"Katelyn, you are either going to get out of this car and walk in there like a normal person or I could carry you. The choice is yours."
Katelyn turned her head and her nose was inches away from my own, "If you so much as touch me so help me god, I...
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The beach is calm, like it usually is before a storm hits. Mom is standing at the foot of the waves, still wearing the same dress she wore on the day of her funeral. My heart clenches painfully in my chest, I know what's coming.
And as the waves start pulling at her feet, I don't run to her, I don't scream in agony. I just cry, silent tears run down my cheek and past my lips. When she's waist deep in the water, she smiles back at me. The beach remains calm, like it knows I'm not fighting the inevitable anymore. Mom doesn't seem afraid when the black water wraps around her waist, she seems calm and peaceful, but the pain in my chest spreads to the rest of my body wracking it with sobs. This isn't like before, it feels like a goodbye.
"Katelyn," a warm, familiar voice coaxes me back from the edge of the waves.
Mom smiles one last time before the waves pull her under.
"Katelyn, wake up. You're having a nightmare."
I get up with a start only to see it's still dark and I groan, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."
Lucas puts an arm around my shoulders and pulls me into him. As his warmth wraps around me I get a feeling of safety and comfort I've never experienced before.
"Are you okay? You were crying?"
"I'm fine," I say with a voice full of unconcealed emotion and my heart still painfully clenching.
I hear Lucas sigh, "Katelyn, I know you're not fine. You can tell me if something is bothering you. I want you to tell me but I won't push you."
I don't know what prompts me to speak, maybe it's the darkness of the room and the fact that Lucas can't see me. Maybe it's how his arms protectively wrap around me and the heat from his skin providing comfort with it's uncanny ability to push the darkness away. But I do speak.
