She's Gone and I'm Lost

13 | the siblings

dedicated to sheyannea for being mi amiga and leaving a super sweet comment :)

13 | the siblings

January 1st | 10:34 am

I was right. By jumping off of the cliff, I was pulled out of my sleep. When I awoke, I was in a bed with Marleen sleeping beside me. It wasn't my bed, it was an unfamiliar bad. A hotel bed. Across the room, Will was sleeping in the other bed. And that's when it all came back to me. I suddenly remembered our trip to Mrs. Johnson's house. I remembered the discussion we had. I remembered drinking hot chocolate in a cold truck. And I remembered falling towards blue-grey waves and dark, jagged rocks.

Obviously, my first day in Grey Pond was very eventful.

I was breathing heavily from the adrenaline I had in the dream. And I couldn't close my eyes without replaying the moment. And Alex just sat there and watched it happen. Marleen was a heavy sleeper, so my erratic breathing didn't wake her. But I wasn't so fortunate when it came to Will. I must have waked him up because he quickly got out of his bed and walked over to me, placing a hand on my shoulder. He looked me in the eye. His blue eyes reminded me too painfully of the waters I had fallen into in my dream. My eyelids closed as the thought came to me.

"What's wrong?" he whispered. I was trembling slightly but I had managed to calm my breathing. It was kind of embarrassing to have Will see me like this, but he didn't laugh at me. He just kept his hand on my shoulder.

"Bad dream," I muttered, still not opening my eyes.

"Hey, it's okay," he said in a calming voice. Before I knew it, Will took my hand and gently helped me get onto my feet. He steered us towards the door that led to the small kitchen and living area. Will was practically a stranger, and yet I felt safe enough around him to let him lead me blindly. He sat on the carpeted floor and pulled me down so I was sitting across from him. "Do you want to talk about it?" Will asked.

"I don't know," I said truthfully. If I told him about the dream, I'd have to tell him that I was still seeing Alex when I was awake as well.

"Open your eyes," he said. I did as he said and looked at the boy sitting across from me on the carpet in some hotel miles away from home. He was looking at me with those blue eyes and I realized that they weren't the same blue as the dangerous waters I had fallen into, they were a paler blue.

"I jumped." I didn't mean to say the words, they just fell out of my mouth.

"What?" he asked, confused. And I found myself telling this boy I had just met a few days ago everything. I told him about Alex and my fears and everything that had happened since my seventeenth birthday.

When I was done talking, he leaned back and rested on his arms, saying, "Tell me something about yourself, Danika Acqua."

"What do you mean? Didn't I just tell you multiple things about myself?"

"No, you told me about Alex and how she's affected your life. Tell me something about you that Alex doesn't affect."

I thought for a minute. "I like watching vintage films. What about you? What does Will Carlson like to do?"

"I play piano," he said. "And I used to paint a lot."

And that's how I spent the rest of the night and into the early hours. We sat on the floor, taking turns talking and listening, until I could see the first rays of light for the day shining through the window. After our talk, Will and I went back into the room, he went to his bed and I went to the one I was sharing with Marleen. I was afraid to fall asleep again, but then I remembered all the things Will had said and I felt better. Somehow, the boy who barely talks and never smiles had made me feel safe.