Violet

3| sunflower field

"Violet."

The soles of my shoes create a tiny screech as I turn around to see Emmett standing right in the centre of the ballroom, arm extended with the most beautiful yet placid expression on his face. My heart rate picks up as I make a start toward him. It is interesting to see the ballroom so empty, it is just us. Only us.

Music echoes throughout the room and while I am approaching him, his head turns so gracefully slow that he is continuously gazing at me the closer I become.

I take his hand as he places his other hand delicately on my waist. Then we begin dancing. Sliding along the floor smoothly, twirling. I get lost in another world. I look up at him and he smiles. My hand on his shoulder travels up and around to the back of his neck, pulling myself against him, embracing him tighter.

But once I push myself back to look back at him later, it is not Emmett anymore. I am staring into the face of William. My heart thumps loudly and quickly. His wicked laugh echoes all around the room. In fear, I attempt to struggle out of his tightened grasp.

"Farley." His eerie sing-song voice repeats over and over and over: filling the room, filling my head. It does not stop. My shoe screeches as I try running away, but my feet are nailed to the floor. William caves over me.

I cannot escape it, I shake uncontrollably.

But then my body jerks suddenly and it all vanishes, finding myself laying on my bed in my room, breathless.

It was all a dream. Or a nightmare.

Of course it was.

My first full day here and my head is already messing with me.

I lay still for a few moments, catching my breath while attempting to process my dream. Lifting a hand, my cold fingers find the heat penetrating off of my forehead.

A slit in the drapes produces the early light of dawn, cutting through the darkness, though I know it is still early. Groaning, I turn the other way and shut my eyes.

While attempting to fall back asleep, my mind sifts through all my thoughts, landing on Emmett.

What was that about? I smile before stopping myself. That would make everything difficult, I assume we will be together for a lot of this time away seeing as we are now responsible for getting out of here alive. It would only complicate things. But what was with the playing around and funny business?

I try picturing Emmett's recent flirting and kindness as just being playful and friendly. It makes perfect sense. It has to be it. I have to be going down the path of imagination. That is how he usually acts at school too. Our slither of a friendship could never be anything more. It would not feel right.

So, I push that away.

The next thing that comes to mind is how badly I need to tell Emmett about William. I do not know why I did not mention this before. I determine that once we meet again, I will tell him. There is no reason to keep something like that from him, and it could even be dangerous. I do not want to be in the presence of William alone ever again. No one else has shown that much suspiciousness.

And that is all I can think about as I end up falling back asleep.

Once I awake again, my eyes open to the morning sun pouring in through the paper-thin curtains, filling up my room and creating a light golden haven. A sense of serenity and clarity washes over me.

I suddenly smell something sweet just to my right. There is a platter of some cheese, fresh fruit, and some type of bread roll on the table next to my bed. I sit up excitedly and survey the dish, bringing it onto my lap. A note on the side reads: Enjoy your breakfast and I will come by soon so we can do some exploring! – Arietta.