The Three Little Words I Never Thought I'd Say

Chapter 15

Daniel's POV:

     The next few days Anna's parents stayed home all day because of their vacation time. Each day Anna and I went a little out of our way to see each other. She would sneak into my room for just a few minutes each day. We would clean up after meals, just to be together. It was excruciating, having to pretend I didn't have feelings for her. One day, during this time, Anna was in my room and we were making out when we heard someone clear their throat. Afraid it may be one of the adults, Anna jumped off of me and we both looked toward the doorway. Thank the lucky stars it was Nic. He just gave us a disapproving look and carried on down the hallway. I looked at Anna and burst out laughing because her face was as red as a tomato. She slapped me on the chest, signaling me to stop. I gave her my best attempt at the famous puppy-dog eyes. It must have worked, because she smiled at me and softly kissed my lips. Yearning for more, I watched her flit through the door. A sudden sadness crept into me. I had this horrible feeling that something was missing. Ignoring the bitterness in the pit of my stomach, I put on some music. Music usually cheered me up when I was in a sour mood.

     "Daniel." Anna beckoned to me. "Come here." I floated over to her. "Tell me what I want to hear."

     "What?" I said in a distant voice. "What is it that you want to hear?"

     "You know. It's in your heart." I stroked her soft cheek with my hand. Just the slightest touch seemed to make her fade away.

     "Anna! Don't leave me! tell me what you want to hear!" I shouted at her as she disappeared. I looked around me. I was in her bedroom. "Hello?" I called into the empty room. As I talked, the scene started going black and fading away just as Anna had done.

     I slowly came to, disoriented. I was still laying in my bed with my music blasting in my ears and my clothes on. I glanced at the clock. It was midnight. I stumbled out of bed to change into my pajamas. As I struggled to pull them on, I thought about the strange dream I'd had. I wondered what Anna wanted to know. I slipped back under the covers after giving up on putting pajamas on. That was just the start of a long, restless night.

Anna's POV:

     I woke up and my face was wet with tears. They must have been happy tears because I was having the greatest dream, but then I woke up right at the good part. I dreamt that I was walking down the aisle, dressed in a white wedding gown. I was arm in arm with my father, who beamed at me when I looked up at him. As I scanned the crowd, I noticed two little girls. For some reason, they seemed familiar, but I couldn't figure out why. I'd never seen them before in my life. Another thing that annoyed me, was the fact that I wouldn't look at the man I was going to marry. In my mind I wanted so desperately to see my future husband, but I couldn't make my eyes focus on him. They kept going back to those little girls.

     Needing to think, I went into the kitchen to drink a glass of water. As I was walking down the stairs, I noticed the kitchen light was on. I wondered who could have been up so late, It had to be around one in the morning, if not later. I reached the bottom of the stairs and turned the corner. I was surprised to see Daniel, sitting at the counter.

     "Couldn't sleep?" I asked him, sitting in the chair next to him. He looked up at me with questioning eyes.

     "Anna.." He looked at me, but seemed to change his mind about something.

     "Yes?" I prompted, trying to make him say what was on his mind.

     "Never mind." He mumbled and looked away, shyly. What ever he was going to say, must have been too embarrassing or something along those lines. I opened my mouth to say something, but shut it again. I felt a sudden wave of nausea roll over me. I stood up and sprinted to the toilet. I heard Daniel following me, but I didn't want him to see me like that so I slammed the door behind me.

     After vomiting up everything I'd eaten that day, I decided it was safe to emerge from the bathroom. As soon as I opened the door, Daniel hugged me lightly.

     "Are you okay, dear?" He whispered.

     "I think so. I don't know what came over me. One minute I was fine and the next..." I trailed off into thought.

     "Maybe you're catching the flu." Daniel suggested. I'd thought about it, but it was in the middle of summer and it was very uncommon for me to get sick during that season.

     "Yes, maybe...I think I should go back to sleep." I turned abruptly, almost knocking him over, and charged up to my room. If I was sick, I definitely didn't want to get Daniel sick, too. Getting into bed, I realized that I was starving and I should have grabbed some food before coming back. 

     "Well this is odd.." I said into the darkness. I should not have been hungry after THAT. After falling back asleep, I had another amazing dream. It wasn't a continuation of the last one, but even better.  

      Daniel and I were in a house. I didn't know whose house it was, but it was very spacious and decorated elegantly. I remember Daniel and I were just standing in the almost empty room. He grabbed my hand and led me out to a balcony that over looked an ocean.

     "Anna." He'd said, gazing into my eyes. He put his hand around my waist, and pulled me closer. His other hand went up to caress my cheek. It felt like his eyes were burning right into my soul. He held my gaze for what seemed like hours, until he finally spoke again: "I love you."