Leah's Pov
"Leah! I need your help in the kitchen!" I heard Chloe's faint shouting from downstairs. I huffed but got out of my cozy bed, hurriedly making my way into the kitchen. Chloe must have been trying to cook pie since she had bowls and sliced peeled apples everywhere.
Chloe hadn't heard me walk in the kitchen so I sneaked behind her and snaked my arms around her waist. She relaxed into my embrace so I took it upon myself to trail kisses up her shoulder which turned out to be a huge mistake. Chloe dropped the bowl she was using and turned around to face me. The scared look on her face got me worried so I put both of my hands on her shoulder. I held her up. We both slid down on the floor and I cradled her head in my hands, while kissing her forehead. I held her tightly until she stopped shaking. This wasn't the first time she'd had a flashback so I knew what to do in order to calm her down.
"It's okay, baby. I love you. I need you to listen to me, whatever is playing in your head is in the past. Nothing can hurt you anymore. I'm not Zoey and Zoey can't get to you" She started to breath heavily as she tugged at my shirt so I wrapped my arms around her.
"Let's go sit down. We need to talk" I helped her up from the floor and we both sat down on the couch, cuddling up to each other.
"Ever since Zoey went to jail we have been ignoring the fact that we need help. My nightmares haven't gone away and you get flashbacks if I touch you the wrong way. We can't live like this anymore, we need therapy or something that'll help us get back to normal. The only question is, are you willing to do it with me?" I asked and Chloe tilted my chin towards her. She gave me a quick kiss.
"I love you and I agree with you completely. I think it's kind of weird to go to someone but if it'll get rid of your nightmares and my flashbacks, I'm totally up for it" Chloe pecked my lips and I took out my phone to dial Dr.Michael David, a psychiatrist. He have a lot of experience and I might have met with him a few times so I already trusted him but Chloe, well Dr.Michael would just have to gain her trust.
"You can come on in whenever you'd like to" Dr.Michael replied before hanging up. I smiled and looked at Chloe, I leaned in to kiss her but she pulled away to get her jacket.
I had noticed that if I ever tried to interact with Chloe intimately, she'd pull away or I'd trigger one of her flashbacks. The only way we could even kiss was if Chloe interacted with me. I'm not going to lie, the lack of intimacy was frustrating but hopefully we could settle that later. Right now our main focus was getting ourselves back to normal.
"Leah, hey, you okay?" Chloe's worried tone snapped me out of my thoughts and I nodded in response.
"I'm fine, we should go"
--------------------------------------
I stepped into Dr.Michael's office with Chloe by my side. He raised an eyebrow at Chloe who leaped onto the beanbag chair without a moments hesitation. I giggled and sat down next to her, both of us sinking into the comfortable beanbag chairs.
"I'm glad you decided to come back Leah. How have you been?" Dr.Michael asked and I gave him a big smile.
"I've been amazing" I lied and Chloe scoffed loudly, making Dr.Michael cross his arms. I looked down at my feet and Chloe began explaining about how my nightmares haven't gone away. And how her flashbacks are getting worse. I kept my arms crossed as I listened to her talk with Dr.Michael.
"Your nightmares what are they about? Specify them. Who is in them and what are they doing?" Dr.Michael questioned so I closed my eyes and tried to remember. Now a days when I'd get a nightmare I would wake up and find myself screaming over nothing.
"Think Leah" I whispered to myself as I clutched my hair. Blurry images appeared in my head but I managed to make out who it was.
"It's.... it's my dad. He's screaming at me" I felt sweat drip down my face as I kept my focus.
"Why is he yelling?" He asked.
You're a piece of shit! You should die!!
His voice rang in my head and I could feel someone gently touching my face in an attempt to calm me down.
"He had a gun in his hand.. a-and he holds it to my mom's head. I let him take her away from me... He mistreated her! It's all my fault" I felt Chloe kiss my forehead and I instantly calmed down.
"Leah you have no reason to feel guilty, none of this was your fault. The only thing you should be thinking about is your dad can't hurt her anymore. About Chloe, you need to treat her gently and don't rush things up. The best if you and Chloe talk alone. Come back tomorrow, if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to each of you separately. I would not want your presence to affect the responses to my questions" Dr.Michael explained as he opened the door, Chloe shot him a smile as we left but I kept my head down while we walked to our car.
I jumped into the passenger seat and Chloe intertwined her hand with mine. She drove with her free hand and I looked out the window, feeling quite anxious while doing so. Once we finally got home I exited the car and ran towards the house.
"It's all my fault" I whispered and Chloe shook her head. She sat me down on the couch before handing me my medication which I hesitantly took.
"It wasn't your fault, you need some time to learn that none of this is your fault. So we will keep on going to therapy together and you will keep drinking your medication so you won't have nightmares. Got it?" Chloe rested her forehead on mine and I gave her a quick kiss and she sighed happily. I felt relieved that I did not trigger one of her flashbacks and Chloe took notice of it.