Trigger Warning!! Mentions of SA, addictions, and abuse.

—

Willow nestled her head into the pillow, letting out a gentle sigh of contentment.

Something brushed her hair lightly, and the pillow shifted beneath her. Opening her eyes in confusion, alertness flooding her after the night before, her body tensed.

Breath quickening, she moved her head up and pulled herself into a seated position.

"Hey, hey," a gentle voice shook her from her reverie and she breathed in shakily.

"Oh," she said quietly, her eyes meeting Pedro's. Had he stayed over. "I'm sorry."

"Don't—don't apologize, don't do that. You did nothing wrong."

"Did you stay here last night?"

Pedro stiffened, nodding his head. "Yeah. You—you wouldn't let go of me and cried until I stayed. Of course I did. I wasn't going to let you be alone."

"Oh." Willow looked away then, an uncomfortable silence growing between them. "Okay. Thank you."

"Of course."

Willow wanted to cry. They'd never been so quiet before, so still in their words. There'd never been a lull in their conversation, they'd always...clicked.

And now...

"I should—I should get going."

Willow nodded, biting down on her lip to keep the tears at bay. "Sure," she agreed, willing herself to look at him but finding herself unable.

"Okay. Please call me if you need anything. Rob's downstairs and Frankie's...somewhere, I don't know exactly, though."

Willow nodded, feeling the bed weight lighten as he stood, walking to the door.

"Pedro," she said weakly. "Thank you, seriously. I—I don't know what I would've—"

Pedro turned back, leaning against the doorway, a small, kind smile on his face. "Willow, you don't have to thank me. Like I said, I'm always here. I'm happy you called me."

The silence fell between them again.

Pedro opened his mouth to say something else, but closed it, shaking his head a fraction. He pat the doorway twice with his fist, smiling sadly at her again before leaving.

Willow watched the doorway after he left, part of her wishing he'd turn back and pull her back into his arms. She wanted him to kiss away her tears — which were now pouring down her cheeks before she could stop them — and hold her.

But the other part of her was incredibly relieved he'd left. She didn't want him to see her like this, at her worst. Not when he'd never seen her at her best.

She didn't want to make him run in fear or disgust, she wanted him to love her.

The silence filled her ears again and she shook her head, wishing she wasn't alone. Rob's downstairs, he'd said. But did she want to see him either?

Willow stood quickly, glancing around in the corners of the room, feeling her breath quicken as another question crossed her mind.

What if the man had followed her? Or saw Pedro pick her up? What if he would try something again?

A sinking sensation settled in her stomach and she looked around hurriedly, eyes wide in fear. She didn't want him to get her again. She didn't want him to force her to do anything again, or worse —

"Oh, god," she cried out, wrapping her arms around herself. "Oh god. He's gonna — he — oh god."

Willow couldn't catch her breath. She couldn't stop crying. Her heart felt like it would burst from her chest it was beating so much. The silence was so loud.

Everything felt so uncomfortable. Her hair was too heavy on her head, her clothes were too tight, her skin too tight. Everything was too tight, she was suffocating. And itching. Her skin was on fire.

She itched her arms furiously, trying to stop them from burning. It felt like ants were crawling up and down her arms and legs, biting and nibbling at her skin.

"Willow, hey, hey, hey," someone's arms wrapped around her and she let out a quiet scream, trying to wriggle herself free from the person.

"Shh, stop, stop, hey, hey," they held her tighter and a sob ripped through her throat. Her knees buckled as everything came crashing down on her.

Willow tried to focus on his quiet voice, reassuring and soft in her ear. But she could only hear her own heartbeat, pumping in her ears, loud and defeating. She couldn't stop crying.

"Willow, look at me," she was turned around and someone was grabbing her face. She winced, closing her eyes fiercely.

She felt hot breath on her shoulder and remembered the mark on her shoulder. She opened her eyes with a gasp, looking at it and let out another sob at the red mark.

"No, no, no," she pleaded aloud. To whom? She wasn't entirely sure. "Please, I—I'm sorry. I won't drink again, I won't—"

"—Willow."

Willow jumped at the harsh voice, her eyes meeting a chocolate brown she'd grown to love.

"Pedro?" She asked quietly. "You—why're you...? I thought you left."

