Love from the fire

Guilt, Grief, Regret

I woke up sweating. It must have been a nightmare, but I can't seem to recall any of it. Only the intense feelings of guilt, grief and regret.

The feeling of throwing up took over me. My head hurt and I wanted to go back in time. I wanted to go back to before I met Gray. Before this childish plan took action. Before I agreed to any of it. I regret everything.

I feel stupid. I feel scared. I feel alone.

It was cold too, in this boat that was in the middle of nowhere. I shivered and hugged myself. When I got up to look around, I soon noticed that Gray was asleep nearby.

Not wanting to wake him up or disturb him, I quietly walked to the other side of the boat. It's strange and peaceful. The boat's been moving all night, but we're still somewhere in the middle of the ocean. For miles around us, I can't see any land.

I start to feel bored after some time, just standing here in the breeze while being surrounded by the ocean. Humming, I close my eyes and imagine myself somwhere else.

It's warm and bright in my imagination. I'm alone in a field of colourful flowers and little children. They are running around and laughing, innocent as I once was. They don't pay any attention to me. They just enjoy their youth as if it's all they've got left.

Soon, I decide to go and see who's in charge of the boat. I've no idea why I didn't decide to do this earlier. Yet, there's no time like the present.

Slowly, I head inside and head through the doors that lead to the other side of the boat. I cautiously and quietly open the doors.

There, I see the back of someone standing at the wheel of the boat. They're tall, but look quite young. As if they aren't much older than me or Gray.

"Good morning." I say quietly.

The person turns around. He has a friendly look on his face, and some of his facial features are quite similar to Gray's. "Ah, good morning. You're Skylar, if I'm correct."

Nodding, I reply, "Yeah, what's your name?"

"I'm... I'm... Uh" He looks around him, as if searching the air for his name. "Miles."

"Your name's Miles?" I asked.

"Yeah." His voice was quieter now.

"Oh, you seemed like you'd forgotten it for a moment." I mentioned.

"Well," He looked away.

"Do you know Gray?" I asked.

"Hm. I do."

"Where are we going with this boat?"

"A nearby town that's been abandoned."

"What's it called?"

"Can't remember. I'm not good with names. But I know how to get there and I'll recognise it when I see it."

"We've been sailing all night. Are you sure we aren't lost?"

"Positive. You got to trust me, even if we've just met."

There was something about the way he spoke, it sounded very familiar to Gray's way of speaking. I told him so, and he replied with, "Yeah, I guess the two of us have got some in common. But, there's also some that makes us extremely different."

I nodded.

"You know, Gray's told me some stuff about you."

"Is he your brother?" I asked, getting kind of creeped out by how similar the two were.

"No, he's my cousin. Kind of a distant one in terms of blood, but close as in we're friends too." He replied.

"Makes sense."

"Can you go and wake up that guy please?" He said in a tired voice.

"Sure," And as I headed towards the doors, it opened right in my face. Gray was there. I jumped and almost fell backwards.

"What the hell," I muttered.

"Good morning. I heard you guys talking. What did I miss?" He said in a cheerful voice.

Miles was chuckling in the background.

"Hey, we weren't talking about much." I protested.

"Really? I heard you guys talk quite a bit, and got interested." He seemed disappointed. "Anyways, when are we going to get there, Miles?" He turned his attention to Miles.

"I really don't know."

"Thats not good, Miles."