Chapter seven:
She's Falling From Grace

It would be a little over two weeks, before she saw her neighbor again. Serena had successfully avoided Charlie in those weeks, while she eagerly waited for her birthday to arrive, which was now just two weeks away.

But it was that night, with the wind howling and the rain pouring outside her window. Just so much like that night three years ago, did things change for Serena.

Like the days before it, Serena had stayed out in the city all day and had snuck back in later after everyone was asleep.

She'd gotten ready for bed like usual, dressed comfortably in her bunny pajamas. She had fallen asleep beneath her blankets, feeling safe with her door locked and her dresser shoved up against it.

That is, until the dream came.

Serena woke with a scream, her body thrashing on the bed as she fought against her restraints. "No- No," she sobbed, breaking free of her blankets. A flash of lightning brought another scream from her and she fell out of her bed with a loud thump.

With the dream still lingering, Serena scrambled away from her bed, hoping to escape her pursuer.

Serena collapsed near her door, her back falling against her oak dresser. Panting, she lifted her trembling hands to her face to look at them. There wasn't any blood, not on her hands, or her arms. Still shaking, she hugged herself. "Just a dream," she whispered. "It was just a dream."

A flash of lightning lit up the darkness outside her bedroom window, which was quickly followed by a loud rumble of thunder.

She flinched at the noise, it making the dream so much more real to her.

She heard a door open from somewhere nearby and Serena stilled. The sound of feet padding against the hallway carpet, had her heart leaping to her throat. But it wasn't until they stopped at her door, did she scramble to her feet.

Running to her window, Serena shoved it open. A blast of icy wind blew her long blonde hair back. Rain soaked her instantly, and she shivered at the coldness that seeped into her bones. Shivering, she climbed out onto her windowsill, and she looked down. Serena hesitated, unsure of leaping blindly from her window.

Lightning struck the earth, startling her from her torn thoughts. With a shriek, she fell forward. Serena landed awkwardly on her hands and feet, much like a cat would.

With a grunt, she gasped at the jarring pain in her legs the landing had caused. Standing, she started to the front of the house. Serena hesitated, her eyes darting from her neighbor's house, to the street that led to the city.

Thunder rolled overhead and Serena darted to Draco's house without another thought. She raced across the grass, ignoring the walkway, jumped the porch steps and went straight for the front door.

Shivering from the cold, she hastily knocked on the front door. A flash of light had her crying out in fear. She cowered before his door. "Please- please open up," she begged, knocking harder this time. She crossed her arms over her chest to fight off the cold. It gave her little warmth though. "Open please," she pleaded desperately and the door before her opened.

Serena drew in a sharp breath. Her body trembled from the cold, but it wasn't until she saw him standing there, did she really start to cry. Throwing herself at him, a sob tore its was through her trembling lips. Her arms snaked around his waist and she buried her face against his chest. She cried harder, her chest tightening in fear as another flash of light burned her eyes.

When he stepped back, she followed and was forever grateful, when he shut the door behind them. "What's wrong Serena," he asked gently, his hand touching the top of her head. He sounded so concerned, and his caress was so soft that when she tried to speak, her voice hitched and she cried even harder.

"Come on," he whispered gently and led her into his living room. He eased her into the sofa and had to pry her arms from around him, into order to move away, and leave her alone for a just a moment.

Serena hugged herself, her fingers digging into her shoulders. Draco returned with a blanket. "You should really get those wet clothes off and take a hot bath," he instructed. "But this will do for now."

He draped the blanket over her shoulders, pulling it tightly to trap the heat to her chilled body.

Serena buried her face into its softness, and hide her flowing tears. It was a long time, before her sobs subsided, and her tears dried.

Sniffling, Serena lifted her head to find Draco sitting in a chair to her right. "Feeling better," he inquired. Serena nodded, using the blanket to hide her soaked pajamas. "Thank you," she said with another sniffle.

Draco suddenly got to his feet. "We really should get you in some dry clothes," he added gently.

Serena watched him, her hand absently wiping away a lone tear. "It was bad," she said to stop him from leaving her alone again. "It was the first time I'd ever been that scared before."

He turned to look at her, his expression passive and she wondered what he was thinking.

"It happened three years ago, when things hadn't been so bad. Mom just dated these men who were mean. I-I always thought it was because she liked arguing with them," she said, her lips trembling, but she wiped her hand across them.

"I had been late coming home that night. Molly and I had gone to the movies after school. So it was dark and the weather was kind of like tonight's." She was shivering again, but it wasn't from the cold. Lifting her eyes, she looked at him now.

