Scream Silently

Scarlett let out a scream as she violently sat up in her bed, startled by a nightmare she couldn’t remember. Her forehead was sweaty, her heart was pounding, and her breathing was uneven. Slowly, she tried to come to, but still she couldn’t remember what it was that startled her in the first place.
“Dalton? Are you awake?” She stared at her silent phone for a good ten minutes.
“Ya, I am now. What’s up?”
“I had the weirdest dream. I don’t remember what the dream was but my heart won’t stop racing… It’s scary.”
“Are you ok?”
“I guess so, it’s just weird.”
“Hopefully it won’t come back when you go back to sleep. I’ll see you in the morning, just remember that.”
“Thanks, dear. (:”
“Goodnight, Scarlett.”
“Good… 3 am, Dalton. Sorry for waking you.”
“No problem, wish I could do more.”
“You already did enough.”
“That’s good.”
She closed her phone and fell back into her bed, shutting her eyes and finding comfort in the fact that Dalton had talked to her.
Six hours later, he was at her doorstep with a box of donuts. Scarlett trudged down the stairs, still in her undershirt and pajama pants. Without realizing this, she opened the door.
“Oh, Dalton!” She blushed, quickly realizing how awful she must look, “Um, come in.”
He smiled, “You look pretty today, Scarlett.”
She looked down. “Sorry… I didn’t know you were coming so early…”
“I just thought we could share these donuts,” he shrugged, “I was in the mood for some.”
She smiled, “Thanks for thinking of me.”
Dalton nodded, taking a bite out of his donut. “Aren’t you going to try one?”
Scarlett reluctantly began eating, “You’re trying to tell me something aren’t you.” She gave Dalton a suspicious glance.
“Um?”
“You know how horribly these things cause you to gain weight.”
“… I guess. They just taste good.” He eyed her from head to toe. “Besides, you’re perfect the way you are.”
She laughed. “Hardly.”
“Well your weight is perfect, I hope you know that.”
Scarlett said nothing. Dalton continued eating to ease the uncomfortable air in the room.
Scarlett sighed. “I guess it only matters that you think so.” She sat next to him, laying her head on his shoulder. “I won’t argue with you.”
“Thanks.”
They sat in silence for the next while, listening to the sounds of the other’s breathing.
“Hey Dalton?”
“Scarlett.”
“Thank you.”
“For the donuts?”
“No, for being you. For being something good in my life.” She blushed, and bit her lip. “Sorry, that was a stupid thing to say.”
“Not if you meant it. And I could thank you for the same.”
“You’re weird.”
“You love it.”
She smiled, “Yeah, quite a lot.”
The two cleaned up the table from breakfast, and Scarlett headed upstairs to change. Her mind wandered in all different directions, but it always came back to herself. She didn’t know what to do with herself, what to think of all the feelings she kept harboring. She wanted to tell Dalton, but she was still afraid to. She was afraid of being wrong about herself.
There was a knock on the door. “Sorry to bother you, but are you okay in there..?”
“Oh, yeah, sorry Dalton. I got lost in thought again…” Scarlett stepped out, wearing a pale blue sundress and flats with a flowered pattern. She walked with a different step, suppressing her self-conscious feelings about dressing so differently. “I just… My mind’s been racing a lot lately.”
“Do you need to talk about it?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“… Well, I’m here.”
“I know,” she smiled, “but for now let’s just take a walk to the park.”