Chapter Seven

73 3 7

by blueberryalarmclock

by blueberryalarmclock

Dekka

When I wake up, I'm confronted with several of my worst fears. To start off: the dark. As much as it makes me sound like a wimpy twit, the dark is one of my greatest fears, though I try not to show it. Number two: being alone. (I Googled "fear of being alone" one time to see if it was an actual thing, or if I'm insane. Apparently, it is a thing; monophobia. Don't tell your parents you don't learn anything from hanging out with me.) I'm what you might call a "people person"--extremely outgoing. I'm used to being around people 24/7. So when you combine me + waking up in a pitch black room + by myself, it will defiantly = freaking out. My hands are shaking as I clutch my chest-- heart beating so hard I can feel it throughout my entire body. Everything feels surreal and the room spins like a top around me. I am going to die, I think. I'm about to die. In someone elses house. By myself. In the dark.

"Asa!" I call in a panicky tone. Only one time in my life have I ever felt anything close to this; the Saturday night my father told Asa and I that he was adopted. I was eleven, and didn't quite understand what this meant at first. I thought somebody was going to take him away from me. I remember that it felt as if my chest was caving in, like I was in a car being hit from all sides by vehicles much larger than mine. "Asa!" Louder this time, and more urgent. Overwhelming fear courses through my veins, each tiny breath bringing a brand new wave of numb emotion. The same thought races through my mind over and over again. I need him in here now. I can't be alone.

I'm about to call out again but the door opens allowing light to flood in, bringing Asa with it. Both are welcome.

"What?" he says. "You better be dying or dead because I was mid-omelet and--" he stops with his attempted Asa-like humor when he sees my horrified face. "What happened?" He prompts, gathering me into his warm embrace. Being touched makes me feel like I'm about to ditch my goal on not shrieking "just kill me now and make it stop!", and at the same time Asa is drawing me nearer to sanity. He wipes the cold sweat off of my forehead and reaches to turn on the lamp beside me. I hate him knowing my fear of the dark, but I'm glad he knows enough to turn a light on before I go totally crazy.

Asa says, "Alright, calm down. Tell me what's wrong." Every time I try not to think, mental pictures my own mind created torrent into my consciousness.

I look up at him wondering what is going through his brain. "How are you so... so... alright?"

"Dek, I was just eating breakfast then you started screaming my name. What happened?"

I gasp at Asa's oblivious okayness. "But, mom and dad. The boat. You are so heartless Asa!" I shout.

Asa's face fills with understanding, he runs his hand through his dark mess of hair. He looks at me with a tiny smile and wipes a tear from my eyes. "Last week it was drowning in a lake," Asa mumbles. "You forget every time, don't you?"

"What?" I say, confused.

Asa's smile gets a bit bigger. "It was just a nightmare, Dekka."