware that this is all hallucination and he's just saying nonsense.

"Do you wanna be my girlfriend? My girlfriend?" The small hairs of my arms get goosebumps of their own. Although it is almost four in the morning, I couldn't be more certain that he is just blabbering. What I'm not certain of is the sudden urge that almost selfishly wants to make me accept his offer.

As I struggle to carry him over my shoulder, he turns his face to look at me, while still walking. Without my consent, my face starts to simmer up suddenly and turns into a cherry shade. His, on the other hand bears a serious look, making me even more confused.

A moment of dead silence.

"You should've seen your face!" He shouts and bursts into a fit of laughter, throwing his head back, making it hard to keep my balance. The sound of his laugh is weirdly melodic, even aesthetically pleasing. "I'm just shitting for God's sake!" Although this is what my brain told me from the beginning, I can't hide the shock. For a split second, I contemplate letting him fall or kicking him in the balls and run, but then, I remember how drunk he is.

The mood isn't awkward as we keep on walking, with difficulty of course and with occasional giggles and a few hallucinations while I barely can lift and drag him. I'm thankful that the streets we are walking into are almost empty, except for one which apparently has a huge loud party. We reach the gym and he squints his eyes after a few blocks to point at his house. I tuck my hand in the pocket of his jeans and pull out the keys.

When I open the door, the house is already lit, all of it as I help him reach his bedroom. His body gets slammed on the hard mattress of his messy double bed and he hugs the pillow, like his life depends on it.

"Water pleeeeease..." He takes me out of my absent mindedness with a calm, almost sweet sleepy tone.

Stretching my tense arm muscle, I take a turn and find a water bottle on the living room table outside, grab it and come back.

"Here is water."

"Thank you Aidan... Hann... Thanks to you..." Ethan says in a whisper with a small laugh, without opening his eyes. He sinks further into the pillow, his breathing slowly taking a light snoring pace as he dives into sleep.
A picture that makes me awe and smile at this cute curly head lying before me, his mouth slightly open and his body arched to take a comfortable position. I go to the other side of the bed, and take a seat, my feet still hanging low.

I wonder what happened to him and why he was out this late? What's with coughing, is he sick or is it just the drink?

I reach and lay on my elbow and allow my arm to stretch and massage his forehead, moving some strands of hair away from his face. His skin is soft and pure, not a trace of beard is there, his small mouth is bearing an angelic smile that doesn't disappear when I take my hand away to take off my sandals and lay again beside him, letting my exhausted body get some rest before heading back home.

"Five minutes..." I mutter to myself as I lay my head on the feathery pillow and get a taste of bliss when the cold fabric soothes me.

"Five minutes and then I'll head back home." This is all I remember before my eyes shut completely and I dive into sleep.