She woke up. Her room surrounded her, the darkness nearly engulfing her like in the dream, except for the small amount of light the window let in. She took in an uneven breath that turned into a half-sob.
Her phone buzzed she looked up and over to her dresser. She reached over and grabbed the device while wiping away the leftover tears. Clicking the on button she couldn't help but smile a little bit. Wally's face was on the screen followed by a short text. Goodnight, it read, I love you. :-). she took in another breath then unlocked her phone. Going to the text she sent a reply.
Hey, are you still up?
She waited a few seconds, then he responded.
Yeah, why do you ask?
Her hands shook as she typed.
I need to talk to someone.
After a few seconds her phone screen lit up with Wally's face again, but this time it had two buttons, accept and decline. She hit the green one and held it up to her ear.
"Hey," she shuddered out.
"Hey," Wally said softly.
"I-" Artemis broke off, unsure of herself and everything she wanted. "Can you come over, I just-" she tried again and tried to suppress another half-sob with a breath. "I just-" this time she felt the tears running down her face.
"Give me two minutes, ok?" Wally said, the sound of his voice calming her down.
"Ok," she said softly and then hung up.
She waited and felt stupid and weak. She was just so weak, so tiny. He had been right, she was just so-. Her thoughts stopped as she felt a brush of air and then a hand on playing lightly with her hair. She leaned into him, tears running down her face.
"What's wrong?" he whispered delicately, while wiping away a tear trail with his thumb.
"I had a dream," Artemis started then took a breath, "I was back in that room with him and he was. He was talking to me, telling me I wasn't good enough. He, he said I was weak and useless. That the team only took me in because they were sorry for me and because they wanted my connections. That I. That I was just a tool to them. He said that no one would want me, that no one could ever-" she shivered and took a breath. "He said no one could ever love me, that you-" she sobbed and Wally held her close. He didn't push, he knew what she needed. He held his arms around her tight and pulled her in close.
"Babe, you mean everything to me and there is no way you could ever be useless. You are a strong, independent person who I love more than food, you are not weak, useless, or a tool. Babe, you are strong, you are beautiful, and I love you more than anything because of that, never forget that," he whispered in her ear and then kissed her cheek softly.
She leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his torso and he pulled her down to where they were lying on the bed next to each other. After a couple of seconds she curled up into him and started crying again. She just wanted that voice in her head to disappear, the one that kept reminding her of all she couldn't do, and why she couldn't do it. Wally frowned and began running his hand down her spine.
After a while her sobs died down and she fell asleep in the one person's arms who could make her feel good.
A/N- That is the end.