OCEAN EYES ★ CACW

Lose Control

"So, what's the sitch, Nicky?"

I shakily sigh, holding my phone. I pace around my room. I needed to talk to my friends, so I decided to call the one person I knew to trust.

"Andy, I just need to talk to you about something important. Bring Nova and Meg, too." I rub at my temples. "Meet me at that Thai place we always go to."

"Will do, kiddo." Andy says, hanging up the call. I ready myself to go to the Thai restaurant. I just leave on my clothes and walk out of my room.

"You sure you're okay, kid?" Dad is relaxing on the sofa, drinking some cold water. I shrug.

"You're a bad liar. You were basically flipping out at whatever you saw." Dad says worriedly. I frown slightly.

What if I'm crazy? Will he lock me up in some crazy asylum? No. He wouldn't do that. Anyways, I don't give a damn.

"Nope, I'm okay. I just imagined you were dead, that's all. Nothing to worry about!" I yell, an unexpected anger flowing through me.

"I'm leaving. I'm going with Andy to that Thai place. I'm coming back later." I say. No one tries to stop me as I push my way out the door and race down the stairwell of my apartment building.

I'm greeted by a gust of wind to my face. It's about 5:00 pm now. The streets are busy as always.

I walk quietly, sticking my hands in my hoodie pocket. This city is still bustling at night. Traffic never stops in New York.

My mind wandered to my vision.

Dad.

He was just laying there, lifeless. I was trying to shake him, wake him up. He couldn't have been dead.

And then I felt his hands. They gripped my wrists tightly. No matter how much I try to forget that moment, it is still embedded deep in my memory.

I am nearing a crosswalk and stop. I notice that both of my shoelaces have come undone. I pause for a moment to tie them.

There's an eerie silence in the air. I look up to view my surroundings. The people around me are gone. The city is quiet and lifeless. I'm all alone now.

I look up at the sky. Flashes of red lightning light up the heavens. It's strangely mystifying.

A newspaper flies around and lands on the ground before me. I pick it up. The headline is in big letters.

WHERE DO WE GO, NOW THAT THEY'RE GONE?

I look at the year. 2023.

The newspaper turns into dust in my hands.

What is this? This is probably some joke. The year is 2016. I'm probably tripping balls on something.

The only problem is that I'm as sober as a judge. Or maybe I was somehow secretly abducted by aliens and this is why I'm receiving these messages and now I'm a strangely powerful fetus.

I'm losing my marbles right now, so I better just snap out of it! Okay, Iverson. Calm down.

"Um...hello? I don't know what this is, but...I think you got the wrong person!" I shout into the lonely night.

No one answers. Not even the wind.

"This isn't funny! I'm just an fucking nobody. I don't even know what the hell I'm doing." I ball my fists. "I'm a miserable failure."

This has always been your destiny. You were born for this, Lazuli. You and your sisters.

A soft, gentle voice whispers in my ear.