When Worlds Collide

Chapter 38: Acceptance

*Rachel's POV*-

"Rachel..."

A distant whisper tickled my half asleep mind,trying to brush the haziness around me with it's feeble attempts.

"Rachel!" 

A moment later, the voice called out my name again. This time louder.

My clouded brain could detect a tinge of urgency in it.The sound pulled at my heartstings, urging me to pry my eyes open and answer to it, immediately.

"Rachel?!"

The person crying out my name seemed to have come closer now,too close to ignore their presence anymore.

"Where are you,Rachel?...Where is he hiding you?.." 

The question was thrown my way in a barely audible murmur as if the person was asking it more to their own self yet I was clearly able to hear the anguish lacing the silent plea. It sounded like someone who was devastated, completely.

Someone who was looking for me.

"Come back...please." 

Despite its frenzied state, my brain was finally able to put a name to the gradually raising voice. The realization proving to be nightmare in itself.

Daniel.

I tried opening my mouth to utter coherent words, but only air come out of my parted lips. I wanted to scream but my weakened state didn't allow me to.

The feeling of helplessness crawled inside of me starting to be replaced by unconditional terror that gripped my heart tighter and tighter every second, suffocating me.

Just as I felt hot liquid trail flowing down the corner of my eyes, a bloodcurling scream shattered the stillness around me into several pieces. Involuntary, my hands attempted to cover my ears to block out the terrifying screams, but my limbs felt heavier than expected. My lips quivered with the fear of the unknown as I thrashed my head side to side to somehow wake up from this horrible nightmare.

Out of nowhere, a sudden gut wrenching pain hit me in the form a strong wave, forming cracks all across my defenceless shell. I felt as if my whole body was going to break down any moment.

Hot tears continued flooding down my cold cheeks as the unknown pain kept me feeling sick to my stomach.

Is this..his pain?

I once again tried forcing my vocal cords to function and this time, miraculously, a single word left my drying lips in a soft whisper.

"Dan.."

Just as the word left my lips, I felt someone placing their arms on my shoulders and softly shaking me while at the same time whispering "It's alright Rachel,it's just a nightmare." I woke up with a start,eyes wide with horror coming face to face with nothing but complete darkness.Unable to see anything in the obscuring shadows,I started panicking with the fear of reliving the nightmare all over again.

Was it really a nightmare? But It didn't feel like one.

"I am here for you." I heard Aaron say and the voice had an immediate soothing effect on my chaotic nerves. I blinked rapidly to focus my sight better and gradually the haze around my senses cleared and I noticed that we were still in the car, which was now parked at the side of the road.

My hands tightly gripped the armrests , on seeing this Aaron removed his hands from my shoulders and raised up his hands to my jaw,gently grabbing it from both sides to make me look up at him.