. . . (Ava's P.O.V.)
We lay in bed. I'm in Daniel's arms and my head is on his chest, my arms wrapped around him. It's completely silent between us besides the sound coming from the air so I say "You know that I love you no matter what happens, I'll stick by you whatever it is, I don't care what comes our way. Whenever I'm next to you I forget my problems. I have absolutely nothing to worry about." shifting a bit to where I'm now looking into his eyes you let go of me slightly.
"All the fear, all the pain, all the worrying, it all tends to fade away into nothingness with you. If I had to choose something, anything It'd be to spend the rest of my life making the best memories I can with you. I appreciate everything you do for me. Life is harder when you aren't around. It's difficult to do things without you now because we've been through a lot and I feel safe with you. I'd never want to let you go because I spend all my time with you and my heart is only for you." I say
"Yea, and you know I'd never do anything to hurt you, you're my everything I'd keep doing everything in my power to keep you feeling protected, safe, happy, and content. I'd keep loving you because I have endless love for you, I can't get enough of it. Anything about you I can't get enough of any of it." Daniel replied in a low voice. I smile a bit and then it turns to a yawn. "All right, bedtime for you." He said and pulled me closer to him, I put my head back into the original position it was in and drift off to sleep.
(Dream) (Current age)
[7 yrs old]- "Why don't you ever do anything to help?!" "I'd asked you to clean the house and you barely have done anything." My mom screams in my direction. I'm standing shaking watching her every move as she comes toward me. "You sleep all day, barely help with your sister. Why can't you just do as I ask?!" She yells now in front of me, bent now to my level. I look down avoiding her gaze. She hit me repeatedly several times. She then grabs me by the chin and pulls my head up to look at her saying "I said when I'm talking to you, you look at me in the eyes. Is that clear?" I reply "Yes ma'am." "You'll do as I say because you can't and never will make your own decisions." tears forming in my eyes. She lets me go walking away and I lean against the wall slowly falling towards the ground.
I put my head in my hands and cry to myself thinking -Why does it have to be like this? It used to be better before we moved, what happened? I miss my grandparents. They'd at least been a bit more supportive when we still lived there and say that it'd be ok.
"You've done well. You try your best, Keep your head up and do what you're doing. It means so much to us that you're so strong from everything you've been through. At the age you are now there is no other kid that I've known in all the years we've lived that is as strong as you at this age. Keep going, live life doing what you want to do, don't let anything stop you." They'd say to me.
Remembering that brought even more tears to my eyes and they started flowing and once they did they didn't stop, I'd sat there for about a good hour before I had the strength to get up and go to the bathroom. After a while, I get up and rush up the stairs into the restroom. Closing the door behind me I go over to the mirror. I stare at my reflection at the person staring back at me, it was as if I just didn't know them. My face was red, my eyes had tears in them from crying so much and I hated the way I'd looked but still looked at the person staring back. I'd just accepted who I was at that time and didn't care from that moment on what people said-
The more emotional side of me was broken and beat to the point I couldn't take it anymore but I'd kept going. I didn't understand at the time but from their point of view, I had been a strong person. That's how the word "Warrior" came up. It didn't make any sense as to what it meant at the time but it made me change how I acted. I held myself differently and didn't let the little things be one of the more major things that pulled me down. I didn't care what people would say or think. I became a person that just didn't care about a lot of stuff, the more emotional side of me became distant when it came to the persona I'd present to people on the surface but it helped me survive because I didn't allow myself to get too close to anyone. I shut everyone down when they'd try getting to me, the closer they got the more aware I was not to say too much to them.
But not everything on the surface is as it seems because deep down you've still got emotion, you've still got the pain but it's as if it never existed when people are around you play it off as no big deal but it starts eating away at the person you show to other people and those things turn into another emotion and it spirals. You continue to hold it together as if it never bothers you. But that was before I met him. No matter what bad thing I threw at him, he just didn't care what it was; he was always there.
The good, the bad, the ugly. It never seemed to bother him and for that, I was glad because reality is that before him I was beaten down and broken to the point I couldn't recognize who I was and I wouldn't allow anyone in. With him, he cared about me and every good and bad thing that I came with.
It meant the world that he cared enough to walk through life with me holding me up so that I won't trip and fall back into who I was, What I was, Whom I presented myself as. I don't know who I am when he's not around. I found myself the day I found him. . . End of dream. . .
"Noooo," I say out loud. "You won't control me anymore!" I say a bit angered
"Hey, Ava, wake up! Are you ok? What's wrong?" I hear a familiar voice in a shout say shaking me to wake up. I woke up crying tears flowing like endless rivers. I put my knees up to my chest and hug myself. "Hey, It's going to be okay." He says I turn and look at him with tears in my eyes. "I won't let anything happen to you." He says and wraps his arms tightly around me pulling me closer to him and I wrap my arms around him slightly shaking putting my head on his chest.
"Shhh. It's ok. You're going to be all right I promise." You say kissing me on the head. I sniff a bit and say "Promise?" looking at him with tear-stained eyes. He replied saying
"I promise. Now let's get back to sleep so we aren't tired in the morning." We go back to sleep, his arms wrapped tightly around me, I feel much better afterward, safer than ever, and fall back to sleep.
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A/N: Heyo, please remember if you like to vote, it'll really help this book go farther. I appreciate you all for taking the time out of your day to read. Comment if you have any. See you in the next part!!
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