Never Alone

Chapter 15

The familiar scent and sound of brewing coffee roused Annie from a deep sleep. Slowly opening her eyes, she lay in bed for a few moments. Remembering a nightmare from the night before.  A dark gloom covered her like a heavy blanket and left her throat burning and her eyes filling with moisture. Drawing a ragged breath, she scanned the room as best as she could without moving a muscle. The idea of Trevor finding her crying again was more than she could handle. Soon he would think the only emotion she was capable of experiencing was sorrow.

When her eyes came to rest on him, he was sitting comfortably in the upholstered chair in the corner. His Bible lay open on his lap, and he was so absorbed by what he was reading he failed to notice she was awake. She let her eyes rest on him for a while as she thought about the dream that shook her foundation. A tear meandered down her cheek.

The terror that unfolded in her imagination the night before began with her running down a long, dark corridor. Rows of doors lined both sides of the hall, and something within her knew Trevor was behind one of these doors, and he was in trouble. Yanking each door open one-by-one, she encountered people from her past behind each.

When she opened the first, she found a perfect replica of the living room of the house she grew up in complete with a scratchy, dark brown couch and shaggy, orange carpet. The smell of juniper berries and vacuum powder hung thick in the air and a wave of nostalgia swept over her. Her mother sat on the dated fabric working on a cross-stitch project. Just like she used to do, she looked up from her work with compassionate, blue eyes and smiled. Patting the empty spot next to her, she said, "Come sit with me for a minute, Annie. I feel like I haven't seen you in ages." Her heart longed to take this opportunity to sit with the woman who made such an indelible impact on her life, the woman who she missed more than anything since her passing four years ago. Still, knowing Trevor was in trouble forced her to slam the door shut and continue her search.

Behind the next door, she found a bleak albeit clean hospital room. The thin, mauve curtains were pulled back to reveal a bed. In the bed, hooked up to monitors and machines lay her father. His dark hair lay limp across his forehead and a blue blanket covered him up to his midsection. The dark circles around his eyes stood out against his skin which was the color of paste. When his dark eyes found hers, he reached a trembling hand dripping with wires and IVs out to her. It was as if he pleaded with her to sit by his bedside like she used to do as a girl every afternoon when school let out for the day. Pushing away the sharp sting of regret, she closed the door and opened one on the other side of the hall. With each second passing, the sense of urgency grew, and her heart pounded more and more frantically in her chest.

The next door opened to the apartment she shared with Tracy. Everything was neat and in its place, as if the events of a couple days ago never happened. Her best friend sat on the floral couch and turned to look at her as soon as she entered the familiar room. Tracy's green eyes widened, and she hurried to where Annie stood unable to move. Losing her sister was too fresh, and as soon as Tracy wrapped her in a warm embrace, she gave in to the grief she tried her hardest to keep under control. "Oh Annie," her friend sighed and pulled back holding her by the shoulders. "You have to go to Trevor. He needs you right now...I can feel it." With one more tight hug, she whispered, "I love you, Annie." Then Tracy vanished, and she was left alone in the room.

With time running out, and Tracy's instructions for her to find Trevor echoing in her ears, she ran to the next door and pulled it open wide. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dimness of the nearly empty room. A single, naked light bulb flickered and with each rapid flash, she pieced together different aspects of her surroundings. Both the floor and walls were cold concrete. A man whom she did not recognize stood in one corner of the small space aiming a gun toward the center of the room. Following the direction of the rifle, her chin quivered as she saw flashes of Trevor, tied to a chair, his face bruised and bloody. Before she could move, the loud crack of a gunshot filled the air. The acrid smell of burnt gunpowder filled her nostrils. Without any thought for her own safety, she ran to him and held him close to her heart. Tears coursed freely down her cheeks, and she berated herself for not reaching him in time. The fibers binding her heart into one solid organ ripped apart, and she sank to her knees weeping against his chest. She loved him, and now she knew it was impossible to ever stop loving him...no matter how desperately she tried.