I am Here

Love Is Not Weak

I woke up in Eric's bed. I smiled and turned over, to find the bed empty. Sighing, I got up. Today I had just felt like sleeping in and possibly cuddling. But Eric was always up early. At least, he had been the last week I had been here. I yawned, stretching my arms up. Rubbing my eyes, I moved towards the kitchen. Seeing Eric at the stove, I smiled, moving behind him I wrapped my arms around his waist and laid my head on his back. I heard home chuckle. "Good morning" He said, holding one of my hands while he made breakfast. "Morning" I say into his back, my voice muffled. He laughed again, and turned around to wrap his arms around me. "Still tired?" He asked, kissing the top of my head. I nodded, pulling away slightly. He chuckled, making circles in my back with his hands. I let go suddenly, and headed towards the bedroom. "I'm gonna go get dressed, I'll be back in a minute" He nodded and turned back to the stove. Walking into the room, I sighed, wrapping my sweatshirt tighter around me. I moved to the dresser, and looked at myself in the mirror on top of it. Pulling a strand of hair away from my face, I frowned. My hair was a complete mess, tangled and knotted to the extreme. It was as if a tornado had blown through it. Sighing, I opened my bag and dug around for my hair brush. Pulling it out, I brushed through my hair till it was semi smooth. Throwing on some leggings and a bra under my sweatshirt, I left the room again. I sniffed the air and smelled bacon. Smiling, I walked into the kitchen and sneaked behind Eric. Not making any noise, I stole a strip of bacon from the plate beside him. Stifling a giggle, I walked back into the hallway, before walking back into the room again, louder this time. He turned around and smiled at me. "Hey, breakfast if almost ready. Wanna grab the dishes?" I nodded and moved towards the cupboards and took down the plates and cups. Bringing them to the table, I tried not to laugh as Eric tried furiously to flip a pancake without getting batter anywhere. When I burst out laughing, he looked over his shoulder and stuck his tongue out at me. Only causing me to laugh harder. He eventually joined in before we were both laughing so hard we had tears in our eyes. I stopped laughing and moved to the stove. "Is it ready yet? I'm very hungry" I whined. He smiled. "Yup, here, give me your plate." I moved to the table to get my plate and handed it to him as he filled it with eggs, pancakes, and bacon. "It looks so good, thanks Eric" I said, licking my lips. "No need to thank me, I was just tired of cereal for breakfast" I laughed at that, thinking of how we'd only had cereal for breakfast the past week because I hadn't know how to cook. We sat down, eating our food in silence. Eric glanced at me before turning his attention back to his food. I raised an eyebrow, confused. He then took a deep breath. "Ada, do you think you should go check in on your mom maybe? I mean, she's probably worried sick. I tightened my grip on the fork I was holding. "If I go back, my dad might be there. And I really don't want to deal with him again." Eric nodded and sighed. "But think about it this way Ada, the daughter that your mother has raised for 17 years, just up and runs away. She was the only one to take care of you because if your cancer, how lonely and scared do you think your mom is now?" I gritted my teeth as a tear ran down my face. "I want to go back Eric, I really do. But I can't, I can't go back there where my dad is probably waiting to beat the crap out of me. I don't need them to hurt me again." He sighed again, and grabbed my hand. "What if I went with you? Just for tomorrow , we'd check in on your mom. And then leave?" I but my lip. "Just for tomorrow? Promise?" I said holding out my pinkie finger. "Promise." He said shaking it with his own. I sighed and slumped back into the chair. We finished our breakfast in silence.

I got up from the table and headed outside. This area still was amazing to me. I didn't understand how the grass was so green, in the middle of winter. How the water was still smooth and lukewarm. It was like it was, gosh, it sounds so silly. Magical. I breathed in the fresh air, sitting down on the soft grass. I could sit here for hours and never get bored. As I stared up at the clouds, my eyes started to close, and I drifted off into sleep.

