Death Will Bring Us Together

Chapter Seven: The Ugly Truth

Near the end of the day, I was mentally preparing myself to have the vision again. I kept remembering how it felt to experience the vision from my mom's point of view, and I remembered how I could feel everything she felt in that moment. I closed my eyes and concentrated. When I was having the vision, if I concentrated hard enough... Could I take control of her body and change what she did? I think I could, if I was strong enough. I had to be strong. I had to do this.

Later that night, I decided I would take my shower in the morning. A shower relaxed me too much, and I needed to be alert for this. I needed to be ready. Now only three days would be left when I woke up, and I couldn't let them be in vain. This needed to work. It had to.

I concentrated on falling asleep, and when I did I was instantly greeted with the vision. When I felt myself in my mother's body, I focused on the feel of her phone in her hands. I concentrated as hard as I could as I felt her fingers type "goodnight" and hit send. Then I took a deep breath and willed her to stop. I willed her not to write those three words. She seemed slower as she typed, and I tried as hard as I could to take control. Finally, I felt feeling come to my fingers, and I realized I could move them. But she was stronger than me. As much as I tried to stop her, she was already done with the message. She tapped "send" and I felt like I exploded. It was over, again. I sighed in defeat and yelled loudly in frustration, shooting up in my bed and realizing that I had yelled in my sleep. I quickly covered my mouth, not wanting my parents to barge in. I flopped back on the bed and pulled a pillow up to my face, sinking my teeth into the cotton to prevent myself from screaming in frustration and failure. I had failed yet again. I knew I had gotten closer this time to stopping her, but I had still failed. And I knew the reason. It was because I didn't know who the person was that I could not save. I was so confused and lost, and nothing was helping.

You're thinking too hard. It's too obvious. My grandmother whispered softly in a reassuring tone. I clenched my jaw and growled in frustration, rolling over and shoving my face into a mound of pillows. I couldn't stand this. Three more days. Just three more days. If only I knew who I couldn't save, then all the doubt would be erased. Once I knew that, I could easily change the past. So I guess now my main goal was to figure out the answer to the riddle. I wanted to think about it right now, but I had a pounding headache and I was exhausted. With a sigh, I rolled over and instantly fell back asleep.

***

CHRIS POV

I woke up in the middle of the night when I heard Alexis yell. I rubbed my eyes and slid out of bed, making sure not to wake up April. I pulled on a pair of boxers and walked into the hallway, making my way over to her room. I knocked lightly on the door, but there was no response. I frowned in confusion and then opened the door, seeing that she was sleeping peacefully. I sighed and walked over to the bed, pulling the blanket over her shoulders. She groaned and rolled over, her eyelids fluttering.

"Dad?" she asked sleepily.

"Yeah, I heard you yell." I replied softly. She sat up and stared at me for a moment before tears filled her eyes and she threw her arms around me. I felt her tears running down my chest and I frowned, wondering why she was crying before I realized it was probably about April. 

"Daddy, I'm scared." she sobbed into my chest. I took a deep breath. She must really be scared, she hadn't called me daddy since she was nine, unless she wanted something. 

"I know." I said softly. She continued to sob into my chest, and I instantly felt bad about the suicidal thoughts I had been having the past few days. When April was gone, I didn't see any point in living anymore, but I saw how torn up Alexis was about all of it. I needed to do this. I needed to be strong for her.