The Grims

Chapter 23- It Was All A Dream

Cima woke up with a loud gasp, terror shaking through her body. She wiped away the crust from her eyes and the dried tears on her face. Her window was open, the wind whooshing loudly. She got up and closed it, looking around with such panic in her eyes.

The front door opened and closed, and she got up, running downstairs to see who it was. Dixie had stitches in her stomach, like before. She was with her father, like before.

"What just happened? How are you here? What? Did you just get back from the hospital?" Cima asked frantically.

"Calm down, sis. Of course we did. Why? Was something wrong?" Dixie asked worriedly.

"The nightmares. They somehow came back, and you came back from the hospital, and-"

"Cima, relax sweetheart. Why don't you take one of your medications and you can go back up to your room?" Mr. Grim said gently.

"Actually, Dad, I should take her up to her room. Make sure she just had a nightmare and nobody broke in, you know?" Dixie offered.

"Sure, honey. But be careful," Mr. Grim advised.

Dixie nodded and grabbed her sister's arm, leading her slowly back up to her room. She went downstairs, getting a bottle of water and mixing a peach ice tea packet into it. She put it on her sister's nightstand as Cima stared at the wall. Silent tears were flowing down her cheeks.

"What's wrong?" Dixie asked, sitting across from her.

"That was all a dream," Cima sobbed, dropping her head and letting her hair cover her face. "Maybe we're still thirteen and eleven and I'm still in my coma and I won't even know it until I wake up again."

"Sis, look at the date," Dixie said, pointing at Cima's computer.

Cima got up and sat at her computer, checking the date and time. It was three days after Dixie went to the hospital. The next day was Halloween. "And then, look at this." She motioned to the pirate costume hung up on the closet door Cima had set out in her dream.

"We both had the dream again," Cima said, taking a sip of the flavored water.

"That wasn't a dream, sis." Dixie shook her head. "Not anymore."

They stayed up for the rest of the night, talking. Cima found it refreshing. They separated when the sun rose and got dressed. It was Halloween Eve. Cima's phone dinged, and she looked at it quickly, a bobby pin between her teeth.

Abigail:
Two new students today!

Cima looked at it with curiosity. She called her friend. "What are you talking about?" Cima asked when the phone was picked up.

"Two new students, one for the juniors and one for the freshman," Abigail explained with excitement.

"Well, be sure to dress nice today for the new kid, like you always do," Cima said sarcastically, tying her hair up.

"Are you dressing up?" Abigail asked curiously.

"I'm hinting my costume a little." Cima smiled as she put in gold hoops and a small ring into the piercing at the top of her ear.

"Can't wait!" Abigail said excitedly before hanging up.

"Sis, are you rea—whoa," Dixie stopped, noticing her outfit. "I've never seen the natural color."

"I'll dye it after Halloween again. Pirates didn't have dyed hair, did they?" Cima said, smiling brightly.

"No, they didn't." Dixie shook her head.

Everyone stared at them, especially Cima, as they walked into school. Abigail whistled as the sisters separated and Abigail walked up to Cima.

"Still such a beauty. I wish I had your looks," Abigail said jealously.

"No, of course not. You're pretty too," Cima reasoned.

"Whatever you say," Abigail sighed as they walked into class.

The teacher walked in shortly after and looked around. "Where's Ms. Grim?"

"Right here, mam," Cima giggled, raising her hand.

"Sorry, Cima. I didn't recognize you. You always have your hair dyed," the teacher laughed.

"No problems," Cima assured her.

"Okay, now that that's settled, today's a free day. Since there's a new kid coming, we need to catch him up before we move onto something else."

Cima immediately took out her headphones that canceled out everything. Playing some music, she hummed as she drew in her notebook. She felt content, relaxing and drawing whatever she wanted.

Abigail tapped her a short while later. Cima looked up, alert. Abigail pointed toward the front of the class and she took her headphones off.

"Class, this is Conner Sparrow. He's going to be a recent addition to our class," the teacher smiled at him.

Cima narrowed her eyes at him. She looked at him suspiciously. Could this really be him?

"Hi," Conner said awkwardly, in an English accent.

Yeah, that's not him.

He was cute, to say the least. His hair was fluffy with red curls and his eyes were a welcoming shade of hazel. Freckles covered his cheeks. He was wearing a green t-shirt and jeans, but he had on men's boots. His nails were painted black, making him slightly stand out.

He sat next to Cima, not noticing who she really was. She continued to listen to music and doodle. She shivered as something ran through her. She noticed her skull glowing and let down her hair. She used it to hide herself as she opened her belt. The half of the Azoth was glowing brightly. It was practically vibrating as she turned it toward the direction of "Conner".

She put it back in her belt frantically as the bell rang. She tied her hair back up as she walked down the hallway. Was it really him? How was he a mortal? How does he not look dead?