Beyond Her Final Breath (Book 1- Shadowland Duology) | Wattys2015

.Chapter Four.

        “Nathan! Nathan! Stop!” The familiar sound of his sister's voice faded as the wind whipped it away, making it faint on his ears.

But he couldn’t stop, he just couldn’t. The thought of talking to someone after what he saw…. The image of Evelyn, bloody and pale, floated in his mind. Everytime he closed his eyes,  the image flashed behind his eyelids. It haunted him, with questions and doubt behind.

Could what he’d seen be real? Or was he going crazy?

The girl behind him let out a grunt and threw herself forward. She hit the ground and flailed a hand towards Nathan. Her hand caught the hem of his black slacks and sent him flying with a yell.

Strands of sandy blonde hair fell out of Sage’s braided bun, framing her thin face. She brushed the strand away annoyed. Her legs and dress were coated in a layer of dark brown mud, but she didn’t pay it any mind. “Nathan, what’s the matter with you?” she panted. “You never run away from anything.”

Nathan pushed himself off his stomach into a sitting position. He, too, was covered in mud. “It’s nothing. Leave it alone. Leave me alone.”

Sage crossed her arms. “I’m afraid that I can’t do that.”

“I’m being serious, Sage. Leave it be.”

“You see, that’s the thing. I’m not gonna leave you alone. Because when you’re left alone like this, you do stupid things.”

“It doesn’t matter, Sage. Just leave me alone. I need some time alone.” Nathan got to his feet and wiped his hands on his dirty pants, only making his hands dirtier.

“Please, Nathan. Let me be there for you,” Sage begged. “I hate seeing you like this.”

Nathan rubbed the back of his neck. His gray-blue eyes, exactly the same shade as his sister’s, watched an ant climb up a blade of grass. “It’s just… hard. You know? Losing-” He swallowed hard.

Sage interrupted. “I get that, Nathan. You’re not the only one who was close to her. Alright? What I don’t get is you.” She sighed and blew a strand of hair out of her face. “You have never acted like this before. Not even when Mom died.”

“I just need time by myself. I need to think things through.”

Sage got to her feet. “Fine. Alright. Just promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”

“Promise.” And with that, Nathan turned around and ran.

Running cleared his mind, it always has. There’s nothing quite like the ground under your feet, the wind against your face, and the burning in your lungs.

His dress shoes pinched his toes, and he quickly stopped and took them off. He didn’t even bother to take them with him. He was on the run, running away from his thoughts and problems.

Sage was right, he usually didn’t run away from his problems. But this was way out of his league.

A 5k run? No problem. Pop math quiz? Easy. But your dead girlfriend might actually be alive? No thank you.

Nathan could remember the first time he got into running.

The clouds were low and heavy with impending rain. Ten year old Nathan tugged on the collar of his button down, trying to get rid of it. He hated the thing. It reminded him the reason why he was in a graveyard.

Maybe, just maybe, if the tie around his neck was a bit looser, he could imagine that he was in an empty field of grass. But the tie brought him back to the reality that his mom was no longer with him.

A little girl with sandy-hair pinned back from her face with a black ribbon tugged on Nathan’s sleeve. “Nathan? Where’s Mommy?” Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.

A lump in his throat as thick as the fudge brownies Grandma made prevented him from speaking. He tried to swallow it down, but it refused to move.

A single tear slipped down Sage’s face. “Grandpa says she’s in a better place now. He says she’s not hurting anymore. Is it true, Nathan?”

Nathan grabbed his sister’s hand and squeezed it reassuringly. “Yeah, Sage. I guess she is.”

“She’s still with us you know,” she blurted out. Her eyes widened in shock, and her mouth shut quickly.

“I’m sure, Sage.” He nodded, but his thoughts were elsewhere. He wanted out of here. He needed distraction.

After the funeral, Nathan took off. He wasn’t running away from his problems, he was distracting himself. He could remember his mom coming back home after a run, all hot and sweaty with a grin on her face.

“Running clears the mind,” she used to say. At least that’s what she used to say before she got sick.

Now he felt as if he was disgracing her memory. He was running away. She never did that, no matter how tough the situation was.

Nathan came to a stop near the edge of the forest. His breath came in heavy labored breaths but not from the run. Grief was choking him, making him drown in it.

Tears spilled out of his eyes, years and years of pent up emotion. The tears kept on coming. He bowed his head, arms clutching his middle trying to keep everything inside.

He fell to his knees. The air chilled slightly. A gust of wind ruffled his dark ash hair.

The wind dried his tears, leaving trails of coldness on his skin.

The hair on the back of his neck prickled as if a pair of eyes were on him. The boy tried to muffle the sound of his sobs, but he couldn’t keep it in. He held it in too long.

“You, boy,” a voice said.

Dread slithered in the pit of his stomach. The tears ceased to flow, but sobs still racked his body.

“You can see me, can’t you?” A dark-haired girl stepped out from behind a tree. Something about her was… off. “Please tell me you can see me.”

“Go away,” Nathan croaked. “Please stop tormenting me. I can’t take it anymore.”

“You can see me.” Her eyes lit up. “Please, I need your help.”

Nathan’s blue eyes met the chocolate ones of Evelyn.

“With what?”

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Sophia ^-^