After what seems like an eternity, the light holds—a solid white expanse accompanied by an overwhelming sense of peace. Then I’m sinking.
What I see next makes no sense, but it’s as clear as the moon that hangs over the bay. Sand holds my feet prisoner as I sink into the earth while the wind swirls viciously around me. The ocean waves crash onto the shore, and all I can do is watch it in solitude. I make out voices—no, screams from somewhere else on the beach. Turning, I try to see where the commotion is coming from. All I see in the near distance are orange flames and a screen of billowing black smoke that envelops me all at once.
I’m suffocating. My hands rush to my neck. I can’t breathe. I’m falling into the sand, completely helpless.
The screams grow louder as I grow immensely weaker. All I can think is that this is how it ends. Then I collapse.
In the next instant, the horrific scene vanishes, along with the white light that took me there in the first place. I gasp like it’s my first breath after nearly drowning, and I’m back on the beach. I squeeze my eyes shut, suffocating the pain and suffering that couldn’t have been real. But it can’t be real. It was just one of my awful nightmares.
Except… I wasn’t asleep. I was wide awake when the scene took over all my senses. My chest heaves as I try to rid the vision from my mind.
What just happened?
“Hey!” a voice says. “Are you okay?”
I open my eyes. A figure is rushing toward me. I then remember where I was before I escaped this reality for another. The music. The volleyball game. The boy. Alec.
I refuse to look at him, to let him see me like this. He already caught me watching his game, and now this. How embarrassing. But while I know I should be humiliated by what just happened, that isn’t the feeling that swells in the deepest parts of me. I’m terrified above anything else. That vision felt entirely too real to just wave away with a shake of my head. What is going on with me?
“Can you hear me?” Alec drops onto the sand in front of me. “Talk to me.”
The panic in the stranger’s voice shakes me enough that I can finally respond. “I’m fine. I’m okay. I don’t—” I raise my chin and meet his gaze, the impact of our eyelock being enough to make me completely forget what I was about to say. The attraction I felt for him earlier doesn’t even compare to what I feel right now.
Concern floods his gorgeous face as his eyes scan my body. “You sure? That was quite the fall.”
The embarrassment I felt earlier resurfaces, and I try to hide the heat climbing up my neck with an awkward laugh. “I’m okay, really. Thank you, though.” It takes some effort to stand, so much that dizziness overtakes me, and I fall again, this time landing in his awaiting arms.
“Whoa,” he says gently. “Take your time.”
I look up at him, this time focusing on the guy staring down at me. His hazel-green eyes, even in the badly illuminated night, are clear. His short wavy hair frames his unspoiled face. And the natural smile that pushes up his lips wraps around my heart and squeezes.
I’ve stared at him too long.
“Hey.” His voice is deep and calming like melted chocolate.
“I-I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened. I had a long car ride here. I must be tired.” I'm shocked by how together I sound after the events of tonight. I’m seeing things, experiencing electric shocks through my body, and now I’m calm? Impossible.
I’m able to sit up now, so he settles me, and we sit together. He starts to search me for damage, but I scoot away a few inches, afraid of what he'll find if he examines me too closely. When his eyes fall back on mine, I find comfort in them immediately. Who is this guy?
“I was already coming over to say hello when I saw you fall,” he explains. “You looked like you were in pain. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Are you okay?” His voice is gentle, and there’s something about his eyes that tells me his friendliness is genuine.
“Yeah, it was just a, um, headache, I think.” I don’t know why I’m choosing to be vague right now, but it seems like the right thing to do. “It hit me out of nowhere. And then I fell. And it just seemed to… linger.”
The boy nods, his brows bent together like he’s not sure if he should believe me. “Maybe I should take you to the hospital. Those kinds of headaches aren't normal.”
With a shake of my head, I edge away from him. “Thank you, but I’ll be fine. I already feel better.” I stand effortlessly to prove it.
He looks unsure but rises with me. “Can I at least walk you back to where you came from?” He nods to my grandmother’s manor, causing unease to snake through me.
“Um…” I start awkwardly. “How did you know where my home is? I just moved here today.”
“You’re Rose’s granddaughter, right?” He says it confidently, but there’s also something else there I’m struggling to detect. Disapproval?
I shake away the thoughts. Now is not the time to make assumptions about the thoughts of a boy I don’t even know. “That would be me.”
“We’ve been expecting you.”
My insides jump at that comment. “You have?” Then I shake my head, realizing I have a more important question. “Did you say ‘we’?”
Alec nods then throws a look over his shoulder. I follow his gaze to find Alec’s friends all huddled together, staring at us. The guys look genuinely curious, but I can’t shake the hasty glares the girls cast in my direction.
“You’ve kind of been the talk of the town,” Alec says with a sheepish smile. “It’s the curse of moving to a small town, I guess.”
I let out an awkward laugh.
“C’mon, already,” one of the girls calls out to Alec. “We’re going inside to watch a movie.”
“Yeah, man,” one of the guys says with a grin. “Bring your new friend if you want. She’s cute.”
Heat rushes to my cheeks at the compliment, and Alec lifts his brows as if that’s not a bad idea. “Well, what do you say, new girl? Want to make some friends?”
A whispered argument strikes up between the members of the group behind him. I’m sure they think I can’t hear them. I make out every single word, and it’s enough to solidify the fact that I’m as unwelcome in this town as I was back in Silver Lake. I try not to feel dejected about that small fact, but it’s close to impossible.
I take a step backward and shake my head. “I really should get going. It’s late, and Charlotte is waiting for me.” I start to turn away, but first, I sneak a look at him from under my eyelashes. “It was nice meeting you.”
“Nice meeting you…”
I walk away quickly, ignoring his voice when he calls from behind me. “Wait. Let me at least walk you home.”
I refuse to let Alec waste another second on me when I know my time here is limited. My birthday is in one month. I’ll be eighteen and free to leave this place. And that’s exactly what I plan to do.
Maybe I was rude to take off like that when Alec was nothing but nice to me, but this situation is much too strange to explain to a complete stranger, especially one whose name I didn’t even ask for but overheard, nonetheless. Then again, he didn’t ask for mine either. But none of that matters. Something tells me I will see him again soon.