When Storms Collide

~32~

CHAPTERS 31, 32 & 33 have been published together.

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The wind whips through my hair, cold and damp. My feet are bare, the grass soft beneath them.

Dawn is almost breaking. The sky is a canvas of blue and pink.

I'm standing in a field, behind a white picket fence, gazing at the rising sun.

"Angelica." His voice calls gently from behind me.

As soon as I hear his voice I know it's a dream.

My eyes squeeze shut for a split second, my heart clenching in pain. Not because I don't want to see him, I want to see him more than I want to breathe, but because of the realization that as soon as I wake up he will be gone and the pain of losing him will be almost too much to bear.

I turn slowly.

My eyes finally meet his gentle grey ones.

He seems so real.

His dimples flash as he smiles. Even the scar on his cheek is there.

I haven't forgotten a single thing about him. The thought gives me comfort.

"How have you been, mia cara?" His warm voice wraps around me like a comforting blanket.

"I've been okay." I manage to whisper. My lips quiver with uncontained emotion. "It's been so long since the last time I dreamt of you, I was afraid-" A soft sob escapes my lips, "I was afraid that I was starting to forget you."

"You can't forget someone who never left you."

I swallowed. Feeling angry all of a sudden.

"But you did leave me, Sebastian! You left me, my mother left me, my father left me. Everyone left me!" My hands clenched into fists. "People keep saying that people you love never truly leave you but I call bullshit! It's just something people say to make you feel better, it's not true. When I wake up you won't be there and I'll be all alone." I whispered.

"His eyes softened. "You say I left you but here you are talking to me."

I scoffed. "You know this is different, this is just a dream."

He nodded. "Maybe it is just a dream." He walked closer and cupped my face in his hands. "Maybe I'm not real, but what you're feeling right now is, and as long as you feel this way about me I will continue to exist" his hand left my face and tapped the place above my heart. "In here."

I sighed "I wish that was enough Sebastian, I do. But I can't help but feel that a huge part of me is missing, that I'll never be whole again."

" Maybe that's because you still believe that you need me to be happy," Sebastian murmured.

" Maybe I do need you to be happy, and now that you're gone I can never be truly happy again." I sighed.

"No, Tesoro, you're wrong. You never needed me to be happy. You were with me because you wanted to be with me and not because you needed to. The only person you need to be happy is yourself."

I closed my eyes, tears started to trail down my cheeks.

"I want you to be happy, Angelica. That's all I ever wanted." He whispered. "And the first step towards happiness is allowing your heart to hope. That's what true strength is, to keep hoping, even when you feel there is nothing left to hope for. You need to let go of the past and start moving forward."