Pedro shook his head. "That doesn't matter. I need you to take a breath with me, Willow. Right now. Breathe in deeply."

"I'm—I can't, I can't, he—"

"—He's not here. Only me. Only you. Take a breath. I'm right here."

She nodded, following his instructions and taking a deep, shaky breath. She could feel his hands on her face still, warm and pressing gently against her cheeks. He was holding her still, keeping her eyes on him.

"Another. Now."

Wide-eyed, Willow did as told, and another when he told her to again.

"Good," he said firmly. "Now, come here." He pulled her to his chest and she cried quietly into it, feeling comforted by his warm embrace.

Willow could hear his heart beating against her ear and trembled against him, the fear and anxiety dissipating with every beat of his heart.

His grip tightened around her. "It's okay, baby," he said quietly, pressing a chaste kiss to her head. "It's okay. I promise. It's okay. Everything will be okay."

Tears trickled down her cheeks still, but her breathing had slowed and her mind quieted.

"I'm s-sorry," she hiccuped.

"Shh," he quieted her, running his hand along her back softly. "Don't apologize. You're okay. It's okay."

Neither of them said anything more. Time passed but neither of them cared how much. She clung to him like a life vest in the middle of the ocean, saving her from her own anxiety. He held her like a porcelain doll, scared she'd break but forever there to pick up the pieces.

—

2:13PM
"BAD BITCH FAMILY"

NO WILL TO LIVE
Hey guys
I'm okay
Thank you for your concern
I love you all so much
It's been
A long fucking week

JA🦒
WILKOW
WILLOW
AH
OMG
ARE YOU OKAY
I KISSED UOI
MISSED YOU
IM SO EXCIRED
SORRY
EXCITED
I CANT TEXT RIGHT

(SM)ACKLES
take a breath jar
goddamn
Hey Willow
I'm so glad you're okay
Do you want us to come over?
We can!
We miss you so much
We were so worried
You can take a few days off
We can push back shooting
Jeremy and Rob already said
it's okay
Don't even worry about it

MI(SHH!)
What they said
x10000000000000
Because I miss you most
Sweet sweet willow tree

Jeffrey Dad Morgan
Willow!!!!!!!!!
I'm so happy you're okay
Sorry we blew up your phone
We were just worried about you
honey. How're you feeling?
Do you need anything from us?

ALEX 🐈‍⬛VERT
LULU
WILLOW
WILLY
WILLY TRILLY
FO FILLY
WILLY WILLA
WILLOOOWWWW
happy you're okay:) please call us
Please
FaceTime or sm
When you're ready
And if you need us to we can
kick that pedro guy's ass

(SM)ACKLES
^
But also Alex cmon
Don't mention that

JA🦒
Guys
She literally is typing
Shhhhut up

NO WILL TO LIVE
Thank you guys❤️
Y'all made me laugh
I love you guys
Thank you
I'm okay
I am.
And no please don't
beat him up😭😭😭
We're actually like
Idk
Not together
I'm a wreck rn
But he's helping me
He's a good guy I'm serious
What happened was
not his fault to say the least.
CC dropped me.
Gonna take a min to get
something else.
Just give me like 3 days or smt
I'll come back 100% to spn
I can't just drop it or u guys
Thank you ❤️

Jeffrey Dad Morgan
GOOD.
Unsure about this guy still but
idk we gotta meet him i guess
We're just happy you're okay.
We love you kid

NO WILL TO LIVE
I love you too fake dad #1

—

"See?"

Willow looked up from Pedro's shoulder, a small smile on her face.

"Told you. They're not mad. No one is mad at you. We're just worried."

Willow snuggled closer to him and he chuckled, his hand tracing lightly against her stomach.

After Pedro calmed her and having showered, Willow was feeling better. She realized prior to showering that she'd been in completely different clothing than the night before.

After asking Pedro, he'd explained that Robert had changed her and she'd cried the whole time. When Pedro came back, she'd quieted and she begged him to stay.

Without hesitation, he'd complied and spent the night holding her hair when she'd run to the toilet puking, and carrying her back to bed after.

Robert snorted from the floor in front of the bed, cursing as he got shot down in Call of Duty. Willow rolled her eyes.

"Got something to say?"

