(Formerly known as "When Our Paths Crossed")
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A tale of two lost souls brought together by pain, grief and trauma.
Atlas tries to find a place in a world he's worked so hard to escape. Elijah struggles to balance the life he's building and the...
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MY MOM'S STANDING in front of me, hands on her hips, a murderous look blazing in her eyes. She grabs the scruff of my shirt and pulls me close enough that I smell the distillery on her breath and see the yellow of her teeth. Her eyes are glossy, always glossy.
"I put a roof over your head, food, clothes, and you repay me by stealing from me?" she snarls. "You and your sister are so ungrateful." She throws me back so hard I crash into my dresser, my shoulder popping painfully.
"I should put you out of your misery."
She kicks me in the stomach.
"You're an embarrassment."
Kick.
"I regret that you were ever born."
Kick.
I just want it to end...
Kick.
I can't feel my legs. Why can't I feel my legs?
Kick.
Dan's there, kissing me gently. His lips are soft, careful... No... it's not Dan.
Elijah cups my cheeks, his smile soft. "Wake up, Atlas--"
I sit up with a gasp, my heart racing. I'm drenched in sweat, and my sheets are soaked as well. The nightmare had been so vivid that I swear my shoulder is throbbing.
So much for getting over the nightmares.
They've only gotten worse since the accident.
My mom has always haunted me. When she was alive, she was there, ready to hit or berate me. When she died, I'd foolishly believed she was gone forever. But, no, I'm her unfinished business that she intends to haunt until I die. She stalks my dreams, waiting for me to be at my most vulnerable before attacking.
I shift over to the edge of the bed, draping my useless legs over the edge and imagine I dig my toes into the carpet. I count to ten, pretending to feel the soft cushion of the carpet under my feet. I can't feel it, but I think I still remember what it feels like.
My chair is there, just in the corner of my sight, another reminder that I'm even more broken than I was before. I run a hand through my coarse, matted hair and sigh.
A knock on the door draws my attention and, a second later, June's poking her head into the room. When she sees me, her lips sag to the ground.
"You okay?" she asks, sitting next to me. "You look like you had a rough sleep."
I roll my eyes. "I haven't had a good night's sleep in a long time... but it's fine." I smile and nudge her shoulder with mine. "We're always fine, right?"
Now it's June's turn to roll her eyes, though I see the concern still lacing them. "Yeah, yeah... if you don't want to talk about it, fine, but you need to get up."
