Afterlight ✔️

chapter thirty-five

The Southern California sun was blazing, as I stood on the corner, watching the cars go by, so I could walk home from the party at the beach. Brad was going to be worried sick about me, I had already been out an hour later than I was expected to come home.

It had already been midnight.

I knew I had a shortcut, but it was dangerous. It had been an alley, lurkers around every corner, waiting for me, so that they could snatch me up alive. I had to get home, but this traffic had been telling me otherwise.

With my beach towel under my left arm, I turned around, running down the alleyway.

Everything in my mind had gone blank.

The monsters were going to eat me alive.

I began to run faster, and faster, and faster.

Go, Chloe, Go.

I sprinted faster than a bullet to find a dark figure in my sight. I saw nothing but black.

My heart kept telling me – Go, Chloe, Go.

My mind grew with disarray. The world was spinning around me.

Illusions, Illusions, Illusions.

I turned around to see I had come to my final conclusion. There was a lurker out to kill me, I should've known that from the start.

Finally, the figure pinned me to the brick wall, snatching out a knife. The face of the figure was gone.

I looked down, only to see the knife held to my forever racing heart.

***

— Jay Bieber

"Chloe?" I questioned her, slightly shaking her shoulder in attempt to wake her up. "Chloe!" I said louder in response to her whimpering, making my stomach churn at the sight her.

Her whimpers and soft plea coated in nothing but fear. Clenching my jaw, thickness forming in my dry throat. Massaging her shoulder gently before shaking her. "Baby, wake up." I urged her.

Instantly she bolted up a small gasp emitted from her lips. "Justin?" She croaked out, letting out a heart wrenching sob.

Pulling her into my chest. "Shh, it's okay. I'm here." I cooed, stroking her hair. I closed my eyes, feeling nothing but fear radiate from her body.

I felt her ease into my arms minutes later, her sobs dying down. "Are you okay? Talk to me, what happened?" I whispered, placing a kiss onto her head.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." She said, her voice panicky.

"Did you have a bad dream?"

Well no shit she did.

She sighed looking away. "Yes," She dug her head deeper into my chest. "But nothing serious, I promise you."

"Okay, okay." I mumbled, wrapping my arms around her tighter and raking hair out of her face. I felt her breath hitch as she started panting. "It was just that, a bad dream."