"I'm not worried," he replied loudly. Willow smirked, feeling relieved that he wasn't treating her like she was broken.

"I'm mad as hell at you. Idiot. Can't believe you snuck out like a child and didn't even invite me. We could've ditched Frankie together but no, someone wanted to be the center of attention."

"Robert," Pedro chastised lightly but it fell from his lips when Willow let out a light laugh. She tossed a pillow at him, giggling when he let out a grunt.

"Shut up, Pattinson."

—
2:47PM
"The Living"

I WILL SURVIVE
heyy guys
I'm okay
I love you guys
Thank you for the kind words

Norm❤️
Willow
Holy shit
Hey sweet girl
You okay?
For real??

Lincoln Logs
My favorite girl ❤️
So glad you're okay
I love you
We all do
Very much
Just worried
Do you need anything?
We can bring you food!
Or books
Whatever you want

Pop-Eyed
Willow omg 🥺🥺
I love you sm
I'm glad you're okay
We miss you on set
Literally everyday

RIGGED TO EXPLODE
sissy 🥺
I miss you
I'm happy to hear from you
Ik I'm your favorite can you
call me later because you
lovvvveeeee me

Lauren Co-HOTTIE
mommy 😭
I love u
Glad you're okay
Miss you so much wtf
Say the word I'll bring food
Lots of pizza
Promise

DENAI (is a river...)
Hey sweet girl ❤️
I'm glad you're okay

I WILL SURVIVE
ah that's a lot of messages
Thank you guys
I'm okay
Chandler I'll call u soon
Probably tn if u want
Sorry it's been a minute
I just
Yknow
Been a week

Lincoln Logs
We understand
Don't worry for a second
Have you talked to your dad?
Hate to bring it up
But you have to.
He texted all of us
He's really worried

I WILL SURVIVE
no:(
I haven't
Ik I need to
But idk
I don't wanna face him
Make him disappointed
I got really drunk
Really fucked up last night
Like really bad
And I was with James all week
Idk
Guys it's not good rn

Norm❤️
You shouldn't have done that.
But you know that already.
Where is James
Just curious
for...
unrelated reasons.

Skull Crusher
Yeah completely unrelated
Dont be shy will
Drop the location

I WILL SURVIVE
😭😭
guys omg no
He's not the problem
I am
Or was
I'm working on it
I have an appt tomorrow w
my therapist.
And Pedro's here
And Robert.
And Frankie 😩
I'm okay promise

Pop-Eyed
I thought you guys
broke up??
I'm confused

Skull Crusher
It's complicated
She'll explain eventually
Right will?

I WILL SURVIVE
Of course ❤️
Love you guys
Ty for reaching out
and being concerned.
Gonna turn off notifs
and focus on me rn
I'll be back in 2 months
to start filming again!!!

RIGGED TO EXPLODE
YESSSSSSSSS
YAYYYYYY
2 MONTHHHHS!!!!

Lauren Co-HOTTIE
AHHHHH WIFE COME BACK
I KISS YOUR CUTE FACE
love you baby girl 💞

—

Willow smiled when Pedro placed a gentle kiss to her temple.

"Hey."

"Hi," she looked up at him innocently.

"We should talk."

Willow's face fell and she moved from his chest, sitting up and crossing her legs.

"Okay."

"I didn't mean now," Pedro shook his head. "It's okay. You've had a long day. I just mean...we should. Tomorrow?"

Nerves tugged at her stomach but Willow nodded. "Yeah, tomorrow."

"Okay." He smiled, reaching out and tugging her back to him, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. "Tomorrow."

Closing her eyes, Willow dreaded the future. Tomorrow would surely come with finalities and realizations and apologies and possibly news outlets — but today, she breathed in Pedro's scent.

Bergamot and cedar wood.

I love you, she thought sleepily as her mind clouded. His grip on her tightened and his heartbeat sped up, as though reading her thoughts.

Yesterday was terrible, one of the worst days Willow had ever been through. Tomorrow would be new and different and scary. She hoped it would go okay and he wouldn't leave her by the end of it.

"I love you too," his voice said softly, but she was too deep in sleep to realize. Thinking it her imagination, she clutched him tightly and reminded herself to never let go.

But today was good.

—

hehe ily guys