Rise and Fall [[BEING MOVED TO ANOTHER ACCOUNT]]

Chapter Sixteen

Sixteen

                    The echo of my scream reverberates around me, sending vibrations of fear racing through the air. My chest heaves, and my eyes dart desperately from left to right.

                    Where am I?

                    "Alek!"

                    Sasha's whisper cuts the silence, and my breath catches in a strangled sob.

                    Her voice softens considerably.

                    "Alek?"

                    I can't speak. Shock constricts my throat. Clamping it shut. A vice. 

                    "You okay?"

                    Nothing.

                    "Alek?"

                    Another sob rips free.

                    I feel the edge of the bed sink slightly as she climbs on. I can't see her in the dark, but I know she's there. I hear her moving, and her cool skin brushes mine as she pulls me to her. It's only now that I realize how hard I'm shaking.

                    She strokes the back of my neck as I tremble in her arms. As she holds me, I collapse into her. I don't mean to. It just happens. She doesn't care. She holds me, and I shatter.

                    She waits.

                    "Bad dream?" she asks quietly as I finally sit back. She holds my hand, and squeezes it gently.

                    "Nightmare," I whisper, and I feel her head lean against my shoulder for a moment.

                    "I'm sorry."

                    Her whisper seeps with sweetness. Mine is rough, like sandpaper.

                    "It's okay."

                    I feel the hesitation in the air, and I know what's coming next.

                    "What was it about?"

                    I bite my lip.

                    Sasha backtracks.

                    "I mean, if you want to tell me."

                    "No... I will."

                    What am I doing? She doesn't need to know. She doesn't need to see.

                    "It's usually the same dream. But tonight it was different."

~*~

                    Sasha pulls me against her again as new tears well up from the recesses of my shield. Long since broken.

                    "I'm so sorry."

                    That's it. I can't take it. I can't keep holding it in. I normally let it out in bursts. But tonight? I cry until my eyes run dry. I cry until my head pounds, and my sinuses are thick with pressure. I cry like I've never cried before.