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Her ribs closed tight around her lungs, making her struggle to breathe.
Her eyes were closed shut, her head felt as if it was gonna split and her ears ringed in the quiet of her head.
A voice cut through the silence
-"Cassie?" She recognized the familiar voice of her lover.
-"There you are, holy shit, I've been looking for you for so long" she felt a pair of arms wrap around her.
She tried to look at her but her eyelids remained shut; the more Cassandra listened to her talk, the more she was convinced something was wrong, abnormal.
-"you're safe now, I'm here"
Her throat dried, the moment she realized that voice, which she thought belonged to her beloved, was distorted, raw.
She managed to crack an eye open and screamed but nothing came out.
Right in front of her, that which used to be the well known flesh of her girlfriend's face was now melting, like she was a wax statue, like she wasn't real.
An almost liquid piece of her skin fell on the floor with a splat and Cassandra felt the air leave her lungs.
She let out a soul piercing scream as the bones made it out of the molten meat, tumbling down and falling on her as they convulsed mindlessly.
She felt acid burn at the base of her throat.
She felt her body go cold and her mind went blank, as she tried to process the impossible scene in front of her.
She sat straight up, the way-too-quick motion making her sway a little as she held her head in her hands, nails digging into her skin and fingers curling around her brown locks, in a desperate attempt to ground herself.
Her lungs didn't feel tight anymore.
She inhaled and exhaled shakily, the ringing in her ears quieting down as a new sound found its way to her.
It was a voice.
Panicked but soft, familiar, way too familiar; she still couldn't bring herself to open her eyes, but she was willing to lend the voice an ear.
"Cassie? Cassie, hey, it's me, it's me you're okay"
You whispered, hesitating before placing your hand on her shoulder and gently shaking her.
Even with her nightmares getting better since you had gotten together a year ago, they still showed up sometimes, you knew that; every once in a while, she'd fall right back in, wake up screaming and avoid sleep for a few days, until you finally coaxed her back into resting.
It always freaked you out a little, not in a bad way, just in a "concerned for her mental health way".
Having slumber interrupted, by almost traumatizing visions, could NOT be good for her brain; on the other hand, waking up in the middle of the night to your girlfriend screeching at the top of her lungs wasn't really good for you either.
But you pushed through. For Cassie.
When you noticed how unresponsive she was to your touch and words, you inched closer next to her on the bed, trying to get a look at her eyes, which were shut close.
-"Cass?"
You tried again, your voice tentative, as if trying to convince a small animal you weren't going to hurt it.
-"can you hear me? Can you hear what I'm saying?"
A small nod.
Okay. Good. At least she wasn't shutting you out completely.
-"that's good, okay" You honestly didn't really know what to do; you had comforted her before, after nightmares, yes, but this was different, this one looked more intense than the other and Cassandra looked...more affected by it.
Usually you would hug her and tell her she was safe, then you'd stay up with her to keep her company for a while and that would be it. All done.
You had a feeling this time even getting her to calm down was going to be harder than usual.
-"Cassie" you tried again, bringing your tone back to something resembling calm.
-"Baby, you need to open your eyes, you're shaking" you took note of the tremble in her shoulders. Faint, but present.
You also noticed how her hands clutched her head, how her nails dig into her scalp.
You sighed softly, lifting your hands and gently gripping her wrists, then slowly, you pulled her hands away from her hair, giving her the time to untangle her fingers from it; you placed them in her lap, running you thumb over her knuckles.
You looked back up at her face, tears running down her pale cheeks.
You reached up your hand, brushing away her tears with no hesitation; Cassandra sucked in a breath, her body stiffening for a second, before relaxing again, her shoulders falling down.
-"Darling?" You murmured, cradling her cheek, like it was the most precious thing in the world.
"Can you please open your eyes for me? I promise you, it's okay"
Slowly, she opened an eye, cautiously taking you in before popping the other one open as well.
She looked so fragile: still a bit shaky, the tears drying on her face.
You decided you had to fix that.
You let your hand fall down to her lap, intertwining with her fingers.
-"How about I make you some coffee? Mh?" You proposed, slowly getting out of bed and pulling her along with you.
She didn't answer, not really, just let herself be pulled along as you made you way to the kitchen, flicking on the light switch and sitting her down at the table.
