Missing Pieces

19

I awakened to the sensation of drowning.

A muffled gasp escaped my lips as I shot upright, ice cold water traveling down my throat and soaking my clothes. Wiping my eyes, I slowly blinked as my vision returned to me.

Sage was the first person I saw.

She was pale as she crouched beside me, her eyes wildly scanning my face. "Aspen?" She croaked, fear audible in her voice. My eyes dropped to her hand, noticing the water bottle she held. "Are you okay?"

"What happened?" I croaked, my eyes jumping towards Kieran, who knelt on my other side. His arm was around my back as he held me up.

"You passed out," he said quietly, his brows furrowed as he searched my gaze. "I think from a panic attack. That's what it looked like."

At the reminder, my attention hurtled towards the closet and the memory returned to me. I'd walked into this room and seen that closet and then—

A sob lodged itself in my throat. "It's this house," I choked out, my eyes welling with tears as I began trembling. My fingers clutched Kieran's shirt, my eyes flashing towards him. He stilled. "It's this house, Kieran. From m-my dream. The one I told you about."

He slowly leaned back, his eyes never leaving my face. Beside me, Sage looked confused but she didn't question anything.

"Are you sure?" He whispered.

"I am," I choked on another sob, my chest heaving as I tried to stand up. "I am. It's this closet—I was hiding in it. I remember it. I know it was this one, Kieran, I know— "

"Okay, okay," he murmured, reaching for me. I let him pull me into his arms, closing my eyes as I buried my face in his chest. His arms wrapped around me, preventing me from seeing the reason behind my panic attack.

"There's more," I croaked against his chest. "I know his name. The man who was hurting me."

Kieran stopped breathing. Behind me, I heard Sage inhale sharply and I had a feeling it was more due to my statement about someone hurting me rather than anything else since she wasn't aware of what was going on.

"How?" Kieran breathed, his arms tightening around me. "And...who?"

"The article you sent me," I rasped. "Why did you send it?"

"Because it was about your parents," Kieran answered, a silver of confusion entering his voice. "Why, Aspen? What happened?"

I squeezed my eyes shut tighter, breathing him in. I felt his heart hammering against my cheek, its rhythm faster than normal. "I recognized him from my dream. He was the man standing next to my parents." I paused and clutched the back of his hoodie tighter. "Kyle Blackwell."

Kieran was silent as he processed this. I felt his confusion like it was my own. It had been at some point. "I don't understand," he whispered. "The story said he was a friend of your father's. Why would he...how would—"

He broke off, clearly unable to convey his confusion.

"I don't know," I choked out, my heart aching as I went limp against him. "I don't know."

"Will you explain later?" Sage said quietly, clearly hesitant on even asking. I stayed quiet, but I felt Kieran nod. She released a deep breath. "We should go before the school calls your brother. We have twenty minutes before our next class starts."

I slowly pulled away and Kieran helped me stand, banding his arm around my waist as we walked out of the room. Sage led the way as we descended the stairs and made our way to the back door.