As the waters receded, the scene shifted until we stood next to his mother's body. She laid in an unnatural position as younger Grey found her, rubble around them. He screamed as Disaster Relief workers picked up the body. He shrieked as he followed them and cried, "That's my mommy!" I didn't even realize I had started crying with him.
"They were only able to save my sister," he commented as his younger self and the workers disappeared from view. "She miraculously survived. And because of her estranged relationship with my father, as he puts it, I haven't seen her in years. She's off with my grandparents, my mom's parents, for the time being. So no matter what, I've lost them both."
"I'm so sorry," I whispered. Grey let go of me and took several steps back. That's when the scent in the air began to change, and the sun started to set. Palm trees turned into trees typically seen in our town and the rubble melted into the ground, turning into pavement. Gasoline filled my nose, and I knew what was happening. I reached out for Grey, but I was in the arms of the man, who had a gun pressed into my temple. Grey stood next to my dad, his eyes wide in horror with tears from his fresh open wound caused by his memory.
"Boss," Dad said, "please don't hurt my daughter; I'll give you anything."
As routine with the event, I looked up at the man who said, "Give me your money."
Dad went to go get the money in the car after letting the man know where it was. I closed my eyes as the man shot the store clerk.
They stayed shut as they shot Dad, who smacked the ground right in front of me as Grey let out a startled gasp.
The man shoved me away and I turned to look at him as he aimed the gun at me. I wish he shot me. I wish I didn't have to deal with this pain anymore. Once he left, I couldn't contain it like I did when I was a kid. I screamed, clutching my hair as I sank to the ground, sobs quickly following. "Dad, no, please." I crawled to his lifeless form before Grey's arms wrapped around me and pulled me into his chest. He held me as we both cried together.
***
When the tears settled, and we calmed down, we withdrew from one another. Sitting against a large tree I dreamt up, we watched various forest creatures playing together in the meadow, prey and predators in harmony. The sight was soothing to us, as whenever I searched his face, he seemed at peace.
Neither of us said anything for a while. A soft summer breeze brushed our skin as birds chirped and sang around us. Grey shifted beside me, and I shot him a glance. He was looking in return.
"Hazel, I..." He paused, running his hand through his hair. "I don't know why I'm with Sasha."
"Why should that concern me?" I asked.
"Because I want to be with you," he said. "Deep down. I can't admit that to myself when I'm awake, and that's part of the reason I feel bad for everything. I got back with Sasha because of my ego and wanting to believe her lies, so for once, everything could feel right again between her and me. But it hasn't felt right in such a long time.
"Me wanting to be with you makes no sense either. I mean, I've dreamt of you so much. I somehow can't get you off my mind. And with every dream I share with you, I want you more. I've never felt this way for another person. I feel like I know you more than I know myself; I know you more than I know Sasha."
His words unlocked feelings I had been suppressing in my heart. Being together with him almost every night, even in his dreams where he wasn't aware I was there, had me feeling close to him. No matter how hard I tried to fight it, that creeping desire was in the back of my mind. One that made absolutely no sense, and I couldn't entertain.
That is until he admitted he was feeling the same way.
"It doesn't make sense, does it?" he asked.
"No," I confirmed. "It doesn't. Is that why you don't want me talking to Evan?"
"No," he mumbled. "I don't want that idiot to use you."
"I know he's using me."
Grey turned his whole body toward me. "I saw how panicked you looked. I hoped to stop him before you two got together, but I was too late." He took my hand and caressed it softly. "I don't know why I'm admitting this to you. You're just a piece of my subconscious. You have no idea what I'm saying."
The words tumbled out before I could stop myself. "What if I was here?"
He searched my face.
"I mean, what if we could share dreams?" I asked.
He chuckled. "I wish we could. I do. That would make me feel less crazy about how I'm feeling towards you. Hey, maybe I'm in love with myself and more egotistical than I've realized." He caressed my face. "Me, in love with my self-consciousness. I can't believe it."
He pulled me closer, and I let him. Our legs intertwined, and our bodies pressed close together. He ran his hand through my hair as the other pressed me to him. His mouth traveled towards mine and caught it in a passionate kiss. Our lips tangled together like our bodies as our hands roamed with a mind of their own.
We stayed like that for what felt like hours. When we finally pulled away, he still held me close. I laid my head on his chest, and he kept his fingers tangled in my hair.
"I don't want to wake up," Grey said. "What's wrong when me?"
I stared at the grass beneath us, swaying in the breeze, and admitted, "I don't want to either."
YOU ARE READING
Little Sweet Dreamer - Wattys Edition
Teen Fiction"Oh," he said, as my back hit the wooden wall. Damn it, of course. With nowhere to go, his arms locked me in between him and the wall. He stared down at me as he said, "So you're trying to piss me off?" His lips were surprisingly close to mine. No g...
