Izzy sighed, fidgeting in her pockets for her key as she walked up the stoop of her small, two bed one bath brick house which sat smushed between others of its kind. She felt guilty for not telling Maria about the woman, but there was no way she could make it sound sane.

When the woman vanished into thin air, Izzy gave up and started walking back, only to find Maria running through the alley behind her, out of breath and clutching her side. She instantly swept Izzy into a bone crushing hug, then pushed her away and loudly chastised her for running off. When she wouldn't let it go, Izzy told her she chased after an old classmate who borrowed a book and never returned it. Maria was hesitant, but believed her all the same.

Something was definitely odd, she knew that for sure. She had never seen teal eyes like that before, and twice in one day? Plus, there was the fact that they seemed to know her… Whatever it was, she was determined to get to the bottom of it, alone. If just running off caused Maria so much stress, how would she react if she found out people were following her? She had always relied on Maria to come save her or to patch up her mistakes. That's the way their relationship had always been. Maria, strong and independent beating up bullies and being poor, frail, memoryless Izzy's shield. Well no more. She may have only been eighteen for a few months, but that still made her an adult, and it was time she acted like it.

Filled with a newfound determination, the crip evening air barely affected her. She bit her lip in thought, though she couldn't help but smile. She loved mysteries, and even though it was probably another mundane thing, it put magic into her life.

As her key slid into the lock, the door flew open, pulling her with it a few steps as she stumbled to regain her balance. She just managed to catch herself as her face came dangerously close to some pale green tiles.

A shadow crossed over her, and as she looked up she realized why. An aquamarine eyed, red haired woman with pointed features stood over her, anger apparent in her eyes. The fire of her newfound determination quickly disappeared, only one though crossing her mind.

I am so screwed.

"I told you to come home straight after school! Did you even listen to a word I said?!" A shrill voice echoed off the walls of the main room that served as their kitchen, living room, and dining room. What is lacked in size it made up for in character, strange plants and herbs hanging from the ceiling and mismatched furniture and dining room chairs giving the place a vibe somewhere between bohemian and eclectic.

Izzy hung her head in shame, staring at the wood grain of their small table as her aunt paced back and forth. She didn't think she did anything wrong. She was eighteen for pete's sake! It's not like she was out smoking pot or kissing guys, she was just eating gelato with her childhood best friend. What was so wrong with that?

"Well?! What do you have to say for yourself?!"

Izzy shifted uncomfortably in the green wooden chair. "Sorry Aunt Cassy, I, didn't mean to make you upset."

She pinched the bridge of her nose as her feet came to a halt. Sighing a ragged, full body sigh, she closed the distance between them and knelt down, wrapping her arms around Izzy. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten so mad. You did nothing wrong, I just worry. After what happened…" She paused to collect herself and Izzy could hear her voice choking up. "Your parents entrusted you to me," She pulled away, gently turning Izzy's face, meeting her misty eyes. "I'm not about to let anything happen to you." She brushed a strand of hair out of Izzy's face and smiled at her warmly as a tear dripped down her face. "You're all I have."

Izzy tried to push back the flood that was burning her eyelids, but it wasn't possible. As the tears began to pour out, she wrapped her arms around her aunt, nestling her head into her neck. Her aunt returned the hug, and in it Izzy could feel her fear and desperation to protect her. She wanted to live her life, to finally break free, but if it meant hurting Aunt Cassy, it wasn't worth it. She soaked in the warmth, embracing the feeling of her heart swelling. She may not have much, they might not have much, but they had each other, and that's all that really mattered anyway.

After what felt like a lifetime, yet still not nearly long enough, Aunt Cassy pulled away, brushed the hair off of Izzy's forehead and kissing her. Smiling, she stood up and walking to the kitchen.

"You know," Izzy started, breaking the silence while Aunt Cassy put on oven mitts and pulled a stone tray out of the oven. "You can kiss me like always, you don't have to just kiss me on the forehead."

"Oh, really?" Aunt Cassy smirked at her. "You're eighteen now, I would have thought you were too old for that. You are an adult after all."

Izzy flushed. "Just because I'm an adult doesn't mean you're not my mom."

Aunt Cassy nearly dropped the stone.

"Sorry." Izzy mumbled.

"It's alright." She smiled, but it was strained.

She had told Izzy over and over not to refer to her as her mom, claiming the job was too important, to sacred, for her to take it. Plus, she always said, she already had a mom. Had a mom. Her parents and she had been moving at the time, so most of their belongings were destroyed in the car fire that claimed their lives, but Aunt Cassy had managed to save one picture. She used to only let her see it when the nightmares were really bad, when she would wake up too frozen to move, too scared to scream. It became her charm, protecting her from the cloaked monsters that stole her dreams. When she turned sixteen however, Aunt Cassy decided she was old enough to take care of it, and now it sat safety under her pillow.

