❝Leave out all the rest❞

8.

❝You were so scared❞

▬ ☪ ▬

I awoke.

I sat up gasping for air and looked around. I was at the hill, above the forest. It was cold, so cold. The grass around me was wet from dew, so I figured it was early morning. As I got up, I realised my back hurt. My legs too, my everything, actually.

I stood on the cliff, looking down at the tress, feeling so confused. But, suddenly, every thought in my mind vanished and only one word resonated in my head: Isaac!

I rushed through the still sleeping town and headed back to the road that led to the forest. I entered the woods hoping I was going in the right direction. I knew nothing about nature, so I just tried to follow the trail of broken twigs and footprints we had left the night before. And I almost couldn't believe it worked.

I found the glade and the two huge trees in the centre of it. Dangling from the chains that had not been broken, as I'd believed, was Isaac's limp body.

Last night I was so certain the beast had broken free and was coming after me... I was so certain nothing could possibly contain something like that.

"Isaac?" I called as I approached slowly. My voice sounded hoarse and faint.

He moved his head a little and moaned.

"You came back..."

I hastily unshackled him, but he could barely stand.

"Of course I did." I whispered, putting his arm around me, trying to support his weight.

"You were so scared last night. But you came back."

He leaned on my shoulder and we managed to limp away from the chains, but four more steps and we both fell to the ground.

"You look like someone beat the shit out of you." I said, smiling.

"Thanks. Damn-" He cursed, picking a piece of cloth from the ground "Forgot to take my shirt off. And I actually liked this one."

He let go of the piece of what was once a shirt, looking miserable.

"I guess, this happens a lot." I tried to comfort him but had no idea how.

"More frequently than I'd like it to." He laughed bitterly. I laughed too, and the mood lightened a bit. He had this thing about him. Bad stuff didn't seem so bad when he was around to laugh about it.

"And! I was not scared."

"You were so freaked out"

"I was not!"

"Lucine I could smell it in you."

"Ew, gross." I laughed, getting back on my feet.

"I'm sorry." He said, suddenly serious. He looked up at me and I offered him a hand. He took it and got up slowly.

"God, this feels like a weird dream." I exhaled.

"Dream? More like a nightmare to me."

Nightmare...

"Hey", he interrupted my thoughts, "we should go."

Shit, Mom.

"Yes, we should definitely go" I agreed. "I'm gonna be in so much trouble with the boss"

We started walking. Isaac looked a little better than before. At least, he could walk.

"The boss?" He winced a little with each step.

"Mom."

"Oh, of course." He chuckled.

"Don't you make fun of me."

"I'm not." He smiled sweetly.

"Yeah, sure. Tuition is a lot, I can't afford my own place yet. And I wasn't scared. Not really. I'm not scared of you, Isaac."

His smiled disappeared.

"Well, maybe you should be."

I stopped walking and turned to him.

"I don't think so." I stood on the tip of my feet to reach his height and kissed him. He put his arms around me and kissed me back.

The wind lifted dry leaves around us.