Say I Love You

Chapter 20- Tears and Joy

Hey everyone!
Tomorrow is my best friend's birthday! Let's wish her- HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Without her I would never have started writing this story. Thanks Deep :)

Now I got a lot of comments asking where Adrian went, well you'll find his reason for going away in this chapter and a lot more.

Lol, our love triangle is just getting HOTTER ;)

ENJOY!

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                             Chapter 20- Tears and Joy

                                                       Clea

I was lying on the ground, the grass tickling my bare exposed skin. There were fireflies flying lazily above me in the dark, their light flickering like bright orange stars. There was a cool wind blowing in my direction, chilling my warm skin. I heard muffled footsteps coming my way. Suddenly a dark shadow fell over me, blocking my view of the fireflies. I smiled when I realized who it was.

Adrian.

I got up to get a better look at him. Adrian wasn't smiling at me, he had a mad glint in his eyes. I looked at his hand which held something. I held back a scream, it was an axe. I jumped away as it landed just where I had lain a few seconds before. Adrian pulled out the axe, grass and mud flying from its force. I screamed, asking for an explanation. This time he smiled and came closer to me.

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me.

I heard footsteps following me and I prayed that he wouldn't find me. The woods grew darker, I could hardly make out where I was going. Suddenly a hand reached out and grabbed my arm. My scream was muffled by another hand that covered my mouth. I was pulled back to something warm and hard. I threw a terrified glance over my shoulder and relaxed.

It was just Nathaniel.

He pulled me behind a tree and we hid there, watching someone run past us. I turned to smile at Nathaniel when I threw a hand to my neck in shock. Nathaniel had a thin black ribbon around his neck that was dark with blood. Red drops of blood flowed down to his white shirt, like angry rivulets of blood.

I took a step back and stared at him. Nathaniel smiled at me, his teeth red in colour, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

No.

I whispered, talking a step back. I stopped when I hit something solid.

Adrian was standing behind me.

They closed in on me, making sure I had no way of escaping.

You're hurting them Clea.

A voice whispered.

I closed my eyes and screamed.

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I woke up in cold sweat, my clothes sticking to me uncomfortably. I blinked my eyes in the dim dark, trying to locate my surroundings.

It was just a dream. Only a dream.

I told this to myself repeatedly, wiping the sweat from my brow.

I looked to my right and held back a hysterical laugh. I observed Sally's sleeping form and found the root cause of my nightmare. Those stupid scary stories, oh why did I have to listen to them?

After a few minutes of staring into the dark, I got up and went outside the tent carefully, trying not to wake Sally up. It was very close to dawn. The air was cool and I had to stop myself from shivering. No one seemed to be awake yet.

Maybe a walk will calm my nerves.

I thought to myself and walked towards the previous night's bonfire. It was still burning slightly and I took a stick to bring up the smoking embers. Placing my hands above them, I tried desperately to warm them. Man, it was cold.

“Couldn't get any sleep?” I whipped back to look at the person who had spoken, almost falling into the charred wood in the process.

A hand reached out and caught me, breaking my fall. I looked up into Adrian's moss green eyes. Suddenly my nightmare came back to me and I looked away.

“Clea, are you okay?” Adrian asked me with concern.

“Where did you go last night?” I asked, ignoring his question.

Adrian let go of me and looked away.

“Sorry, I had to gather my thoughts,” he told me, still looking away.

“Suppose we had gotten lost! What would you have done then?” I shouted at him. I really didn’t know why I was being hard on him.

I saw his cheeks flush under the dim light.

“No,” he said, finally looking at me. “Nathaniel... I trusted him to look after you.”

“But....”

“Will you come away with me again? I promise I won't leave you this time.”

I nodded my head. Adrian smiled and offered me a hand that I took.

“So, why are you up so early?” I asked him as he led me somewhere.

“Couldn't sleep...” Adrian replied.

“Me neither... Nightmares?” I asked him.

Adrian looked troubled but he softly replied, “Always...”

I could imagine what his nightmares might contain.

I was soon out of breath and I refrained myself from asking Adrian any more questions. He was leading me somewhere upwards and soon the sky was getting lighter.

“Here we are,” Adrian told me with a smile.

We were on high ground and from here there were no trees obstructing our view of the sky. I let out a gasp of wonder. The sky was filled with colours of the rising sun. It was so beautiful, like a painted picture.