Chapter 8: Seaside Trip

21st July 1935, Brighton

"So close." The soft voice of a woman mumbled.

A misty dark room with the only light coming from what appeared to be a tall window or maybe it was a gateway or a mirror. Whatever it was, it glowed a brilliant pale blue light.

Crumbling ancient stones formed its frame, near its foot were golden sands which shone brightly. It was no ordinary sand or gateway. After all, the other side of the gate was not there. The gate's insides were covered in a strange iridescent blue-black curtain that ebbed and flowed as if it was a black ocean on a moonlit night.

It wasn't the first time Cordelia had seen the odd arch.

For over a year, she dreamt of this and every time, it was the same. That woman from her dreams with familiar bright blue eyes and light brown hair like hers would stand and watch the gate in silent awe. In every dream, the woman got closer and closer to the gate.

Some days, that woman would have a notebook and quill in her hand, scribbling away while muttering to herself like a mad woman or to the other people there. Most days, she'd be completely alone, lost in her thoughts, staring deeply at the gate.

Yet for some reason, Cordelia had stopped seeing any new encounters of the woman at the gate. Instead, she kept seeing the same dream over and over again like a broken record.

It started like the other dreams; the woman would appear in the large hall with the gate in the centre, alone like most days.

Yet the similarities ended there.

In the repeating dream, the woman no longer just stared. She circled around the gate, her heels echoing around the hall. Alongside, she kept muttering something.

The hall shook but the ancient stone arch remained unmoved. Mist rolled in from the gate and a bright light descended upon the hall, blinding her.

When she opened her eyes, the woman was nowhere to be seen. Cordelia was left alone with the strange gate. She tried to turn away and walk towards an exit but she couldn't. Her feet wouldn't move. It was like she wasn't in control of herself anymore.

She felt so cold at that moment, she hugged herself. How strange. It wasn't that cold a moment ago yet suddenly the temperature dropped. She turned her gaze towards the door to find it was not like a black sea but rather familiar to a mesmerising pale blue gossamer.

The gateway beckoned Cordelia to come closer. Even though she tried to stop herself, she couldn't. Her feet were moving on her own. She tried to look away but she couldn't. The glowing gateway called to her like sirens luring sailors into its dark and murky depths.

She knew this wasn't real yet the bone-chilling cold told her otherwise.

She was dreaming.

She knew it.

She kept trying to drill the thought into her head, it didn't stick. Her mind was clouded with the thoughts of the mysterious gate.

Cries of seagulls and children's laughter broke through her waking nightmare. She could feel the flat rock she sat under and see the vast sea in front of her. The shore underneath where she sat.

Though there was a slight chill in the air, it was nothing compared to the bitter wintery cold she felt in her hellish dream. The calm salty breeze was soothing, reassuring her that this was real.

She turned away to look at the sea once more. Yet she couldn't focus on the waves. Her mind was clouded with worry.

Before she left, she sent off a letter to her uncle. It was hard with both Mrs Cole and Tom hovering around her, she had to be careful on what to write and when to send it.

She was fortunate that Robbie was going to the post office days before they left. She managed to get him to send it off without either Mrs Cole and Tom knowing.

Now she was playing the waiting game. She would be lying to herself if she told herself she wasn't anxious. She was afraid, very afraid. It was getting harder and harder to sleep for long at night. Her dreams were getting stranger and more frequent.

At least she managed to get rid of the dollhouse. It was a necessary thing to do—not because she grew past the age of having dollhouses. Every time she walked past that dollhouse, she kept seeing the twisted vision of Wool's in waking reality. She realised then it was time to let it go.

Only thing she had left to do was give back Tom's bracelet. A sigh escaped her and she slumped down, her head falling to her knees.

Giving Tom his mother's bracelet back wouldn't be easy. Tom was almost as stubborn as her, if not more. She was sure he had snuck into her room and returned it when she left it in his room. She was sure of it and she didn't like doubting herself.

