Inhale

Aslynn

Ash wakes up screaming for the third time since the day Katie disappeared.  In her dream, her little sister had been up in a tree, smiling down at her with her blue eyes flashing in the afternoon sun. Ash yelled over and over for Katie to get down so she wouldn't get hurt, but the little girl simply stared down and laughed, unaware of the danger of the situation. Before Ash could react, Katie jumped from the tree and landed in the splinters of dead branches and leaves far below.

Now awake, Ash can still see the twisted, mangled body of her sister behind her eyelids.

Looking around, Ash finds herself surprised that her mom hasn't yet run into her room yet, as has happened the two times before when she'd had such dreams. Thinking, Ash quickly remembers. It's Saturday. Mom's at the house today.

Relieved she doesn't have to worry about looking into her mother's empty gray eyes for at least another few hours, Ash shakes off the dream and then collapses back down onto her pillows right as her phone rings on the nightstand next to her.

Groggily, she picks it up and answers without reading the caller ID.

"Hello?" Her voice comes out sounding more annoyed than she'd intended, and the person on the other line hesitates for a second.

"Did I wake you up?" The voice makes Ash quickly sit up, which conjures a head rush that makes her vision spin.

"Chris? Is that you?" The male voice laughs, and Ash blushes.

"Yes, It's me, sleepy head. You do realize it's almost noon, right? I thought we were meeting up today?"

Ash groans and swings her legs off the side of the bed. "Yeah, yeah. I forgot to set my alarm. Give me like an hour. I'll be there." She doesn't give her best friend a chance to say goodbye before she hangs up the phone, tossing it onto her bed.

How could she have been so stupid? She thinks to herself. It doesn't take her long to pull on a pair of jeans and a dark green sweater, grabbing her coat from the downstairs closet as she makes her way out the door. She doesn't even pause to consider grabbing breakfast before she is out the door and hiking through the snow.

The walk to the café down the road isn't far, but it feels like days of walking at a shuffle through the thick blocks mounds of ice until Ash pushes open the glass door. A bell chimes above her head, and the warm smell of fresh bread and coffee creamer filled her with euphoria. The bustling baristas behind the counter glance up at her briefly, mustering half-smiles to their customer before returning to their work.

Glancing around the crowded room full of small square tables and chattering couples, Ash finally spots Chris sitting at a corner booth waving her over. She hurries over and sits down, shrugging her large jacket into the space beside her.

"I thought I'd be waiting forever," Chris chuckles, sweeping his shaggy brown hair out of his emerald eyes. Ash studies the freckles that are sprinkled across his nose, again noting how they make him look like he just walked straight out of a teen beach movie.

"I'm sorry," she mumbles, ducking her head to hide her blush. Though Chris has been her best friend since the moment when they were both six years old and were seated together on the bus for first grade, she still can't get over the warmth that fills her whenever he meets her eyes.

"Don't apologize, Ashes. I'm just glad you're out of bed and not looking like a troll monster." Ash rolls her eyes, flicking a loose lock of hair over her shoulder.  As she tries to think of what to say, a barista holding a brown tray walks by, placing two mugs of steaming hot chocolate in front of them both. Before he leaves, he winks at Ash and places a folded receipt in front of her.