34| red

NADIA

My legs were this close to giving up on me but somehow- someway I had to get home.

My heart was beating out of chest and I could feel the sweat running down from my forehead to jawline but I couldn't stop running. No matter how much my body wanted it, I had to get home.

I could see it from afar though, I was getting somewhere. I just needed to push for a few more seconds. But when I saw what all the neighbors were staring at, my whole world seemed to have fallen apart.

The house - my house - was burning down. I had crashed to the ground, my legs giving out as I let out a blood-curdling scream. I had crawled my way to our yard, but police officers and firefighters had stopped me.

"Let go of me! LET GO!" I had yelled, trying to break free from their grasp, but they had held firm.

"Ma'am, we have people on the inside handling this," one of them had said.

"My brother, my family - where is he?" I had demanded, but they had fallen silent.

Their silence had spoken volumes, and I had landed on my knees, pouring my heart out as tears streamed down my cheeks.

"Zeke!" I had yelled, my body shooting up as I scanned my surroundings.

But then, I had jolted awake, gasping for air. I was in my room, at home. The door burst open, and the lights flickered on, making me squint.

Zeke stood before me, his face etched with concern. I was panting like crazy, my chest sweaty.

"Hey, it was just a dream. Just a dream, okay?" Zeke said, pulling me towards him. I wrapped my arms around him, holding on tight.

"Come on, breathe," he whispered, and I did as he said. This was the one way he had always comforted me, and it always seemed to work.

Since childhood, I had been plagued by vivid dreams, all centered around losing the people I loved. But this was the second time I had dreamt about Zeke being killed.

"T-they killed you, in the fire," I stammered, tears escaping my eyes.

Zeke's grip on me tightened. "Shh, that won't happen to me, okay?"

I took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "I've been having these dreams again lately,"

Zeke's expression turned serious. "You want me to tell Mom?"

I quickly shook my head. "No, please don't."

I knew my mom's solution would be therapy, and I didn't want that. Therapy always brought back memories I couldn't recall, and the thought of discovering more about my past scared me. I couldn't face it.

"I don't think mom and dad should travel," I blurted out. Zeke's eyes locked onto mine. "What?"

"Yes, I- I have this feeling in my chest. Like something bad is going to happen,"

"Shh. Nothings going to happen okay? You're like this because of the dream," he said but I couldn't help the pit in my stomach that told me it was more than paranoia.

□□□

"What's on your mind?"

"Hmm? Oh nothing," I lied. Elijah and I were doing something shopping and I was looking at some gifts for my parents when they return but I've been thinking about my dream for the majority of my day.

Zeke called my mom right after my dream to be basically put me at ease and it did me good to hear her voice, even though I wasn't on the phone with her. Hearing her voice was good enough.

"I'm just thinking about my parents you know? They'll be here in a few days?"

"You think they'll like me?"

"Oh they're going to love you! Who wouldn't?" I said, not even imagining someone hating Elijah. He had a tough exterior and everything but that was all a front. "Trust me, a lot," he said and right as I was about to ask him to explain himself my eyes caught something in the shopping aisle we were in or rather someone.

"Hey brother," Elijah said, greeting Nicholas with a bro hug. I sighed in defeat. There was no way I could escape him, huh.

I kept it moving, my eyes scanning the shelves, looking for anything that was appealing. "Well hello to you too," He said and I looked up at him. "Hey," I said, averting my gaze once again. "Babe, I'll be back. I'm going to the restroom," I said, already feeling uneasy just by his mere presence.

Once I got to the restroom, I felt like I could breathe. I leaned back against the wall, tilting my head back in the process.

I wasted about 2 minutes by doing nothing; staring at myself in the mirror and then, I opened the door and I found Nicholas leaning on the other side.

"Okay, what the hell are you doing? Following me?" I said, crossing my arms. "Woah, chill," he said, a smug on this face as he lifted his hands up in surrender. "What's so funny?"

"Yikes, guess you woke up on the wrong side of the bed," I rolled my eyes, not having time for this. "Did you get my gift?" he asked. "Yeah but Elijah's was better,"

The expression on his face changed and this time he was glaring at me.

I ignored it, brushing past him.