|OLD| 666: Kaitlyn's Nightmare

Ocean Heartbeats

"Hello, Kaitlyn." Her voice speaks to me. It feels as if a gentle summer breeze had brushed my hair out of my face for me. I can smell the beach in the air before I even open my eyes.
I can feel the sense of being safe here despite it reminding me of my father.
As I open my eyes, I begin to see the waves crashing against the beach. I have a red beach towel beneath me. Everything is well. I feel okay.

Ava smiled over at me, extending her hand to help me up. She's towering over me at her wonderful 5'8 foot tall stature. Her smile is like a thousand dreams combining into one human.
She's just like a star.
I wonder if she could be my star.
My solar system's star.
Only mine.

Her blue eyes alone could make me choke in agony if I didn't see them in a while.
I feel like her hair would be so soft to touch.

I grab her hand in a careful manner, gentle not to grasp to tight.
She pulls me up with ease as if I was made of wool.
She pulls me closer to her as she walks towards the edge of the water.
I flinch as the waves hit my ankles and she gazes over towards me, her expression pure worry.
"Are you okay, Katie?" She whispers, her tone ever so sweet. "We can go inside if you'd like."

I exhale and relax as if I had no fear in the first place. "No, I'm okay out here, as long as you're here with me, Ava."

She grinned at me and I could feel the corners of my lips tugging themselves upwards towards my cheekbones. I couldn't help it. She's so calm and precious. I don't know what I'd do without someone like her in my life. I might have a horrible life without her. I'll never know, will I?
She'll protect me. I'll never have to know a life without her. I am so grateful for that blessing she's bestowed upon me.

We wade further into the water until our knees are underwater. I hadn't even noticed what we were wearing. I look down at myself to find myself clothed in a red one-piece bathing suit. It makes me smile. The color red is so pretty. Sometimes the sun is red while it is setting and it makes the sky look so pretty.
Though, when my eyes wander over to her bathing suit without me noticing is different. Her bathing suit doesn't remind me of her at all. I picture her wearing red, however she's wearing white. White bikini, tied in the back. I have no problem with the change in themes, I don't really mind what she wears. I think she'd look swell in anything she manages to get her precious hands on. Though, white just gives me another outlook towards her

Ava smirks and grasps my hand tighter, pulling me closer. I practically slide along the water drenched sand. She tugs me to rest my head on her chest, my eyes facing the sunset. I can hear her heartbeat and I can feel her chest rising and falling with every breath. My cheeks heat up. I realize that this is what she wanted me to realize.
She wanted me to realize that she was here with me. She can feel my heartbeat, she can sense my every breath, she knows how I'm feeling. But for some reason, it makes me feel more secure than I usually would while holding this information about someone.
I can't remember why I didn't just let her protect me in the first place instead of letting her bully me. This is so much nicer than anything that I remember her doing for me before my coma.

Ava's laugh breaks against another breeze that hit our faces. The salty air smells very nice at this time. She tilts her head down to me to speak her gentle words. "Let's go inside. It's starting to get dark.."
I nod in agreement. I rather be inside than out here in the water. She leads me along a smooth pebble walkway up to some sort of beach house. She hands me my sand-free towel to dry off with. As we step inside, our bodies pruned with salt water, I feel a memory float into my mind. It makes me smile. This place reminds me of home back when I was young. Things were simple.

She disappears into the ocean blue themed kitchen as I am left to dry the rest of myself off. After I finish, I'm left to wrestle with my own thoughts.
My thoughts wander back to that Jasper girl. For some odd reason, I feel bad for wanting her to leave earlier today. I was only tired. I couldn't remember her and I couldn't bother to try to remember much about anything since I was so exhausted.

Ava seemed to hear my thoughts with how fast her head popped around the corner when my anxiety kicked in. "Katie! I made you a sandwich, come in and try it please. Tell me if I need to change it."
I swiftly pace into the kitchen and take a big gulp out of the sandwich. I didn't realize how hungry I was until just then. "Thanks, Ava." I spat out quickly, frantically taking another big bite. I cover my mouth with a hand as I speak. "It's good, sorry. I'm famished."

Ava grinned. "I assumed you were. Sorry for not making anything sooner, Kate. I wanted you to see the sunset over the ocean." she let out a breath. "Ah. It was so beautiful. Just like you."

"What was that?" I ask, slowing my biting to listen. Ava gave me an innocent look, a crooked smile stretching from corner to corner of her lips. "Nothing. I said the sunset is beautiful."
I nod and finish the food, wiping the corners of my lips with my sleeve. It wasn't the most polite thing, but it seemed like the most efficient.
Ava's smile fades only slightly as she let her face gain a more controlled and dominating look. I'm almost intimidated by it and she hasn't said any words. I gave her grin to counteract but it didn't seem to have a great effect.
"It would be better if you stayed here with me for a while. In your dream state. It's so much safer here for you, darling. A lot safer. Nothing can hurt you under my protection." Ava explains.

I can't help but laugh. "Ava. You're always with me. I know you are. You don't have to be afraid for me, sometimes life is just plain scary. You can protect me out there too. I'll let you control whenever you want, okay? Deal?" I ask slowly, hoping my offer would suffice.

Seemingly, it did, because she nodded. "Deal."
After shaking on it, Ava seemed a lot more relaxed. She grabbed her Nintendo Switch from the counter. "Ready to get your butt kicked in Mario Kart?"

"You're on." I wink, beginning to giggle like a crazy woman.