He was still standing where he had stopped, but he was facing her and kept quiet. "They were arguing, just like that morning. So I just went to my room. I wanted nothing to do with it. But then I heard this sound.

"I didn't know what it was, so I went to go look," she hesitated now, unsure if she really wanted to say what had happened that night out loud. She'd never told anyone about this. Not even her friends. She hadn't known how they would react. "I-I went into the kitchen."

She could see it now, just like in her dreams. The kitchen had been thrashed it's destruction being the sound she had heard. "Mom was against the fridge, her clothes were bloody and she had a black eye." she inhaled, her breath hitching before she let it out slowly. "I didn't know what to do. This had never happened before. Charlie had been better than the others. He had just like to yell, he never gotten physical."

Pursing her lips, she fought the sting that started in the back of her eyes. Did she really want him to know how scared she had been?

Serena let out another shuddering breath. Her hands tightened on the blanket, her knuckles turning white. She could see Draco was going to say something. Either to encourage her to continue, or say she didn't have to.

"I remember him attacking me. He must have seen me and just- came at me," her lips trembled again as her eyes fell close. "I-I tripped, I think it was over my own feet, but I wasn't sure. I just remember falling.

"And then I was crawling backwards as he came after me. I- I was so terrified I couldn't think straight. I wanted to get up, to run or hide, or something. But my body wouldn't listen." She squeezed her eyes shut, as they started to burn again.

Her hands released the blanket, only to form fists in front of her face. "You said these were defensive wounds," she said after a moment of silence. "I got these when my back hit the wall, and he was on top of me.

"He attacked me with a knife, as if he didn't care. Even though I was crying and screaming and begging him to stop," Serena was startled from her living nightmare, when Draco suddenly sat next to her on the couch. He was looking at her with a strange expression on his face. One she had never seen before. What is he thinking, she wanted to know.

Then to her surprise, he pulled her against him, his arms holding her much like she had held onto him earlier. "I," she started to say, but was stopped when his arms tightened around her.

Unsure, but wanting to do it more than anything, Serena laid her head against his shoulder. A strange feeling passed through her, one she didn't recognize, but accepted, because it just felt right. Draco didn't say anything, even though she wanted to, just to kill the silence they had fallen into.

She didn't want him to let her go. She felt warm and safe for the first time, like nothing could hurt her anymore. Turning her face in, she stared at the crook of his neck, through heavy lidded eyes. She breathed in deeply and sighed blissfully. He smelled so good.

Serena closed her eyes, wanting this moment to last forever. "We should get you into dry clothes," he said suddenly, but he made no move to pull away. Serena made an inaudible agreement, but she was already drifting off to sleep.

"Come on," he whispered against her ear and Serena opened her eyes. Her head titled upwards so that she could see his face. "I'm so tired," she murmured.

Draco nodded and with great care, helped her to her feet. Serena used his strength to walk, since she had no strength of her own. They managed to get to the bedroom, where he eased her down onto the bed.

"You can sleep here," he offered. He went to his dresser and pulled out a shirt for her to wear. You can put this on while I dry your pajamas for you."

Serena lifted her pajama top up over her head and took the extended shirt. Her eyes checked to make sure he was still turned around, before she tugged the dry shirt on.

Standing, Serena slipped out of her pajama bottoms and straightened the shirt so that it fell to the middle of her thighs. "Done," she called. Draco turned and looked at the pajamas she held in her arms. "It's late, so get some rest and I'll get these dried," he instructed her.

Serena looked at the time. It was two in the morning already. "I'm such a bother," she whispered miserably. "I'm really sorry, it was rude of me to come here in the middle of the night." She dropped her chin to her chest and sighed.

"Hey," he replied, taking a step towards her. She looked up then, a blush gracing her cheeks. "You're not a bother Serena. If you ever need to get away, my door will always be opened to you."

Serena smiled lazily at that. "Are you sure," she started to ask, even though she was already pulling the covers back.

The corner of his lips lifted as he helped her climb in beneath the blankets. "If it wasn't Serena, you would be the first to know," was his answer.

Serena watched through heavy lidded eyes as he collected her pajamas and walked to the bedroom door. "I'll be back in a moment to check on you," he said and shut the door quietly behind him.

A smile tugged at her lips as Serena snuggled closer to the warmth of the bed. It only took her a second, before she was fast asleep.

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Thank you all for the reviews D i hope all of u had a wonderful ThanksGiving, as i did. Just to let you all know, that things do pick up, because the end is drawing near. Hope this chapter is to ur liking as the ones in the past were. Happy Holidays!!!

LP