Maybe she could talk to him. Right, the two could have a civil conversation. If only, she stopped running from him. She didn't know why she was even avoiding him. It was why she was sitting in a secluded part of the beach.

On the train, she ignored his existence while on the coach he managed to scare Lucy into giving up her seat. Though neither spoke, it was clear to her that Tom was watching her.

Somehow the thought of it unnerved her.

Maybe it was because for once she wasn't the observer and she liked being the observer.

Shutting her eyes, she opened them again and stared out into the sea, ignoring the holidaymakers on the beach.

Waves collided against each other and some broke apart in collision with the stony cliffs. Seagulls cried out overhead alongside the quiet chatters of holidaymakers.

"Found you."

A cold shiver went down her spine and she abruptly sat up straight.

Tom was looking down at her with an uncharacteristic grin on his face.

Her hat nearly blew away but Tom caught it before it would be lost to the strong breeze. "You could've gotten lost." He began.

"But I'm not." She answered, without looking at him. "You found me."

He said nothing in response yet his grip on her hat tightened. She thought it was a game, to her maybe but to him, he didn't know what he'd do if she was lost again.

He carefully placed her hat on top of her head and back down, much to Cordelia's surprise. She didn't even know what he was doing until her hat landed back on her head.

"Thank you." She mumbled out, fixing her windswept hair and tying up the ribbon holding her hat to her head.

"Whatever, you looked like a windswept badger. My poor eyes needed a break."

Cordelia scoffed and smiled. She was annoyed, very annoyed. Tom had a special talent of getting on her nerves very quickly.

Without a word, she grabbed his head and ruffled his hair, messing it up. "Oh look, you don't appear any better than a drowned seagull."

Tom scowled, though he was hiding a smile. "You'll pay for that."

"Name your price." She was ready to pay him and he didn't like that one bit. "I'll give you back your mum's bracelet. What do you think?"

He grabbed her hand and pulled her back to sit down, not letting go. His grip on her was tight, almost bruising her. "When someone gives you a gift, you don't return it."

"Yes, well," With some difficulty she pulled her hand away. "people don't give their family he-he—what was it called?"

"Heirloom?" Tom correctly guessed. Cordelia nodded and he snickered. "You can't even say it right."

"Whatever." She waved him off and carried on. "You can't just give your mother's things to anyone."

"You're not anyone."

"We're not really friends Tom."

Tom grew quiet and Cordelia waited for him to respond. He let her words hang in the air as he listened to the sounds of the crashing waves while he contemplated. They really weren't friends. Not yet anyway. Perhaps he had been a little hasty.

"We're not strangers either." He pointed out after a brief moment of silence.

Cordelia had no choice but to agree. They were more than strangers but less than friends. "I'm still right, you know."

"That's a problem then I guess we're friends."

"What?" Cordelia abruptly got up, almost slipping on the rocks. Tom steadied her and gave her a look of warning. "You know that's not how it works."

"Does now."

"No, it doesn't. You're the one who said I was annoying you."

He did.

Inwardly cursing his childish younger self, he tried to come up with an apology. Unfortunately, he was bad at apologies. "Well, now you're not—you're the least annoying person at Wool's."

Cordelia craned her head down to look up at Tom's downcast face with a smile. "You know it's really easy to say you're sorry—all you have to say is 'I'm sorry'. See it's that easy."

"But I'm not sorry." He was really sorry and he wished he could just come out and say it. Everytime he tried, his tongue was tied and his mind screamed out at him for not saying what he wanted to. Fortunately, Cordelia seemed to always know what he meant.

"Then I suppose we're not friends—you're taking your mother's bracelet back when we get back to Wool's."

Before he could say anything in response, she was already skipping over the rocks, moving away from him. If she wasn't careful, she'd hurt herself like last time. "Cordelia." She wasn't listening to him anymore and nothing annoyed him more than being ignored. "Cora!"

One foot on a rock and the other in the air, Cordelia stopped mid-step, delicately balancing on a slippery rock. Tom motioned her to calm down and try to get her footing. She tried to follow his instructions but her foot slipped and she lost her balance, almost falling back onto the hard rocks.

