Under the Bad Boy's Spell

A Trip Back In Time

I was oddly relieved after Caspian agreed to be my partner and that he offered we could do the assignment at his house, but as I roamed the corridors, people were still looking at me sympathetically as if being paired with Caspian was like being sent to hell. To be honest, it would be worse than being sent to hell. The last bell of the day pulled me out of my misery as we all left the school grounds to head home. Well, most of us.
I zipped my jacket up to my chin as I sat cross-legged right in front of a tombstone positioned on a hill. I played with my finger in the dry sand in front of my father's grave, informing him of all the happenings that occurred. About how mom was worried about my nightmares, that I got paired with Caspian and that I was sceptical to be around him after sophomore.
"Am I wrong dad to think that everything will be okay?" I chuckled and managed a sad smile.
After hours of talking to my father about random nonsense, like the juicy gossip at school and how mom's career path was growing rapidly, I stood up and pressed my fingers against my lips before I placed them on the cold surface of the tombstone.
"I love you, dad." A smile crept onto my face as my mind wondered into a memory from a few years ago.
"I am scared..." My voice quivered as I stood on the edge of a bridge with a rope knotted around my waist.
"Never be afraid." My father reassured me as the assistant tied a rope around his waist.
I looked up from the endless pit of rocks and gulped, but when I remembered my father's words, my courage returned to me and I shot him a smile.
"Ready?"
"As ready as I will ever be, dad."
The assistant knotted the rope tightly around my father's waist and came towards me to educate me and demostrate how to jump. After I learned the basics, I nodded kindly. I was ready to bungy-jump.
"I love you, dad!"
I yelled as I jumped off of the bridge and the force of the wind slammed against my skin like razor sharp blades, but strangely gave me the sensation that I was floating.
As I tore my mind away from that happy memory with my father, I took off my glasses and wiped my teary eyes before I placed them back on and my vision came back to me.
On my way to my car, it started to rain heavily. I held my hands over my head to shelter me from the pouring rain. I was frozen to the bone by the time I parked my car in our garage. I jumped around on our porch to warm up my legs as I struggled to fit the key, because my hands were a shaking mess.
The house was uncommonly warm and as I placed my foot inside the the house, a calmness fell over me. I pulled off my soaking wet jacket and walked up to my room.
School was simply too much to handle. The preparation I did in the holidays didn't prepare me for what happened in the French period. I didn't expect to get paired with Caspian.

**********

"Becca, Becca help me." My father extended his hand for me to take it.
"I am trying, dad. Just a little bit farther." I cried as I failed to grip his hand.
I woke up all sweaty an disoriented just before my father died. I closed my eyes and counted to ten before slowly opening them again and letting out a deep breath that felt as if I've been holding it in for the past two years. I reached for my phone on my bedside table.
02:23
I mentally scolded my nightmares for waking me up this time of the morning. I was not able to shut an eye after that nightmare, dreading that I'd wake up to one even worse. I checked my messages.
A smile crept onto my face as I read my best friend's text. I missed her terribly after they emigrated to Europe. She was one of the few people who knew about my father's passing. She was literally the only person who understood me completely.
I replied to her text, sending her a long and descriptive paragraph of how much I longed to see her again.
My index finger hovered over the 'send' button, but I scraped together the courage and sent her the message.
I laid back into my pillows, staring up at the ancient patterned ceiling which reminded me of the rooms in those 80's movies. I slowly drifted off into a dreamless sleep. I couldn't be more thankful that I wasn't stuck inside another inescapable nightmare. I actually got the chance to rest thoroughly without any disturbances. It felt wonderful to not have the guilt feeling of failing to rescue my father gnawing at my insides.