~~~Comfort~~~

"Maybe one day we'll find the place where our dreams and reality collide."

-Unknown

Serena's POV

It was the same position, the same pain and the same cause. The same trains of memories I dream of and yet it had to be the one that belonged to the sickest moments ever. The first week was coming to its end and also the moment where I thought mine would too. However, it wasn't.

Hanging on those chains, I knew I was on the edge of death. I could feel it. My breath, heart and mind started to slow down drastically. Soon I would not be a living, I would be a body hanging on those chains with showing no effort of resist because I knew it would be futile and it would only bring her in danger. For that special reason, I didn't fight for my own life, because I'm sacrificing my life for someone else, someone who belongs on earth and will do great deeds. And I knew it because I saw it. The little angel herself, my Hope.

Many people, strong ones would have fought, but I didn't. Because without me, he would have nothing to hold me against, to threaten me with. I would be gone and she would be free. But the sad thing about it was that he knew, he knew I was dying and he wasn't planning to let me escape my way by the hands of death. In any way, he wasn't letting that happen. I was his.

Even if it meant misleading, prisoning and torturing his own son, to be my personal doctor, watcher and his own slave. It all started with the one step he took in the torture cell, my hell turned to his too. With some kind of suitcase in his hands, he saw me there hanging, in total shock.

"S-," He stopped for a moment, dropping the suitcase, before rushing over to me. "Serena!"

I wasn't showing any sign of being alive except for my eyes and the slow moments of my chest heaving. My eyes moved to look at his face and through them I wanted to show him, plead to him that he has to run, leave, or just some form of escape. But he didn't get the hint before he fell down on his knees in immense pain.

That man, his father abused him in front of my eyes. With a baseball bat, he crushed, cracked and shattered his sons lower leg to give him no chance to escape. His devilish smirk grew wider and wider with each sound of torture. Oh, how frightening that man is, how he takes pleasure of others pain is beyond human. 

The sound of bones breaking and painful screams echoed inside the falls. Crack... Even in that awful situation, I did nothing, I couldn't except to cry and break from the inside.

The father left and without looking back to the deformed leg of his son he created, a piece of bone stuck out of his knee, blood and then I didn't dare to watch anymore. He threw the suitcase off to us. It took hours for him to stop crying and take me down from the chains. The suitcase was his supplies to take care of me. Of me, I'm the reason he's here.

I was sitting up on the hard wooden floor, my head was bent forward as I eagerly drank and eat the food and water he feeds me, I couldn't help to give in the temptation of it. He didn't say anything, he didn't even dare to touch me, my wounds were awful. I often gazed at him, his face, his tear-stained cheeks, his red eyes as he looked so troublesome and the fact that any moment he could cry again. The more he looked at what his father did to me the more his eyes lost life and his skin grew paler.

It took a lot of energy and pain just to whisper to him my first words, that brought him to tears, "It's not your fault."

I saw his hand reach for the suitcase, but I lay my hand on his and stopped him. Flinching of the stretch of my skin. I breathed in deeply and shook my head, "No,"

"W-what-," His hand was shaking, so was his voice. "-you don't mean?"

"Plea-se," I spoke my voice cracking ever slightly."Let me die."

"N-no," he cried. "I-I can't-You can't die."

"Please for her," I pleaded, my voice growing higher in attempted to talk. He was silent.

The muffled, trembling sobs stood out and he said something that broke my heart, soul and myself. "S-she is g-gone,"

At that moment I cried, I didn't even know I could.

For hours, I cried so hard, screamed so loud, not only of the pain from my body while he treated me against my will, but everything of me broke and I was so lost, so weak. Even when my voice was gone, my nails dug into my skin. Blood, I wanted to die, I didn't want to feel pain anymore it hurt so bad, physically, mentally and emotionally everything of me was gone.

Then it all went dark, it suddenly went all dark. I didn't see anything, only black, pure black. In all those years, I've never dreamed about this, only that one time with the company of others I knew, I trusted. It was just plain black, but it wasn't nothing. That made it weird and unusual, but at the same time very comforting.