Tom moved quickly and hurried over to catch her before she fell. "That was so dangerous! What were you thinking! You're the most reckless person I know."

The fear she felt in that split second when she lost her footing disappeared as if it was never there. With her eyes closed, Cordelia laughed. She couldn't help it. Something about getting on Tom's nerves was entertaining to her and she laughed again, realising she'd succeeded.

Relieved, Tom let out a deep sigh. His anger dissipated when he heard her laughter. It had been so long since he last heard her laugh. To him, it was like a lost melody he had yearned to hear. He couldn't bring himself to chastise her anymore.

The corners of his lips turned up and he smiled, not a grin or smirk or sarcastic smile but a genuine smile filled with joy and a hint of melancholy. Cordelia's eyes fluttered open, Tom quickly covered them again. He didn't want her to see him like this, at least not yet. She'd make fun of him.

"Ow Tom. Move your hand." She tried to move his hands away from her eyes, only to fail. He was stronger than her.

He stared down at her for a second before taking in a deep breath and letting it go. Apologies were the hardest thing in the world for him. More harder than trying to cheat death. "I-I…" He wet his dried lips before trying again. "I-I—uh—I'm sorry."

She stopped struggling momentarily as confusion clouded her thoughts. "You're sorry?" She asked. "For what exactly?"

He didn't really want to do this but he wanted things to be different this time around. If he wanted something done then he had to work for it. "For…calling you annoying and any other names. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it." He finished, giving Cordelia her vision back and letting her go.

She sat up and stared at him with wide eyes. She blinked a few times before pinching herself. He stared at her fondly as she tried to see if she was really awake or not. "You really mean that, don't you?"

"Yes," He got up carefully and held out his hand for her. "And I'm not repeating that."

"Oh I know you won't. You don't need to tell me twice." She took his hand, letting him pull her up to stand. He even helped steady her when she was about to slip once again, he let out an exasperated sound and dragged her closer to the barrier.

The two made their way across the sea of slippery rocks in comfortable silence. Occasionally Cordelia would pause to stare off into the sea below and Tom would tug her along.

"You know, you're not as bad as you make yourself out to be." Cordelia carefully began, observing Tom's reaction. He already started to scowl as she spoke. "It wouldn't kill you to be kinder to the people around you."

"You don't know that."

"My father used to say you only get what you give. If you give the people around you kindness, you'll get kindness in return."

Tom nodded along even though he had already heard this same speech before just in a different moment in time, he still made an effort to pay attention. "I don't want empty kindness—those people won't be genuine."

She clicked her tongue and loosened her grip on him. "You don't know that."

But he did.

He knew the people around him better than her. He knew that not everyone at Wool's was truly kind. They were all out for themselves. Robbie and Peggy were kind to her because they found her loveable while Lucy was her friend. The rest didn't care at all about him or her.

He knew it all. After all, Wool's was all he knew growing up. It was the place he was abandoned at while Hogwarts was his true home. He wasn't like Cordelia who believed in silly notions of free kindness. Deep down, he knew Cordelia also believed her own words to be empty. It was a coping mechanism to deal with her tragic past. He wasn't as cruel to ever point it out to her.

"You want me to be kinder to Dennis, Amy and Eric." He decided to stop dancing around the subject and get straight into it. "I refuse."

Cordelia sighed. "Tom, you know they're just a little…dull. Have some sympathy for them."

"No." His answer would never change. "You know it's funny how you have no problem standing up to them but you refuse to say a word to them."

"That's not true." It was only half-true. She defended herself when she needed to. Unlike Tom, she never went out of her way to hurt them. She didn't know what she'd actually do if she acted on her impulses like he did. "I just…know when to pick my fights."

Tom rolled his eyes in disbelief. She knew how to pick them, alright. Most of them were with him and that always hurt him. He just wished she'd stop holding back against muggles. "Is that why you're always getting hurt? Because you pick your own fights."

