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Beca just wants the nightmares to stop.
For the past two weeks, she’s been plagued by truly horrific dreams that always involve Chloe being injured in one way or another. She doesn’t know why they started, all she knows is that for two weeks she hasn’t gone one night without being bombarded by the terrible mental images. She actively hates sleeping now because of it. Every night she dreads the inevitability of it.
Tonight is no different. As Beca is going through her nightly routine, that sense of dread is sitting in her stomach like lead. She’s trying desperately to keep her thoughts strayed away from any negativity, to instead focus on the positive things that happened to her today. Her mind flickers to when Chloe complimented a new mix she made, when Chloe laughed at one of her silly jokes, when Chloe kissed her on the cheek. A sense of calm overrides the heavy dread at the thoughts. Now if it can just stay that way, she’ll be thankful.
Beca crawls under the covers of her bed, making herself as comfortable as possible in the softness of the sheets. Once she’s positioned herself how she likes, she hesitantly closes her eyes and lets her mind succumb to the familiar pull of sleep. Her last thoughts are of striking blue eyes and megawatt smiles.
***
The first thing Beca notices as she enters the Bella house, is that every light is turned off.
That’s weird, she thinks. It’s only like this when everyone is asleep, but it’s only the afternoon right now. There’s no way the Bellas would be asleep by this time. It’s just not possible.
The second thing she notices is that it’s eerily quiet. It’s so quiet Beca thinks she could hear her heartbeat if she listened hard enough. That’s very unusual, too. She’s… never heard it so silent in here before. There’s always some type of noise to be heard, whether it be someone playing music, singing, boisterous laughing. Never dead silence.
“Guys?” Beca calls out as she cautiously makes her way through the house, looking for any signs of the girls. She checks the living room first. Nothing. Next is the kitchen. Nothing. Then, she begins to go up the stairs. Each step is more careful than the last, like the stairs will spontaneously fall through if she walks too hard. When she reaches her destination, she starts checking the bathroom and almost everyone’s rooms. Still nothing. Beca’s heart is beating faster now, and her breathing has quickened.
Finally, she slowly enters Chloe’s room. It’s the only part of the house she hasn’t checked yet. She has a really bad feeling about this…
“Chlo?” Beca sees what appears to be Chloe asleep in her bed. She takes a step closer to the redhead and quickly takes note that something is off. She’s not entirely sure why but she just knows something isn’t quite right. “Chloe?” She taps gently on Chloe’s shoulder in an attempt to stir her, but to no avail.
That’s when she notices it.
An empty pill bottle sitting on Chloe’s bedside table.
Beca feels her heart drop through the floor in that instant. The earth shatters beneath her.
No no no no, this can’t be happening. It can’t be.
Just like that, Beca enters the most panicked state she’s ever been in. “Chloe,” it comes out as a choked sob. She’s shaking Chloe’s shoulder frantically now. “Chloe, please wake up.” Beca quickly finds herself leaning down to check Chloe’s pulse, putting her ear against the girl’s chest, desperate to hear a heartbeat.
She’s met with silence.
Her world shatters even more.
“No,” Her voice is broken and splintered. “Please don’t do this to me,” Tears are falling freely onto Chloe’s slack body. “Chloe, please.” The hurt panging through Beca’s chest is indescribable. Her heart might as well have been ripped out of her and stomped on.
Today was gonna be the day she finally told Chloe how she feels about her.
And now the opportunity has been violently ripped away from her.
Torn to shreds in the blink of an eye.
***
Beca wakes with a harsh gasp.
Her heart is thumping wildly and tears are streaming rapidly down her face. The image of Chloe’s unmoving body sits at the forefront of her mind, taunting her. She can’t shake how real it all felt, panic is flowing through her veins.
“Shit,” she mutters under her breath.
Before she even realizes it, Beca is out of bed and swiftly heading towards Chloe’s room. Her feet are moving seemingly on autopilot. She only has one thought in mind.
Make sure Chloe is okay.
Beca opens Chloe’s door and spots the redhead tucked into bed. She almost lets herself feel relief before she remembers that’s exactly how Chloe appeared in the dream. Seemingly asleep. Her body tenses.
She immediately shakes Chloe’s shoulder. Beca hates the sense of deja vu that washes over her. This is all too similar to the nightmare. “Chloe?” She croaks out. Her heart has yet to cease its intense thumping.
“Becs?” All at once, the tension releases and Beca finally allows herself to feel relief. To let herself breathe.
“Oh thank God.” Beca exhales shakily. She figures she probably appears a bit manic right now but she can’t bring herself to care. All that matters is that Chloe is safe.
“Bec, what’s going on?” Chloe asks as she sits up in bed, her voice is ladled with grogginess and confusion.
“I…” Beca hesitates. Merely thinking about it steals the breath from lungs, she’s not ready to recount the tragic nightmare. “I had a bad dream.”
“Oh…” Auburn brows furrow and blue eyes shine with concern. “Do you wanna talk about it?”
Chloe, please wake up. Please don’t do this to me.
“No,” Beca says with a firm shake of her head. “I’m sorry for waking you. You can go back to sleep, Chlo.” Her words are a little rushed.
“Wait,” Chloe gently grabs Beca’s wrist. Beca’s breath catches in her throat. “You can stay with me,” the sincerity in her words makes Beca’s heart clench, “If you want to, of course.” Chloe adds after a beat.
A ghost of a smile plays on Beca's lips. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.” Red curls bounce as Chloe bobs her head. Chloe sounds more sure than she’s ever been. Beca couldn’t turn down her offer even if she wanted to.
“Okay.” Beca carefully climbs into bed next to Chloe, making sure to leave space between them as she gets under the covers.
Laying her head against the pillow, she’s instantly hit with the familiar scent of Chloe’s shampoo. The smell helps to alleviate the stress still sitting inside of her.
Beca feels the mattress move as Chloe shifts closer to her from behind. Suddenly, a comforting arm comes up to lay across Beca’s middle, effectively pulling her in to be flush against Chloe’s warm body. Their bodies slot together like puzzle pieces finally connecting. Beca tries not to think about the butterflies that are erupting in her stomach.
Chloe must be able to feel how tense Beca is, because in the next moment she’s murmuring: “It’s okay, Becs.” Chloe’s breath hits the back of Beca’s neck as the words are spoken. Beca suppresses a shiver.
Beca doesn’t respond to Chloe’s soft reassurance, instead she lets the tension spill completely from her body and relaxes into the redhead’s hold.
Chloe places a quick kiss against Beca’s shoulder, a content smile tugs at Beca’s lips at the feeling.
“Goodnight, Beca.”
“Goodnight, Chloe.”
Beca closes her eyes and almost instantly falls victim to sleep. This might be the most at peace she has ever felt.
For the first time in two weeks, Beca Mitchell does not suffer from a nightmare.
She knows Chloe Beale is to thank.