There was warmth, not suffocating or burning. It was embracing me instead, it felt so good yet so unfamiliar. In the silence, I didn't hear but felt the rhythmic sound of a heartbeat. Was it my own? I wondered. But in that presence of darkness, I felt light. The thought of the loneliness disappeared and all I concentrated off was the sound and the warmth.

I felt calm.

I felt safe.

For the first time in years, I felt like sleeping further. And maybe that would be the last time it would happen. 

With my eyes open, I sighed and carefully sat up. Detangling myself from the embrace of the unnoticed male resting beside me. I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around my legs, I rested my chin on my arms. With the corners of my mouth slightly downcast, I gazed absently at the wall not wanting to look at him. Disgusted of myself. Ashamed. Disappointed. Sad.

Disgusted by sleeping next to a taken male.

Ashamed of seeming so desperate and stupid, yesterday.

Disappointed of keeping my guard so low and seeming so vulnerable.

Sad, as I always am.

I stretched my right arm out a little and looked at the metal piece of jewellery. The multiple charms of places and symbols, the faded blue piece of fabric made in a clumsy attempt to form a ribbon. Turned my wrist sideways, looking at the natural green tiger eye stone, I especially made a bead of just so it fitted in the collection. It reminded me of her so innocent, adorable face when she smiled. She always smiled, her emerald eyes would shine. She made every situation seem so cheerful so light, just by her smile.

"No, no, no," I said as I speed walked over to her as she was standing on a stool in front of the cabin next to the mirror. I wrapped my arms around her small body and tickled her sides. She giggled sweetly.

"Hé, what are you doing?" I picked her up and lowered her to the ground."You know your brother is going to kill me if you got hurt."

She turned around and in her hands was the container with the antidepressant medication. I quickly snatched it from her hands and gave her a stern look. "What do you think you're doing with this? You can't play with this. It's not a t-."

Before I finished my sentence, I noticed a coloured thing in the container with a lot of curiosity I took it out. "Is that candy?"

"Skittles makes me happy." She smiled with her big innocent eyes. "So I put it with your happy-maker to make you extra happy!"

She cheered with her huge toothy smile, which one front tooth was gone, and her short arms wide. I smiled brightly, took one red skittle and picked her up.

"Did it work?" She asked curiously and her big smile still stuck on her face. I nodded and her smile only grew bigger and brighter. "Yay!"

She was my medicine and I miss her so much. Then a sinking feeling hit my stomach and I felt incredibly sad, the guilt. Why have I never noticed the bruises on his body? The pleading look for me to take care of her when I couldn't? The loud noise wasn't music for God sake! It wasn't!

I refused to cry and especially in the presence of Ash. As quietly and quickly as I could, I went out of the room walking into the living room.

I only saw it when it was too late and I regret that so bad. If only I saw it earlier and nothing bad would've happened and she would still be here!

As quickly as I sat down on the couch I stood up again and walked towards the kitchen. My body tensed as I dug my nails into my arm in frustration. Distraction, Distraction, please I need a distraction!

Even though it was already 10:02 AM, pretty late in my book, I never had I slept so long let stand even sleep. After feeding Yellow and Lady and letting them play in the living room. The air was filled with baked eggs and spaghetti, usually, I expected him to wake up immediately. But I guess being drunk takes a lot of energy. Oh yeah, hangover. I've never seen anyone I knew with a hangover let stand drunk, except him. I shuddered and shook my head, forget!

I filled a glass full of water, I stepped into his room and grabbed out of my front pocket in my bag an aspirin. I walked over to his nightstand and silently placed it.

"Thanks," I jumped and almost let the glass fall down. I stood up straight, placing a hand on my fast beating heart. I looked down at him as he groggily sat up.

"Jesus!" I exclaimed as he grabbed the glass of water and took a sip after throwing the aspirin in his mouth.

"Sorry," His still rough voice said, before looking a little confused. "Since when are you here?"

"Since yesterday," I responded monotone."But what else could I expect, you were drunk, no wonder you don't know."

He gave me a toothy grin and said, "Sorry,"

"Idiot," I scowled, before turning around to walk to the kitchen. "I made breakfast."

