The Secrets Between Us | ✓

|42|

Standing in the middle of the room, Anaya smiled to herself. She felt light for the first time in days, and she hoped the feeling would last forever. She knew it was because of Icarus, who had been nothing but loving and caring to her throughout their time spent together. She was ready to collapse on the bed when she realized something bizarre. The room was completely devoid of furniture, with cobwebs and dust covering every nook and cranny, as though no one had lived there in a long time.

She whirled in confusion and noticed the walls slowly advancing towards her. Her eyes widened and sheer panic gripped her throat with its icy fingers, freezing her on the spot. Without a single door or window, there was no escape. She did not know what else to do but push the walls with all the strength she could muster. It was futile. She was quickly losing her breath.

Hands reached out and grabbed her shoulders. 

"Leave me!" she screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks. 

"Anaya!" yelled a voice, sounding a lot like Icarus. "Darling, wake up. It's just a nightmare." He shook her shoulders again, and her eyes fluttered open as she gradually became aware of her surroundings. She blinked away the remnants of sleep and met Icarus' concerned gaze. He pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. 

"It felt so real," she whispered, wiping the wetness from her face with the back of her hands.

He tightened his hold around her and ran his palm along her back in a comforting gesture. "What did you see?"

"Walls were closing in on me. I was about to get suffocated." 

Icarus fell silent while Cy roared inside him. If he could erase the events of the past few days, he would gladly do so to relieve her stress. "Go back to sleep?"

She clutched his T-shirt and glanced up at him. "I-I am afraid."

"I will be with you, I promise."

She hesitated before lying on top of the covers. He landed next to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her close in a way she could feel the heat radiating from his body and engulfing her in a protective cocoon. It was easy to forget everything else with him. She closed her eyes and listened to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

Minutes later, just when sleep had almost succeeded in seducing her, his stomach grumbled loudly enough to be heard over the silence. Anaya's eyes cracked open, and she sat up. "You haven't had lunch?"

"Uh, I came in earlier to call you, but you were—"

"I am hungry." 

"Yeah?" When she nodded, he could not contain his smile. He had been worried about her lack of appetite and was relieved to know that it had returned. He took her hand in his and entwined their fingers. "All right, then, let's go." 

They exited the room and descended the stairs. Anaya was puzzled when he did not turn in the direction of the dining hall. She opened her mouth to question him, but he pushed the back door of the house, revealing a garden. A wooden table and chairs were placed in the far left corner under the shade of a crab apple tree, and in front of it was an oval-shaped pond, housing water lilies and goldfishes. On the other side, colorful pots and planters of various shapes and sizes lined the boundaries, ablaze with flowers, berries, and herbs, half of which she could not identify.