Wandering Fireflies

Chapter 8: A Night To Forget

Song: Faded by Alan Walker

"Please, aunt Lucy, please I beg you. Don't do this to me. I can't do this anymore!"

"I like it when you beg." She grinned evilly. "It just makes it more fun." She proceeded.

"STOP! NO STOP! PLEASE!" I screamed.

"VANCE, WAKE UP!"

I woke up with a gasp. I was drenched in sweat and panting heavily. It was just a nightmare. Thank God. I was slightly relieved, until the details of my nightmare came back to me and I started to shake. Just as I started to feel tears pricking my eyes, I noticed a boy sitting beside me. Oh right. I was in Toronto sharing a bed with Zaavan.

"Vance, are you okay?" He looked alarmed. Wow. He actually looked worried.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Don't worry about it. I just had a bad dream. Just go back to sleep." I wiped my eyes and put on my best smile. Wow. I was starting to turn into a pathological liar.

"A bad dream?! You were screaming and flailing like you were about to be killed! That sounds more like a night terror to me. How can you be so cool about it - you sounded terrified!"

"Just drop it okay? I said I'm fine." I tried to sound convincing, but at the last word, my voice cracked.

"You're clearly not okay," he said in a soft voice. "Tell me what's wrong," he pleaded. I looked into his sincere blue eyes, which were a mix of worry and concern. They reminded me of a calm sea. Why did he even care?

"Look, sometimes I get these nightmares but they're really no big deal. Everyone gets nightmares once in a while..."

"But not everyone wakes up screaming at the top of their lungs. Vance, I tried to wake you up for five minutes straight but nothing worked. I yelled in your ear, shook you, heck I even slapped you like they do in the movies but nothing worked!" I was starting to panic. He wasn't buying it.

"And who the hell is aunt Lucy?" Her name was enough to make me lose it. I've spent all this time trying to ignore what was what going on, trying to forget. I was doing a great job - for a long time, I couldn't even feel anything anymore - I just felt numb. But tonight was different. Maybe it was being in a different bed, in a different town with people I barely even knew. But it was just enough to break something inside of me.

Because nobody was supposed to know. Nobody was supposed to ever find out. I was supposed to be able to lie my way out of it. And I sure as hell wasn't supposed to break down in front of Zaavan Fleetwood, my sworn enemy and tell him everything. But life isn't always fair, now is it?

"My aunt...aunt Lucy...sh-she won't stop..."

"She won't stop what?" He asked gently.

"Touching me." I whispered these last words so quietly, I was surprised he even heard me. That was when I broke down into tears. I covered my face with my hands, ashamed of myself and of Zaavan seeing me like this. I was sobbing hard, gasping for air. I couldn't stop shaking. It was then that I felt Zaavan. He was so close to me that I could feel the warmth radiating from his body. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer. I rested my head on his shoulder.

We stayed like that for a while until my loud sobs turned into silent crying. I lifted my head and looked down at my lap, too ashamed to face Zaavan.

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Zaavan quietly. His voice had such a soft and gentle tone to it, one that I've never heard before. It almost sounded, understanding. I shook my head.