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Chapter Fifteen

"How are you, Jay?" My mother asked, her legs crossed as she sat underneath the grand oak tree. Light brown hair fell to her shoulders as her piercing green eyes looked back at me.

My chin tilted down to see a cat laying on my lap. Its fur was calico; the orange, black, and white all crescendoed with each other, creating a lovely pattern.

"How am I? Well, I do not know. How are you here?"

I felt so confused. My mom smiled, scooting closer to me and wrapping her arm around me. Brown leaves were crushed beneath her weight, stems snapping.

"You missed me, did you not? I am here with you now."

The cat purred, sending rumbles through my legs. The sky rumbled angrily, the gusts of air swirling around us.

"I do miss you." I expressed, hugging her.

"You will know what you have to do." She announced, "I love you."

A tornado formed, hauling thick branches from the oak tree. Roots popped loudly as they struggled to stay in place beneath the loose dirt. The cat meowed a warning in between us, sinking its claws deeply into my thigh.

"Ouch!" I yelled, pushing it off and to the ground.

The hold on me disappeared. When I looked to the side my mother sat on, she was no longer there. The ground violently roared as thunder shook the earth with a tremendous boom.

"Mom?" I called out, my rattled head twisting around desperately as I tried to find her.

There was no response. Only the turbulence whistled in my ears. The cat was also not in sight, leaving me utterly alone. Flashing lightning streaked and landed on the tree before me. The roots finally gave in as they were vigorously uplifted from their home into the sky.

"Mom, please come back. I need you." I begged.

There was nothing I could do to stop my body from joining the oak splinters in the monstrous tornado that consumed everything it touched.

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I woke up to the familiar set of heavy arms of Lorenzo, holding me firmly against his chest. At some point the television must have turned off because I could see nothing but darkness. A fleece blanket weighed down our huddled forms. My skin was sweating from our shared body heat.

Bewilderment inched through my brain as the nightmare replayed in my head. My intuition must be telling me something, but I did not know what.

What did the dream mean?

A snort came from behind me, disturbing my thoughts.

"Lorenzo?"

My ears met silence. His skin felt like a heater; I could not bear to lay here any longer. I began to wiggle around to loosen his firm clutch, tossing the quilt to the floor.

I got a groggy response from behind me, "I was comfortable."

I woke him up.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"Ten thirty in the morning." Lorenzo answered, reading from the blue lit-up numerals displaying on a watch. The band hugged his wrist.

He shifted his lean body upright. Tired eyes were bloodshot, his hair disheveled. A grumpy look sat on his face.

Feeling antsy, I opened the curtains. The circular cutouts in the fabric that were metal rimmed slid against the rod loudly. My fingers clutched the thick polyester material. Sunlight beamed into the once-lightless room.