Seating myself by the table, facing the exit of the kitchen. I tapped on the table with my nails, waiting. My foster mother always told me to eat with a company and be patient. While now I have to ignore it as I picked up one strand of spaghetti and chewed on it absently staring at the digital clock in the microwave besides me. 10:53 AM

I heard a click and turned towards the sound. Dressed in sweatpants and a sweater, Ash was casually leaning against the wall with a smirk. In hand was an old-fashioned camera and in his other hand, he was waving with a piece of paper. My eyes widened as I stood up and walked towards him.

"What did you do?" I glared and stood in front of him. "Did you took a picture of me?"

"Why ask if you answer yourself," He replied casually a small huff afterwards.

"Let me see," I tried to snatch the photo of his hands. But curse my height as he raised it higher. "Oh, come on! Not fair!"

"Look at what karma did to you, huh." He mocked me when we were little I was always taller than him and teased him with, "Shorty."

"I'm not that short," I grunted standing on my toes to reach it. "You just grew tall, that's it. Let me see!"

He rolled his eyes at my futile attempt, I even tried to lower his arm by trying to hang on it with my weight, it didn't budge even with my feet of the floor. "Be patient, It takes a while before it's visible."

"Why do you even got a camera like that?" I stood back on my two feet and blew a bang off hair off my face.

"For memories of course," He sat down on the chair opposite of me with the photo still in his hand, again I tried to take it but he placed it in his other hand. "Patience."

"I want to see it first," I demanded as dropped down in the chair and crossed my arms. "And what has this to do with memory?"

"First of all, this is the first picture of you I got, since, yeah," He said quite absently, but then immediately grinned while looking down at the picture. "It's a good one."

Successfully, I snatched the photo of his hands and with shock, I looked down. I was looking sideways, chewing on a spaghetti strand. Normal, you would think, but no my hair!  It was a total mess, it was sticking out in many directions. I reached for my hair and felt. I gasped. He quickly snatched it from my hand, before I could rip it into pieces.

"No!" I cried, trying to flatten my hair down. With no success.

"Calm down," He grunted, squeezing his eye a little as he flinched."It's not that bad, it actually quite funny."

"You mean," I squeezed my eyes a little and swayed. "Funwy?"

He glared at me, his mouth turned in to a firm line and his gaze threatening. "Don't even start."

I pressed my fork against my bottom lip and smirked. "Aye, sir~"

"Say that one more time and I swear-"

"AYE SIR~," I spoke louder, causing him to literally twitch a little and give me a death glare.

"Do you have a death wish?" He spat.

"Nope," I said simply, playing with my spaghetti. "Just bored."

"Don't even try to play games with me, because my temper is quite low when I'm like this." He warned.

"Aah, the old-fashion hangover-type." I spoke as I analysed him, pointing my fork at him." The Grump."

He rolled his eyes, waving the picture in his hand. "Tell something or to anyone and I'll post it on the internet."

My eyes widened and I looked at him in absolute horror. "You woudn'-"

"I've got about, what is it-" He interrupted, a smug smile on his face plastered. " 83 million followers."

"83!" I yelled and he flinched again, rubbing head a little but still kept that smirk. "No wa-I don't believe- Oh my god!"

"Believe it or not, "He grinned as he leaned forward on his arms. "but I'm famous honey."

Annoyed, I sat back, took a bite and glared at him."You win this time, with your photo. But I'll always be better than you in everything."

"Don't be sure of that,"He grinned, looking me in the eye. "Looking good on a photo isn't your speciality, you could at least tried to look somewhat decent. But that's impossible."

I was so close to throw the fork at him. But instead, I stabbed my egg with my fork and took a bite, giving him a death glare as I violently chewed on it. He looked amused, before turning back to his own. 

Thinking we will eat in silence, he mumbled, "Not the behaviour of a woman."

"Sexist!" I spat at him.

"We have to hurry though," He said out of nowhere, ignoring my statement, gazing at the time. "Practice."

"Wait a minute," I said, narrowing my brows at him as his lips curled into a smirk. "We?"