"Tom, I don't want to hurt them. You don't know what I can do if I'm angry." Her sister had once found out the hard way. "So just drop it."

"No, you brought it up. Why should we be kind to people like them? People who are jealous of us."

"They're not jealous of us."

"Of course they are. Do you not remember how Amy ruined your birthday dinner over a gift from your own uncle—that jealous—"

Cordelia covered his mouth with her hand. "Don't swear. It's not polite."

Tom stared at her, tired of her prim and proper self. He couldn't argue against her so just for that moment. He let it go. She smiled, knowing she had won yet another argument with Tom.

"I'm not going to be kind to those three, especially not Eric." Tom called out after Cordelia as she skipped over some of the rocks.

"Well, I get Amy and Dennis but Eric's decent."

He scoffed. For someone who was quite bright, she could be dull when it came to matters of the heart. Then again, she was much younger than he remembered and young Cordelia was too focused on grieving and getting used to Wool's than paying attention to him or anyone else. "You won't get it." Was all he could say.

"There you go again acting like a grown-up."

As she spoke, she stepped on the wrong rock and almost slipped up again. "There you go again, almost slipping."

Tom caught her and this time he was determined to get her out. She, on the other hand, had other plans. "Tom," She called out to him. Her stare was distant, she was lost staring out into the sea, deep in thought. "Just for today, don't pick a fight with anyone." She looked back at him, her eyes watery and her gaze almost pleading.

Taken aback, he almost dropped her hand. He stared at her for a while, a loss for words. Did she know something? His mind was wandering and the more he stared at her, the more the urge to take a peek into her mind grew. The Cordelia, in front of him, was weaker than the one from his memories.

Yet when he tried to open the door, the other side was empty. He was staring at an empty wall. He was thrown back into reality and he found himself staring into her big blue eyes.

"Tom…" Cordelia let go of his hand and grabbed the back of his shirt. "Don't pick a fight with Dennis and Amy. Not today. No matter what happens—you must leave them alone." She begged and she didn't know why she was begging. Her mouth was moving of its own accord as if it suddenly gained a will of its own and her body was moving without her control.

Before Tom could give her the answer she desperately wanted to hear the two were interrupted. "Look what we have here. If it isn't little Tom and Cory." Dennis teased, behind him stood Amy and a nervous Eric.

"Cordelia." Cordelia snapped at Dennis. She was no longer under that strange spell and was back to her usual self. "Go away, Dennis. You heard Mrs Cole on the coach here, if you three start any trouble, you'll be punished."

"No thanks to you two." Amy glared at Cordelia.

"Shut it, Amy." Tom hissed out and Amy cowered, hiding behind Dennis. It was clear the three of them were afraid of him even without him doing anything serious to them. "You heard Cordelia, leave us alone or—"

"Or what? We're tired of being scared of you two freaks." Dennis bent down and picked up a small rock the size of his fists.

"We're not freaks." Cordelia bit back.

Tom sighed. There was no changing some things. "Put that down, Dennis."

"Why should I listen to you, freak."

"Dennis!" Cordelia called out to him, only to be ignored.

Eric backed away. He already knew Amy and Dennis were dull enough to start a fight out in the open even when Mrs Cole was firm about not causing any trouble. Mrs Cole's words were final and she even mentioned calling in Dr Wool. Nobody wanted the stern and mean old doctor, whose family home was donated to be turned into a home for the abandoned and lost children, to come back.

"We're tired of you two freaks always getting your way around. It's not fair."

Tom glared at them. He had forgotten what nuisance those two were. It was easy to forget considering what he did to them and what he reduced them to. Sparing a glance to Cordelia, he knew he wouldn't be able to do what she wanted him to.

He took a step back and waited. He waited for his enemies to make the first open move in order to excuse his own actions. It wasn't pleasant, never was, yet it had gotten him far.

Not taking his eyes off Tom, Dennis' fist around the rock tightened. He swung his arm back ready to throw it at Tom who wasn't scared, if anything he appeared a little bored.