You let go of her hands and placed a kiss on her forehead as she stared up at you; you quickly made your way back to the bedroom and grabbed a blanket, which you dropped on her shoulders and wrapped around her.
Once she was all warm, you placed your hands on your hips and smiled triumphally, before remembering why you actually were in the kitchen in the first place.
Still feeling Cassandra's eyes on you, you made your way to her stove and placed the coffee pot on it, grabbing a mug from the cupboard and setting it on the counter. Once done, you poured the hot liquid in it, carefully picking it up and handing it to Cassandra, who took it with a nod.
You slumped in the seat next to her, with a satisfied sigh, looking at her for a few seconds as she quietly sipped her coffee.
Then she looked back at you, making eye contact for a few seconds before muttering:
-"Thank you"
You smiled, letting your chin rest on your palm as you felt your chest light up: -"You're welcome" you mumbled back.
You waited a few seconds, giving her time to drink a bit more, before trying to understand the situation.
-"you wanna talk about it? This one seemed...worse than the other ones"
Your voice was steady, calm but not imposing, giving her the chance to shut down the topic in case she wasn't ready yet.
She looked at you, her expression momentarily blank before her gaze turned vulnerable: -"no, nothing special, nothing worth mentioning"
You were a little taken aback by the contrast between her firm voice and her tired eyes.
-"you sure?" You asked,
-"because you went full on non responsive for a little bit, really had me scared, you know?"
Sure, maybe mentioning how fucking scared you got wasn't the smartest move, but if you wanted her to be vulnerable with you, you had no choice but to open up first.
Cassandra seemed to consider what you said for a moment, before closing her eyes and shaking her head slightly: -"no, really, it was stupid" she whispered, crossing her arms, then leaning down and resting her chin on them.
Okay then.
You hummed, maybe it really was stupid, or maybe she was downplaying it to try and make you relax about the whole ordeal.
Little did she know, you would only be able to relax, once she was okay again.
Either way, you didn't push, this was not the time to anyway; maybe later in the day, but not right now.
You watched as she took another sip from her cup, her brown hair falling to the side and framing her face perfectly, the moonlight shining timidly through the window and reflecting upon her eyes in a way that made her look almost angelic.
You were brought back to reality by the quiet thump of the mug being set down, your eyes met Cassandra's in the quietness of your kitchen and you instinctively sucked in a breath.
After a moment, she parted her lips, as if hesitant to speak, then the words came through.
-"Are you like..." She stopped, looking away and biting her lip for a moment.
-"you know, you?"
You were taken aback by the sudden question, seemingly out of the blue. If you were you? Of course you were you! Who else were you supposed to be?
That said, it wasn't unusual for her to ask you such silly questions in the middle of the night, especially after a nightmare, so you went along with it.
-"Yes, Cass"
you answered, your voice sure and unwavering.
-"I am me." Your hand found hers over the table, rubbing small circles over her knuckles with your thumb.
You continued: -"I am me and I am real, and so are you."
You sat up a little bit straighter.
-"you are real and safe, I can guarantee you are"
Cassandra seemed to stiffen as your words mentioned her, but then she sighed and let her shoulder slump.
-"i know, I know, you're right. It was a silly question." she mumbled, letting out a dry chuckle as she looked down at the table.
You followed her gaze to your intertwined hands, you smiled.
-"no, no. Not silly at all" you said casually, looking away from her for a moment.
Her eyes shifted back to you, she arched a brown in a skeptical expression.
You snickered quietly
-"okay, maybe it was a little bit silly, yeah"
Your eyes softened as you smiled at her
-"still, I don't mind answering your silly questions"
Cassandra turned her face away at that, even though you could still see the faint blush spreading across her cheeks.
She let out a huff and gave your hand a squeeze.
-"I'll stay up with you" you declared, your expression unwavering.
Cassandra turned her gaze back to you:
-"you don't have to" the words left her mouth quickly, but they still felt small, unsure, hesitant.
-"I know, I want to" you reassured her, squeezing her hand back.
She looked at you for a moment, then offered you a weak smile, the tension leaving her body as her shoulders sagged a little bit.
She wasn't okay yet, sure, but it was a start.