Chapter 1

AJ Williams sat in the corner of his room, head buried in his arms, which rested on his legs, drawn up close to his chest. He was shaking, sobbing, whimpering. It had been six years since a man broke into his home and murdered his family. Since that day, he'd been living with his grandparents, Wilma and Gregory. When the couple heard of the tragedy, they stepped up to become AJ's legal guardians. When they first picked up the boy from foster care, he was a wreck. His foster family told the couple about the constant night terrors, and panic attacks that ravaged the boy. After the nine-year-old was home with his grandparents, it took him over a month not to scream whenever one of his grandparents approached him. That was the only improvement AJ showed in the past six years. He hardly talked and shut down mentally.

He would have constant flashbacks that him to have severe panic attacks. It often took his grandparents a while to calm the boy down. A therapist came to the house every other day to work with AJ to try and help him. For the most part, AJ is cooperative, but there are days when the boy just wants to be alone. After meeting AJ for the first time six years ago and having a couple of sessions with him, the therapist diagnosed AJ with severe PTSD, depression, anxiety, and panic disorder.

AJ pressed his fingers to his head, tangling them in his wavy, chestnut hair, and rocked back and forth as another flashback occurred. The familiar feeling of panic rose in his chest. His whimpers turned to screams of fear and horror. His bedroom door opened, and Wilma came rushing in.

"AJ," she said.

AJ turned towards his grandmother, eyes wide open in fear, and reached for her hands. Wilma felt his hands tremble in hers and her heart ached for the boy.

"It's okay, it's okay," she said, "shh, shh."

The older woman embraced the boy as he shook. Moments later, the trembling subsided, and AJ's harsh sobs were reduced to hiccups. He pulled out from Wilma's embrace and rubbed his eyes.

"Do you want some lunch," Wilma asked, "I can see if grandpa can warm up that pizza in the freezer, would you like that?"

AJ nodded as he sniffed harshly.

"Okay," Wilma said as she kissed AJ's head, "let's go then."

She stood up and held out her hand. AJ slowly took it, and he stood up. Together the two walked into the kitchen.

"Here," Wilma began, "go take a seat at the table, and I'll ask grandpa to make that pizza, okay?"

AJ nodded in response as he sat down. He watched as his grandmother walked to the door that led to the backyard and called for her husband.

"Gregory," she called out, "can you warm up that pizza for AJ?"

"Sure thing," a man's voice responded.

Soon the couple walked back into the house. Gregory walked over and preheated the oven, got a pan out, and the pizza. Gregory put the pizza in the oven when the oven was warm enough. As it cooked, Gregory and Wilma watched AJ as he sat at the table, lost in his thoughts. Eventually, the pizza was done. As Gregory took the pizza out of the oven, he accidentally touched the hot pan. He cursed and dropped the pan. It slammed to the ground.

"No," AJ screamed as he stood up.

The boy covered his ears and backed himself into a corner.

"No! No! No! No," he repeated.

"AJ," Gregory yelled, running over to the shaking teen, "Hey, hey."

The man took AJ's face into his hands and made the boy look at him.

"You're okay. I accidentally touched the pan and burnt myself. I'm sorry it scared ya."

AJ shoved the man away and attempted to make himself smaller by curling up into a ball.

"No, no, no," he continued to repeat.

Tears streamed down the boy's face as his panic continued. The sound of gunshots echoed in his head. He smacked his head and pulled his hair as he tried to get the echoing to stop.

"No, no," Gregory began, "let's not do that."

The older man tried to pry AJ's hands out of his hair, but the teen screamed in response. Gregory ignored the teen's screams as he got behind AJ. Gregory had to forcefully pry AJ's hand open to get the boy to stop pulling at his hair. Once Gregory could get AJ to let go, he wrapped his arms around the teen, restraining him in a bear hug. AJ screamed until his throat was sore and raw.

After about an hour, the echoing in AJ's head subsided, and he lay in his grandfather's arms, a sobbing mess. Eventually, AJ's sobs turned to harsh hiccups as he slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes. Gregory looked up at his wife and mouthed the word nap. Wilma nodded.

"Let's go take a nap, huh," Gregory asked.

AJ nodded as the two stood up. The two walked to the boy's bedroom, and Gregory tucked the boy in. AJ was asleep in minutes. Gregory ruffled the boy's hair before closing the door as he left, leaving the boy in a dreamless sleep.

A loud clap of thunder woke AJ up from his nap. He shot up instantly, and his eyes darted around the room. His breathing picked up, and he tried to calm himself, but another loud clap of thunder only worsened his panic attack. The deafening thunder made the boy scream and caused him to fall out of his bed. He quickly crawled under his bed and curled up in the fetal position. Moments later, another loud clap of thunder was followed by AJ's terrified screams as he wrapped his arms around his head protectively. Thunder clapped, and lightning flashed as the power went out. AJ screamed again and backed himself against the wall beneath his bed.

"No, no, no, no, no," he repeated, "no, no, no, no, no!"

His bedroom door opened, and he heard footsteps.

"No, no, no, no, no," he continued.

"AJ," his grandmother said.

AJ quickly unwrapped himself from his defensive position upon hearing her voice and looked at Wilma, his room now illuminated by the flashlight in her hand. Wilma smiled softly at her grandson.

"AJ, sweetie," she soothed, "it's okay. It's just a nasty thunderstorm. Come here."

She held out her hand, and AJ took it. He crawled out from beneath his bed and into his grandmother's arms. They stayed like that for a few moments until Wilma pulled back as she heard the tornado sirens go off. AJ's eyes widened in fear as he whimpered.

"It's okay," Wilma said, "let's go downstairs to the basement. Grandpa's already down there."

The two made their way to the furnished basement. They walked into the room where Gregory was. There was an oversized couch, a coffee table, and a tv in the room. AJ made his way to the couch and curled up on it as Wilma sat next to Gregory. Eventually, the sirens stopped, the storm faded away, and the power returned. Wilma and Gregory looked over at AJ, and he still sat there on the couch, curled up in a ball. Wilma stood up and touched the boy's shoulder. AJ quickly sat up before calming down. He rubbed his eyes again. He was so tired. Wilma sat down next to him, and he laid his head on her shoulder.

"I know you're tired, honey," she said, "but don't you want to eat something first?"

Just as AJ shook his head, his stomach growled.

"Do you want a milkshake?"

AJ instantly nodded, causing his grandmother to chuckle.

"Okie dokie," she said, kissing his head, "let's go get our pajamas on, and then I'll make you your milkshake, okay?"

Everyone then went upstairs. Wilma took AJ to his bedroom, where she helped him get his pajamas on and helped him brush his teeth before bringing him into bed.

"I'll go make your milkshake, okay," she chirped.

AJ nodded. Wilma returned with the milkshake, a glass of water, and AJ's medication a few moments later. She handed him his pills along with the glass of water. AJ quickly dumped the drugs in his mouth and chugged the water. Wilma sat with AJ until he finished his milkshake. She had him use the bathroom one last time before finally tucking him in. She stayed with him until he fell asleep. She sighed as she left the room, knowing the events that would take place in just a couple of hours.