The Silence | ✔️

31. A

A harsh gasp filled the dark room when I sat up straight in bed. The sliding door was open and nets billowed in the breeze, revealing the moon whenever the wind pushed them inside the room. It was too quiet. I should have been able to hear the ocean waves. I should have been able to inhale the scent of the salt sea. But there was nothing in the air apart from Aiden's soft snore.

I stared down at him beside me. He laid on his stomach, clutching the pillow under his head. His smooth back was ridged with the definition of his muscles. "Aiden?" I whispered and gave him a little nudge. "Aiden?" He didn't move. His back just continued to rise and fall with shallow breaths.

I turned back towards the door and felt a little swirl of panic kick up in my stomach. I swallowed and took a deep breath. It was just an open door. There was nothing to be afraid of. It was disconcerting to realise that the palm trees outside were still, but the nets continued to blow in a breeze that I couldn't feel.

The pounding in my chest didn't let up as I dropped my legs over the side of the bed and felt the cool carpet beneath me. I glanced down at my feet which were silent on the floor as I tip toed towards the door. There was nothing, no sound. It was silent apart from the blood rushing through my veins. The air that I inhaled with each deep breath was beginning to make me feel sick.

The closer that I got to the door handle, the stronger the feeling of dread became. It consumed me. Sweat beads rolled down my forehead and I kept a close watch on the darkness outside as my hand trembled and reached for the steel door handle.

The cold metal put a leap in my furiously beating heart as I wrapped my hand around the handle and slammed it shut, flicking the lock before I turned around and leaned against the glass panes with erratic breathing. My head hit the window as I tipped my head back and attempted to calm down.

My hand swiped across my damp forehead. The hair that fell around my shoulders was clinging to my neck and chest so I began pulling it back as I inhaled deep and exhaled slow.

The feeling of a cold lick of air on my neck startled me because until now, I hadn't felt the hint of a breeze or heard the whisper of the wind. My eyes flickered open and I saw a silhouette standing on the other side of the room. Dark and tall with what appeared to be a jacket on.

My heart felt as if it stopped before it started racing harder than it had before. I glanced at the bed but Aiden was still asleep. Still where I left him. My lungs filled with air and I looked back at where the silhouette had been standing. But when I screamed, nothing came out and he appeared beside me, still as shadowed as he had been when he was standing in the dark. His enormous cold hand wrapped around my throat.

The taste of metallic filled my lungs. The scent of blood was all that I could smell as I was lifted off the ground. I clawed at my throat but there was no hand there. Red liquid poured out of my mouth as I choked on it, continuing to struggle against the silhouette. I kicked out as I floated in the air, scratching at the hand that was keeping me up, but still, I couldn't grasp his fingers. There was nothing there.

Blood poured out of my nose and mouth. Each time that I tried to breathe, I could feel that I was drowning. No matter how much I spat out, more filled my nose and lungs. The cold breeze was frost beside my ear, accompanied by a familiar voice. "Gone but never forgotten."

"Arian!"

"Arian!"

The air cleared, all that I heard was the abrupt end of my piercing screams and all that I saw was Aiden a top me, holding my hands to the mattress beside my head. He stared down with fierce concern, the bed side lamp illuminated his expression and I was breathing hard and laboured as I shook. It dawned on me that it had been a nightmare and I nodded.