The picture showed the three of them. Her dad looking like a cross between batman and robin hood with bright blue eyes, chiseled features, and blond hair. Her mom stood next to him, a hand on her shoulder. She had an indescribable grace about her, amber hair in soft ringlets, and turquoise eyes. Izzy stood between them smiling, looking more beautiful and happy than she could ever imagine. The picture was slightly blurred from the water damage, especially on the bottom half where she stood, but it was all she had, besides her bracelet.

Part of her wanted to go get it from under her pillow right now, but she couldn't. She would end up staring at it for hours, like always, trying to memorize every detail and crease of their faces. Trying to fix the immense guilt she carried for forgetting them.

Dinner, consisted of a bunch of oddly colored, surprisingly tasty vegetables like always, her aunt being vegan. Tonight they tasted like extra cheesy peperoni pizza. Izzy would have gone back for seconds if her stomach hadn't been in knots from the chaos of the day. Aunt Cassy then kissed her goodnight and Izzy disappeared to her room.

That night was one of the worse yet. Black cloaked figures flitted in and out of her dreams, coming at her from all angles. They screamed at her, burned her. She was stuck, frozen to the spot, unable to move. Searing, blinding pain ripped through her arms. She tried to scream, tried to call for help, but it only made it worse. As her skin began to melt, she woke up screaming.

"DEX!"

Her aunt threw open the door, running to the bed and pulling her into a hug as Izzy swallowed mouthfuls of air. Unable to speak, she shook her head, needing space to breathe, to think. With the walls closing in her aunt's hug just added to her claustrophobia.

"You're ok now sweetie. It's ok." She cooed, gently moving messy, sweat soaked strands of hair off of Izzy's forehead. "It's ok. It's just a bad dream."

Izzy shook her head, trying to swallow the lump in her throat. Tears began welling up before swiftly falling, leaving wet smudges on her comforter.

"When will they stop? It's been five years since the crash, so why-" Her shaky voice froze against her will, reluctant to leave her throat and escape into the harsh world.

Aunt Cassy covered Izzy's hand with her own, drawing small circles on it. "I don't know, but don't worry sweetie. You know what the nightmares really are, they can't hurt you." Izzy swallowed a big lump again, nodding.

"Do you want me to get some water for you?" Aunt Cassy asked as she stood up and motioned towards the door.

Izzy shook her head. "I'm fine now. Thanks. I just, I just need some time alone. I'm ok though." Part of her thought that, if she said it, it would become real, but as the words left her lips she realized how far from the truth it actually was. As her aunt smiled sadly at her and nodded, turning her back and walking out of the room, her heart twisted. When the door shut the darkness of the room began to form faces, threatening to swallow her up. But she had to be brave. She was an adult now after all, she couldn't keep running to others for help.

Suddenly it felt like the night she had come home from the hospital; fear clawing at her heart until she laid motionless in her bed sobbing, too afraid to make a sound. She fought it, trying to remind herself she was an adult, that she had to be brave, but it didn't help. Wrapping herself in a cocoon of blanket and slipping the picture of her parents out from under her pillow, she finally felt better, though the tears didn't stop.

As sobs racketed her body, she stared at the picture. Her thumb gently caressed her parents faces as she furiously wiped the tears away with her other arm. Turning it over, she could see the remanence of her past life, a list of everything she had or remembered and what it stood for. It was heartbreakingly short.

Teal – Mom's favorite dress

Dex – Family dog

Bracelet – Mom's

Fire, Scars

Dark figures – Paramedics

She forced herself to reread it a few times even though she already had it memorized by heart. Everything that haunted her from her past life, everything that made her who she was, was on this list.

Even knowing what the nightmares came from though, it didn't do much to help. When the accident happened, she greatly injured her head so everything became dark figures screaming and shaking her had been the paramedics trying to bring her back, Dex was the family dog. He had been sitting in the backseat with her when it happened. And teal, teal was the color of her mother's favorite dress, the one she had been wearing when it happened. Even though she didn't have her memories, the trauma stayed behind. Her aunt told her she was in a coma for nearly three months afterwards. The only sign of the accident left were the marks on her arms.

She rubbed the rough, scaly skin, feeling nothing but the pressure.

Sighing, she tried to ignore the darkness, to pretend it wasn't there. She closed her eyes, the tears still slipping out, and waiting for the sun to come. It was hours away, but it was the only thing that could truly save her from the darkness. That, and the trickle of warmth she felt in the back of her head as she thought of the color teal.