Escape

Chapter 7

        I bolt upright in my bed. Sweat dripping down my body, and my hair sticking to my forehead. Tears are pouring down my face. It was just a dream, it was just a dream, I frantically repeat to myself. It’s 5:30 a.m., curfew breaks at five for those whose jobs require it.

I grab my phone from my nightstand and dial the one number I know by heart.

“Arielle! What’s wrong? Did something happen? Are you hurt? Are you okay?” He spits out in under a second, no doubt due to the shock of my unusual late night phone call. Despite his evident worry, I can hear the exhaustion and grogginess in his voice.

“Hey, baby! I’m okay.” I stifle a sob, still traumatized from my visual dream. “I just needed to hear your voice.”

“What happened?” The panic has yet to disappear from his tone.

“Nothing, just a bad dream is all.”

“I’ll see you in ten minutes” He says with determination in his voice.

“You can’t, Aspen!” I tell him, though I want him to, “you know my house is surrounded by my father’s guards who won’t want to let you in so early.” I try to reason with him.

“Elle, it’s not breaking curfew so they can’t stop me. See you soon.” He hangs up before I can protest further. While I may not need him to come to my rescue, he is definitely welcomed right now. Tears continue to stream silently down my cheeks, despite my efforts to cease them.

I hear the knock at my door that leads outside to the pool deck. Sure enough, there is Aspen as promised.

“Hey,” I say weakly. Aspen enters the room, closing the door behind him, before wrapping me in his arms. I nuzzle into him and cry silently into his chest. He pulls away slightly and wipes the tears from my cheeks with his thumb. “What was your dream?” He asks quietly.

“It was you. We were trying to escape, but they caught us. They shot you, and you—“ I stumble over the hard part, “you died, Aspen. And you told me it was my fault.” I look up at him with glossy eyes as realization washes over his face when he discovers the cause of my distress.

“Arielle, we didn’t get caught and I didn’t die.” He tells me gently, “And even if those things did happen, they wouldn’t be your fault. If anything, it would be mine, I brought you into this.”

“Aspen, that’s just untrue. We played an equal role in starting this thing. It wasn’t you.”

“Regardless of who did what, Arielle, nothing bad has happened yet. We are all okay.” I nod. “Now, it’s early, you need more sleep.”

“I can’t possibly sleep after that, Aspen.”
“Yes, you can! I’ll be with you.” He takes my hand and leads me over to my large canopy bed. I crawl up and he follows. He wraps his arms around my waist and I rest my head on his chest.

“We can’t do this alone, you know.” I whisper into his chest.

“I know”

“It won’t work. We need more help, more support. I’m not risking your life.”

“Nor would I risk yours. We will get the support we need. We may have to be patient, but it will work out it time.” He kissed my hair, “Now go to sleep, baby.”

I drift off into a dreamless sleep.