Stranded

6

CHAPTER SIX 

❝ Is it true that dreams are the way our unconscious delivers messages to us? If it is, then my unconscious had many messages for me last night. I think I had like five dreams. And I also think my unconscious wants me running around naked in the snow. Sorry, pal. Not gonna happen. ❞

Elle's journal: The Europe Trip, day 11, entry nº1

That night, Elle dreamed with her aunt. She dreamed many things, but the dream that managed to wake her up in the middle of the night was about her aunt and the day she died.

In the dream Elle was back in the hospital room, holding her aunt's hand and whispering random words at her. But Aunt Jenny wasn't responding. She couldn't respond.

Elle was telling Jenny about her day, about this boy she liked, about the excellent grade she had gotten on that one test she had been studying for the week before.

And then, in just a heartbeat, everything changed. Because her unconscious aunt's heart stopped beating.

When Elle's parents came, minutes later, Elle was crying next to the empty bed. The doctors had tried, but it had been useless.

And so, as soon as she saw her parents, Elle began yelling, louder that she ever had before. Because it was all their fault.

❄

When Elle woke up, tears were streaming down her face. Her whole body was shaking, but she wasn't cold at all. Stelle had left the fireplace lit up for them not to freeze, so she could clearly see Connor next to her on the floor, his chest moving up and down in regular motion.

Elle tried to go back to sleep, and even if that sofa was the best thing she had had to sleep in for more than a week, she still couldn't close her eyes without going back to that horrible night.

Elle let out a long, exhausted sigh, and sat back up on the sofa. To get out of it, she had to be very careful not to step on Connor. Once she was out, Elle walked towards the kitchen and leaned on the counter to stare out the window.

It was raining harder than earlier. The little yet strong droplets made the whole house roar and, for a second, Elle was almost sure that the smallest gust of wind would tear it all down.

Elle had always liked rain. When she was a little girl, right before her dad had decided to dedicate his life to watching sports on their new plasma, the two of them would go out and play every single time it rained. Sometimes, even her mom and her siblings would go out, too, and for those few minutes, it would feel like they were a real family.

That didn't happen anymore. And it probably never would again.

"Elle?"

Elle turned around to see Connor standing by the doorway. He was rubbing one of his hands on his face and his hair was all messy, going up in all the wrong directions.

"Hi," she said, a soft smile taking over her lips. It was a sad smile, but a smile nonetheless.

"Hi. You are up quite early," he said, taking a few steps on her direction. "What's up?"

"I don't really want–"

"To talk about it? It seems to me like you need to."

Elle didn't know what to do. Tell him? Lie to him? Keep it a secret? Walk away?

"I–" she began saying, not that she actually knew what would come out of her mouth.

"You can tell me. I promise," Connor said, and he sounded so sincere that Elle actually considered it.