Tide

Chapter 41

He wasn't the same person. He looked exactly like he did in the picture. His skin was all pale and he was covered in wounds. His shoulders slumped over, eyes empty, Mason stared at me. "Ava?" he whispered.

"Mason..." I approached him slowly, my heart pounding inside of my ears, anxiety stirring inside of my stomach. "Are you okay?"

"No!" he cried, raising his voice. "Why did you let me die, Ava? Why did you let me die?"

"I'm sorry, Mason. I--"

"You let me die, Ava! You killed me!"

"Mason!" I said. "I'm sorry, please--"

Suddenly, his eyes widened. 

"Ava?" he whispered, staring down at his hands. He began to vanish. "Ava!"

I stood there, unsure of what to do, my heart pounding like never before.

"Ava! Help!" he cried. 

His cries were so gut-wrenching and painful, they sent shivers down my spine. I tried moving - tried putting one foot in front of the other. I stretched out my arms and reached for him, but my feet were glued to the ground.

"Mason!" I screamed.

"Ava, I --"

He didn't finish his sentence. He disappeared completely.

"Mason?" I said, hoping it would make him come back. Nothing. "Mason?" I repeated. Nothing. I wanted to collapse, scream until my lungs ran out of air and hit the ground, cursing. "Mason!" I yelled. 

I'd give anything to see him again.

Everything began to shake. The ground moved, but with everything else falling around me, I stayed still. I still couldn't move. So instead, I watched all of the buildings -- all of the people run -- everything collapse right before my eyes. The ear-splitting noise, the stress, the panic, the fright. All I could do was stand and watch -- watch my world fall apart. I wanted to scream. I wanted to die.

Someone grabbed my hand. I spun around. Isaac.

"Ava! Come on, we gotta get out of here!" he said, attempting to pull me away. I stayed put, my feet stuck.

"I can't move!" I cried.

"What do you mean you can't move?" he said, panic rising in his voice. His eyes were filled with fear. Mine were, too. I felt a knot of anxiety in my chest, and it pressed its weight against me. I couldn't breathe.

"I can't!"

"Come on, Ava! We really have to go!"

I tried moving. I still couldn't. "Go without me!" I told him.

"What?" he said, still trying to pull me towards him. "No!"

"Go without me!" I screamed.

"No! I'm not leaving you here!"

"Please," I begged. "Please, please, Isaac--"

He cut me off by pressing his lips onto mine. When he pulled away, he stared into my eyes and said, "I'm staying here."

I let out a deep breath. A mixture of relief, guilt and dread swirled inside of me. I didn't want him to go. I knew I'd never see him again.

Then I heard more screams. A wave came storming towards us. I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing it'd come faster and just knock me dead, fast and painlessly in one swift movement. But it didn't. It slowed a little, flowing towards us, and it was so slow I knew I could outrun it if I tried, but I couldn't.

"Isaac, what do we do?" I turned towards him, but it wasn't Isaac anymore.

It was Nolan.

--------

Ms. Campbell took a seat in front of me, offering me a smile. "How have you been, Ava?"

"Good." I shrugged.

"Have you still had nightmares?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to talk about them?"

"No."

"Alright. When was the last time you had a nightmare?"

"Today."

"What happened in it?"

"I said I didn't want to talk about it. Besides, it barely made any sense."

"Can you at least tell me who was in it?"

"Mason, Isaac and Nolan."

"Who's Nolan?"

"A friend of mine."

"Okay, good." She said, "Do you feel like talking about it now?"

"No. I don't want to talk about it. I'm supposed to be getting over the tsunami. How am I supposed to be getting over it if you keep bringing it up?"

"Ava, it's very important that you talk about these kind of things. You have to let it out. If you bottle it up, it may make you worse. You have to understand that we care about you, and we only want to make you feel better."

"No you don't, it's just a job of yours."

Ms. Campbell sighed, crossing her arms. "Ava. Will you please tell me what happened in your nightmare?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Please, Ava."

I let out a deep breath. "Fine."

Ms. Campbell took out a notebook and a pencil. She flipped it open and waited for me to begin. "I'm listening. Feel free to speak when you're ready."

What if I'm not ready?

A/N: I'm so sorry for not updating in a while. I was working on finishing a book on my other account (weliketowrite_) plus I had exams. Hopefully I'll have more time to write later this week :) Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave any comments, questions, suggestions etc.