Adas Dream
I woke up and looked around. This was not Eric's house. I jumped up, scared. I stood on top of a mountain. It was beautiful, but terrifying. I turned around and realized there was no way down, I was surrounded by drop offs and cliff edges. I started to panic a little. I wrapped my arms around myself as the wind started to pick up speed. It was freezing. I yelled out for help. Only to hear my voice echo down the mountainside. I shivered in the cold, my breath coming out in huge puffs. Suddenly, I realized what I had to do. I moved towards one of the cliffs, my steps shaky and uncertain. But then, I felt a hand pull me back. I turned around to see, my father? I looked at him, confused and scared. He smiled at me, before curling his lip back into a snarl. "You pathetic excuse for a human being. Always asking for help." He glared at me, before walking away. I felt a tear slip down my cheek. I saw Milo coming towards me. I winced as his hand hit my face suddenly. "How could you be so selfish to leave us behind? You waste of oxygen" Then he to, walked back. I then cried softly, and looked up to see Alexis and Kara walking towards me. They were glaring, their hands outstretched towards me. Then all the sudden my head was filled with voices that made me dizzy. "Worthless" "Useless" Pathetic"Lazy" The words filled my ears and I tripped and stumbled towards the edge. Before finally standing still. I turned to look out over the mountainside, before jumping off. The voices left, it was peaceful, quiet. All I could hear was the wind whistling. And then... Nothing

I woke up, gasping for air. I jumped up and liked around my heart racing. I calmed down once I realized it was just a dream. My heart was beating fast, almost painfully. I took deep breaths, trying to calm it down. I sat down hard on the ground, holding my head in my hands. Why did I have that dream? Was there a meaning to it? I tried to figure out, my head pounding. I wanted to go in the house and tell Eric. But I don't think he would understand. He might just call it a silly dream, and I didn't want that. I feel a tear drop onto my hands. I hadn't even realized that I was crying. Wiping my eyes, I moved towards the lake. Washing my eyes out, I sat back in the grass. I was still breathing heavily. I stood up and walked towards the house. I filled the tea kettle with water to heat up for tea. I sighed sitting on a chair, my hands shaking slightly. I was lost in thought, my brain pulsating. Until I was shocked out of my mind by the kettle whistling. I jumped slightly, and got up to fill a mug with the hot water and tea. I moved to the bookshelf and grabbed a random book. Sitting on a chair, I curled up with the book by the fireplace and started to read. I don't know how long I sat there, but I must have fallen asleep. I woke up slowly, blinking in the darkness. I then saw Eric sitting on the chair beside me, his head bent towards the book in his lap. "Hey" I said, my voice croaking. "Hey, you're up" He said, smiling. "How long was I asleep?" I asked, rubbing my eyes. "Only around half an hour" I nodded, yawning. I then heard my stomach growl. "I'm gonna go make some toast or something" I said, standing up to walk to the kitchen. I don't think he heard me, as his head was still bent down. I chuckled softly. The Dream from this afternoon was still on my mind. I kept thinking about it. What did it mean? I popped the toast into the toaster and sat by the table. I rarely had dreams. So when I did, I tried my best to figure them out. It always bugged me until I found a reasonable explanation for it. I smiled, remembering how when I was ten, I had a dream about a unicorn carrying me away on a rainbow. I had told myself then that it meant I was going to meet a unicorn when I was older. Still waiting for that to happen I guess. I heard the toast pop up so I prepared it and ate in silence. When I finished I was the plate and put it away. Moving to the living room, I saw Eric had fallen asleep in the chair. Smiling, I went to the bedroom to get pjs on. When I walked back out, he was still sleeping. I smiled devilishly and went to find something I could use against him. In the kitchen, I turned the faucet on to get my hands soaking wet, then walked back into the living room. "Eric?" I say quietly. He didn't respond. I then took my wet hands and softly slapped him across the face, leaving his face wet and him jumping up in surprise. I laughed and ran to the bedroom to hide. He charged in, his eyes glinting in mischief. He moved towards me slowly. "No, please, mercy!" I yelled, trying to run away. He caught me in his arms and started to tickle me relentlessly. I laughed, gasping for air. He finally pulled away. Not saying a word, he climbed into bed. His eyes drooping shut. I smiled and climbed in next to him. We laid there for a while before I felt his arms wrap around me. I smiled again, and snuggled closer next to him.