Stay Away | Eric Coulter [1]

thirty-eight

I open my eyes to find myself underwater...like literally stuck in open waters.

The last thing I remembered was preparing to enter a stimulation with Eric and now here I was, in one of Eric's fear landscapes.

Panicked, I kick out my legs hoping I could swim up to the surface when I realised I'm being weighed down by something that's been tied to my ankles by a piece of rope and that my wrists were also tied. I can't see what exactly it is that was holding me down, seeing as how the rope extends much further down, where it's too deep to see.

My lungs burned for air as precious seconds ticked by. I tugged at my bounds, hoping they would come free when a hand wraps around my arm and I let jerk in shock only to turn to see Eric's blurry form in front of me. Unfortunately, I could already make out that he was bound, much like I was.

He kicks his feet out beneath him, manoeuvring until we're back-to-back. I'm confused by his actions for a minute, but quickly catch on and his fingers start to work at my bindings.

After several seconds of blindly trying to undo the rope around my wrists, Eric finally manages to free my hands and I hurriedly turned to untie him as well.

Though I have my eyes to aid me, my vision is still blurry from the water and I struggle with his bounds.

Finally, after fumbling over them a couple of times, I managed to pull them free and we both work on the ones on our ankles.

When we're both free, Eric takes my hand and together, we swim up.

As I break through the surface, sucking in a greedy breath, I spin around to find myself on land this time and with Eric nowhere to be found.

"Eric?" I called still coughing and dripping wet from being held underwater.

My eyes scanned the area before they finally land on Eric's form a distance away.

"Eric!" I yelled again, waving my hands in the air to get his attention.

He turns, and his eyes land on me...or at least at I thought they did. The next thing I knew, he looked away as if he didn't see me, his eyes searching the horizons again.

I frowned, but rushed forward, running towards him as fast as my feet could carry me. But no matter how much I ran, it felt like I haven't moved at all.

"Eric!" I tried again, and just like before, he never hears me, his eyes continuing to search for me, but never seeing me as if I was invisible.

A familiar feeling starts to surround me, feeling much like I'm seeing an old friend I haven't seen in years. In some sense, I guess it was. It was the feeling that accompanied me throughout the years after Tobias had left, and a feeling I was all too familiar with; loneliness.

Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath, reminding myself that I've survived this feeling once before and I could do it again. And when I reopened them, I realised I wasn't in the same place I was before.

I find myself in the dining room of someone's home. Above their dining table, a single lamp hangs, revealing two women seated around the table- one who was older than the other.

Judging by their similar features, I assumed they were mother and daughter.

The table was covered in plates filled with home-cooked dishes that were obviously made with love, and as they passed a bowl of salad between each other, the other woman turns in my direction.

"Eric! There you are," The woman beams and I look to my side to see Eric standing beside me.

The forlorn look on his face as he stares at the woman makes my heart ache a little and I reach out to take his hand, giving it a little squeeze.