The Survivor (Book #2)

Chapter 52

(A/N Reminder! This starts as a dream)

I was standing in what appeared to be a fog-covered field, surrounded by damp grey mist. I looked around for other people, but the landscape was barren and silent.

I began walking forward and trying to make out what the background of this place was. It didn't look like anywhere I'd been, but it felt familiar somehow. I heard a giggle and jumped in place.

I turned to see a little girl with mischievous blue eyes and short brown hair. She was wearing a long white dress and her bare feet were painted brown with dirt. She had been walking on the field, apparently. Or running?

"Hello," I said in my kindest little-kid voice. I shrunk down a little and made myself smaller so she could tell that I wasn't scary. I looked over her gentle child-like features with apprehension. Would she be afraid of me?

Her face flew into a large smile and her eyes seemed to shine like stars, despite the depressing setting of this place.

She ran forward without fear and grabbed my hand, tugging me in the direction from which she came.

"Nice to meet you, too!" I said with a laugh as she dragged me directly into the mist.

She giggled and spoke in a high soprano voice. "We met, silly!"

"We have?" I asked as she tugged me in seemingly random directions through the darkness. The cold seemed to seep through my skin directly the further we walked. I shivered and slowed down, but she just tugged harder.

She came to a dramatic halt and the fog retreated to show that we were in my bedroom at the Anders house.

"My room." She said seriously, the smile dropping from her face. Pieces fell into place slowly in a disorganized way as I struggled to comprehend what she was saying.

"B-Bella? Is that you?" I asked. She gave me a cheeky grin and took off, running back into the mist.

"Bella, wait!" I said, taking off after her. I couldn't see a damn thing, but I followed the sound of her high-pitched giggle until I suddenly ran into her.  I caught her and flipped as we hit the ground, landing with her safely pressed against my chest. I sighed and got up, standing her up in front of me before brushing off my legs.

"Bella, that was dangerous!" I disciplined her gently, but she didn't notice. She was pointing at me, and her little arm was shaking as she took slow steps backward.

"I'm sorry! I'm not scary." I tried to explain to her in a calm voice, holding my hands up to show her she was safe. She let out a whine and pointed again towards me. I took a step to the side and realized she wasn't pointing at me at all, but behind me, to a different room.

My old bedroom.

I looked at it in wonder and wandered closer despite her protests.

"It's okay," I told her as I traced my hand along my blanket and investigated my closet. "It's just a room. He's not here." But as soon as I said the words, I knew they were a lie. I heard the footsteps slowly marching up the stairs and the little silence as he turned his body around the corner and came towards my room. I took small steps back towards Bella and shielded her with my body. He wouldn't touch her.

He opened the door and saw us standing together at the opposite side of the room.

"You can't protect her," he said, looking at both of us.

"I will," I replied firmly, crossing my arms over my chest. It took everything I had to be brave when I wanted to be curled up on the ground, sobbing. My instincts forced me to protect her. She was the most important thing right now.

"But Maya..." he said, as a look of confusion swept across his face. "You're the one hurting her."

I heard a scream coming from behind me and spun to see her curled up on the ground, clutching her stomach. With pain shooting through my body in all directions, I woke up with tears in my eyes. I cried out, feelingguilt aching out of every part of my body. I didn't want to hurt her.

"I wouldn't! I didn't mean to!" I moaned piteously, as I writhed around in bed. Silky sheets tangled around my kicking legs but were pulled harshly off me in seconds. I heard footsteps shuffling beside me and then was lifted into the air and away from the bed. I locked my arms like a vise around his neck and opened my eyes to see Dominic looking at me sadly.

"You okay?" he asked. "It was just a dream."

I shook my head no and continued to shake for a moment until the fear wore off and my body remembered where I was. He gave me a questioning look.

I took a deep breath in and out and nodded at him. I rubbed my eyes and tried to brush out the knots in my hair with my fingers. His lip twitched as he realized that I was worried about looking stupid. 

He set me down on my feet and I looked around for a clock of some kind. "What time is it?"

He picked up the watch on his dresser and cursed below his breath.

"6:30 am." He replied, trying to sound upbeat. His voice was raspy, and his eyes were bleary. He rubbed at them absentmindedly and tried to contain a yawn.

"D-did I keep you from sleeping?" I asked, looking at the floor. "I kicked a lot probably."

"No, you're fine My." He chuckled. "I slept on the ground. I didn't want you to wake up and see me and be scared."

"Oh. I'm really sorry." I stammered awkwardly, looking down.

"Don't be! I'm here for you. Whenever and wherever." He assured me confidently.

The realization hit that it was Christmas and he groaned as I switched from Maya to little girl.

"DOMINIC! IT'S CHRISTMAS!!!!!" I shrieked, jumping up and down and letting my nightmares dissipate. They weren't real. This was real. I was real.

"Yes, it is. But you're not supposed to go downstairs until 7, remember?" he asked in a serious tone. How had he already lost the Christmas spirit at his young age?

"If you let me go early, I'll let you go back to sleep in your nice comfy bed." I bargained, raising an eyebrow, and holding out my hand. He shot a look over my head at the king-sized mattress and then grabbed my hand and shook it.

"You've got a deal. Don't tell the others!" he warned, as he stumbled to his bed and fell into it with a sigh. I scooped up his pillow from the floor and chucked it at him, giggling when it hit his head. Then I crept quietly out of the room and down the stairs, before gasping at the sight before me.