My Enemy, Love

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Alli's POV

I was dreaming, that much I knew. It was the same dream where I was at the beach, except this time I was just wandering around aimlessly. Then I spotted a figure in the distance, sitting in the sand. I hurried over to them and found that it was Gail, reading a letter. I could tell because the envelope was lying open at her feet.

She didn't look up as I approached. "Hey Gail, whatcha reading?" I asked her but again, she ignored me. Looking over her shoulder I instantly recognized the writing as mine. When had I written her a letter? And why did it start with "To the members of One Direction?"

Wait a minute—

Before I could read more Gail had folded the letter back up and stuck it into the envelope. Then she looked up at me, smiling. "Thank you for writing to them, Alli. It means a lot to know you cared so much."

"But Gail, they didn't even come." I held my hands out to her and she allowed me to help her stand up. Her hands were soft and warm, and even in my dream I felt my heart ache at the memory of her being alive and healthy.

"I know. But it's okay, because they had a good reason and I've forgiven them." Her face suddenly turned serious. "Now it's your turn." Then she pushed me, and I fell back. Except, for some reason, I didn't hit the ground. I kept on falling.

The world seemed to turn upside down and everything became a kaleidoscope of shifting images, crashing together and sliding apart. I felt like I was falling over colors that clashed into each other, tumbling through different terrains that scratched at me and ripped my skin, stumbling over broken words that couldn't seem to form sentences. Every way I turned I was hit by waves of ocean water, and I couldn't seem to move out of the way fast enough so I was constantly being beaten down.

None of that even makes sense, and that's exactly what my dreams were. They had no sense, no reason to them. It felt like I was running, but from what and why, I had no idea.

When I finally woke up I was covered in cold sweat and my head ached horribly. Glancing out my window I saw that the sun was just coming up, and my room was basked in a soft, dusky light. When did I get in my bed? What happened last night? There was a huge black spot in my memory from yesterday evening to now.

"Good morning, Alli." Looking over I saw that there was someone sitting next to my bed, although his face was in the shadows because of the poor lighting. Scooting his chair closer his face came into view, and I realized who it was.

"Li...am?" I croaked out, my dry throat causing my voice to crack.

He chuckled. "That would be me. Glad to see you're finally awake, you've been thrashing around for a while. Were you having a nightmare?"

"I... I don't know. My head hurts like hell, though." I rubbed my forehead, which was pounding furiously. "What happened?"

"You had a fun night from what I heard. How's your first hangover?"

"Hangover?" Oh, shit. "I...got drunk?"

He shrugged. "As far as we know, yeah."

Then I remembered my thought process from yesterday. I'd been in a horrible mood as I came out of class, the kind where you're really depressed and feel like the world is caving in on you. I'd never gotten drunk before, but hey, I'd just turned twenty-one, so why not? I remembered what Harry had told me at dinner the other night, how alcohol helps you relax and let loose. With his words echoing around in my mind, I'd gotten into my car and headed out without telling the others.

"Oh great." I groaned, sitting up. Suddenly, something twisted in my stomach and I knew what was going to happen next. Luckily, I found that there was a bowl on my nightstand and I grabbed it, emptying my stomach's contents with a few heaves.