Cordelia was the only one who seemed really concerned. Not only was she afraid of causing a scene, she didn't want anyone to get hurt while on a holiday. "Dennis don't. You'll regret that." She quietly warned.

"Shut it!" Was all Dennis could say before he tumbled down from where he stood. The small rock fell from his hand. His feet lost balance and he fell head first into the sea of rocks.

Fortunately, he didn't injure himself too much. He only had a small wound on his forehead that Cordelia was sure would scar. Good, he'd hopefully learn something from that.

She watched as he picked himself up with teary eyes. He reached to touch his bleeding wound before sobbing louder. Eric went down carefully to check on his friend while Amy stood there in shock.

"I told you—you should've gone back." Cordelia folded her arms and shook her head in disappointment.

Well she did warn him. It's not her or Tom's fault they ignored her.

Tom stared at Cordelia, perplexed. Dennis didn't slip before, neither was it Tom the one who found Cordelia, it was the other way around. He didn't know if it was his change that turned things around or her. He couldn't tell and he didn't like that.

He silently motioned his head towards Dennis when he caught Cordelia's attention, almost asking her if it was her. She only tilted her head to the side in feigned confusion.

"You freaks!" Amy cried out with the seagulls and the crashing waves.

Cordelia turned away, much to Tom's annoyance. It would've been nicer if the two were alone.

"Leave Benson." Tom quietly warned Amy, almost hissing at her. His calm anger called some of the snakes hiding beneath the rocks to slither to the surface out of the sight of the rest exactly himself. "Leave!"

"Or what? I'm next?"

Sensing the brewing storm, Cordelia tried to settle it down. She did feel bad towards Dennis but a part of her knew he deserved it. "Amy, calm down." She tried.

She regretted saying it because the plain-faced girl glared at her with her dark eyes turning almost black and red with rage. "You! Little miss perfect! I'm sick of you the most! Always pretending to be so…so…good when you're just as bad if not worse than Riddle! I know you! I know what a freak you are!"

"Benson!" Tom warned.

Amy shrugged Tom's threats off as Eric grabbed her arm. He harshly whispered something indecipherable into her ears, she deflated and nodded. Tom watched her carefully as she turned away from them and put all her attention into tending Dennis.

The only one still standing of the trio was Eric. He carefully backed off. "I'm not here to fight you, Riddle." Eric said, backing away from his friends.

Tom scoffed. He wasn't a fool, he knew better than to trust his words especially when it was him who was the instigator. Eric was good at playing innocent, almost as good as him but at times, his mask slipped. The difference between the two was, Eric was a coward—a coward who was running with his tail tucked behind his legs.

"Don't." Cordelia quickly grabbed Tom's shirt and pulled him back before he did something she would regret. "Don't do anything."

He turned around to glare at Cordelia but she refused to back down. "They started it." He growled.

"Doesn't matter. We'll just get out of here—it's almost time for lunch." She was always so stubborn.

Neither Tom or Cordelia noticed Amy as they were too busy bickering. The plain-faced girl took advantage of their business to pick up a rock, the size of her small fist. Silently, she pulled her arm back and threw the rock.

"Amy! Don't!" Eric yelled out.

But it was too late.

It happened too fast for Tom to notice but a rock flew through the air and hit Cordelia in the knee. She lost her balance and unfortunately, he couldn't catch her in time. She went down with a thud, her head hitting the flat rock. There was a loud crack and she couldn't move.

Her vision dimmed as an excruciating sharp pain shot through her head. She tried to sit up and move yet every time she moved, pain would stop her. Before she could stop herself, tears started falling down her face, blinding her.

The pain and tears blinded her. She couldn't hear anything as blood rushed to her head. Breathing heavily, she tried to get up, reaching out for support. She found herself grabbing onto a cold hand that desperately tried to pull her up.

She tried to speak but her words kept getting jumbled. Her vision gradually dulled as everything turned black, her head slumped back in the arms of a helpless Tom.