Chapter Fifteen

THAT NIGHT, I WOKE up screamin'.

I kept seein' the life leavin' my parents eyes, an' hearin' the screams of all the people on that plane. That heartless man's face kept flashin' across my mind's eye, tauntin' me, promisin' me somethin' worse than death. Even worse than all that, my nightmares consisted of memories. Memories of my family, an' how I'd never get that back. But I never saw my parents as how they were, oh no. In the nightmare-memories, they were only the rottin' corpses of my parents.

An' then there was Allen.

I'd hear him screamin' for me, his voice strangled an' hoarse an' in definite pain. I'd run an' run in the direction I knew he was in, but I'd never reach him. Everytime I'd get close, that Bellatrix girl an' her parents would step in the way as I watched the heartless man kill Allen right in front of me. An' I was always just far enough away that I could do nothin' 'bout it.

Sobbin', I ran out of my room, collapsin' against the window, prayin' to God that the cool glass would help take the images outta my head. But if anythin', it made it worse, remindin' me that reality was no better than my nightmares.

My life was a livin' nightmare, after all.

At that moment, it felt as if all the walls were crashin' in on me an' crushin' me. I had to get out of this place before I came undone. Havin' nowhere to go, an' no one to go to, I went outside, thinkin' that if I was lucky there would be some sort of monster out there that would devour me quickly, puttin' an end to my misery.

Outside, it was mistin' slightly, the thick clouds in the sky obscurin' the stars an' moon. It didn't take long for my skin an' thin clothes to absorb the moisture, an' in turn for me to start shiverin' from the cold.

Not knowin' where my feet were takin' me, I ended up at the edge of a dark lake, lookin' down on it as the raindrops disturbed its glassy surface. Fallin' to the ground, I curled up into a little ball, starin' up at the sky as the rain mixed with my sobs.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, almost chokin' on the words. "I'm sorry I let you die… I just–now I don't know what to do without you guys," I gasped out as I rose to my feet, steppin' on the edge of the bank, wonderin' how deep or cold the water would be. "How am I supposed to live if you can't? There's no life worth livin' if you're both gone. It isn't right that I'm the only one who survived. I cheated death, an' now that I've seen the payment for it, I'd rather be with you."

Takin' a deep breath to steady myself, I jumped in.

At first, everythin' seemed peaceful an' quiet, an' I was able to convince myself that it was just like fallin' asleep at night after a hard, long day's work. I was gonna be with my parents again, an' nothin' was gonna keep them from me anymore.

Just then a strong hand closed around my arm an' yanked me upwards towards the surface. As my face hit the air, I felt an arm slide 'round my waist as whoever it was began to swim towards the bank, with me coughin' an' tryin' to free my lungs of the filthy water.

Whoever it was that had saved me tossed me onto the bank before draggin' himself up next to me. It was too dark out for me to see who it was, but at the moment I didn't care as I listened to us both gasp for air, realizin' what I'd just 'bout done.

I'd almost killed myself.

"Are you fucking crazy?" the person, a man's voice, demanded. Despite everythin', I couldn't help but think I knew the voice from somewhere.

"I–I…" I trailed off as my body started shakin' violently an' I began to cry, the dam finally breakin' loose.

"Hey," the man said softly, an' I heard an' felt him move closer to me. He gently touched my arm before pullin' me towards him, an', for some reason, I let him an' rested my head against his chest. I don't know how long we stayed like that, with me cryin' an' shakin' an' just bein' a complete wreck while the man held me an' rocked me back an' forth. Eventually, I began to calm down and get myself under control.

"I'm sorry," I managed to say as I pulled away from him, kind of wishin' I had a name an' face to go with the man's voice and smell. "Thank you for savin' my life."

"I'd do it again in a heartbeat," he said quietly, an' I could feel his eyes on me as he rose to his feet, takin' my hand an' helpin' me up. "But hopefully I won't have to."

Takin' my hand from his, I wiped my eyes, tryin' to get rid of any remainin' tears. "I…I guess I should head back to my room before somebody notices I'm gone."

"You and me both," he said, an' we walked together in silence back to the school. Once we arrived at the doors, he put a hand on my arm an' said, "Make sure you're quiet heading back, okay? I'll try and make sure nobody sees you."

"I don't want you to get in trouble, though," I said, an' I heard him laugh quietly.

"Trouble's my middle name, sweetheart." A feelin' of déjà vu ran through me, but I ignored it as he spoke again. "You just take care of yourself."

And with that, the man was gone.

A/N: I'm sorry all that I have for you guys after all this time is just two chapters (and that this one is so crappy and short!). I really hope that you'll forgive me, and I promise that I'll try and work my butt off here and get lots done.

Thank you to everyone who has left reviews while I was seemingly MIA, they, of course, mean the world to me! I love all of you more than you know, so please, R&R and keep your opinions coming!

Hope to hear from you soon!

Nike