Collide

Chapter Nineteen

I run around back to hide from any prying eyes. I sit on the ground and close my eyes, trying to focus. I picture the beach as the sun shines down on it, a gentle breeze blowing the sand and the stray leaves around. I picture the waves crashing up on the shore, leaving small rocks and seaweed on the wet sand. I see the rocks in the corner; the very rocks where I found the chest that at the time I hadn’t known was meant for me. I remember the smell of the sea and the feel of the light breeze as it floated around me.

Zayn would be livid if he knew what I was trying to do right now. He’s told me already how it was dangerous to teleport other places when I didn’t know what I was doing just yet; something about getting trapped in the middle or something like that.

But I wanted to do this on my own. I was growing way too attached to Zayn, I knew that. I wanted to do this one thing on my own without Zayn who has become too much of my protector; to where he basically does everything for me.

I knew if I called Zayn up and told him I didn’t feel well he’d be here in an instant. Literally an instant. And if I told him my plan to go back to where my family used to spend time on the beach, he’d refuse to let me do it by myself.

So I would call him later when I got back home. How mad could he be if I’d made it there and back safely? He’d mainly be mad because of the danger; and if I proved I could do it safely…

I push the thoughts out of my mind and focus on imagining the beach and pushing the power in at my core to expand and come out.

I count to ten in my head before opening my eyes, a grin spreading on my lips as I see the ocean spread out in front of me. I jump to my feet, immediately pushing into a sprint as I run down the beach towards the ocean.

I laugh as the water hits at my ankles, splashing up at my shins. I spread my arms out and twirl around, my head falling back to let the sun shine down on my skin.

It had been so long since I’ve been here. Last time I was here I was about to leave the town to go stay with Riley and I’s first set of foster parents. That was almost eight years ago. This was the last place I saw my parents; in fact the day I found the chest here was the day my parents died. They’d left me with a friend of theirs while they went to pick up some things for a picnic and they’d gotten into a car accident.

Most people would never want to go back to the place where they heard that both their parents died; back to the place where they last saw them. But to me this place was where I could feel closest to them. They would bring me here all the time, especially in the summer. We had picnics and flew kites and made sand castles along the beach. Some family friends would bring their kids out to play with me and Dad would swim out in the water with us, pretending to be a shark and chasing us around.

Some of the happiest moments of my life were spent at this beach and nothing could change that.

“You look like you’re having fun.” A deep voice comes from behind me.

I scream; my whole body freezing. The momentum I’d built up from spinning around so fast was cut short, causing me to fall over into the water. I look up at the voice, my eyes widening as I see Derick standing there, a smirk on his face as he looked down at me.

I groan, pulling myself out of the water, leaving my sweats completely soaked. “Ugh, look what you did.”

“I think you did that yourself actually.” He says smoothly, his voice sending a shiver down my back.

My mind flashes back to my dream I had the other night of him chasing me down the long hallway, and how he’d caused Riley pain. I grit my teeth as I eye him curiously. How had he gotten here?