Page 51 of Fractured Mind
MIA
I checkedwhat time the sun would rise to ensure I was up and ready on time. It’s chilly this morning, so I have a blue hoodie on. I wait outside for Ashton with my hands deep in my pockets. I rock back onto my heels. I’m being ridiculous to think it was Ashton in my dreams. My amnesia made me forgot people’s faces. I curse at myself for even considering it.
After a few minutes, I see Ashton’s car coming down the driveway. The car stops beside me. When I open the door, I chance a peek at him. He gazes at me with warmth in his eyes, which releases some of the stress in my shoulders. From the center console, he hands me a cup. When I take it from him, it’s hot, and it defrosts my hands as I hold it. I smile in appreciation. “Thank you.”
We sit in silence for the brief car ride down. I can already hear the soothing sounds of the ocean. He pulls up in the closest spot and gets out of the car. I put the cup back into the drink holder, and as I get out, he opens the back door and pulls out two blankets.
Blanket...I shake my head. Coincidence. There’s a light, fresh breeze coming from the ocean. As it hits my face, my hair flutters in the wind and my teeth chatter. I follow Ashton onto the sand, where he lays one blanket down and sits on one side of it before wrapping the other around him. He looks up as he opens it wide for me to sit next to him. The limited space forces our bodies to touch when I sit. He drapes the blanket around me.
“You loved sunrises,” he says, then looks out at the water. Tears line my eyes. “We used to stay overnight at each other’s houses when we were really young. You’d drag me out of bed so we could watch the sunrise together.”
I blink rapidly, trying to hold it together as my hands tremble.
“I admit I hated getting up early, but watching you smile when the sun rose on the horizon was always worth it. You were amazed at the colors and would tell me all about the patterns in the sky for the sunrises I had missed.”
And tears fall like rain. When he looks at me, I stare into the familiar depths of his dark-brown eyes.
“Baby, what’s wrong?” he asks, his voice raw as if he feels my pain.
Baby.He’s never called me that before. My heart aches. My pulse pounds. “It was you,” I choke out, as tears keep spilling down my cheeks.
His mouth parts. He doesn’t speak... just waits for me to explain.
“I rememberedyou... You were in my dreams.”
He hauls me to his chest as sobs tear through my body. My shoulders shake as I ugly cry.I remembered.My hand goes to my chest to try to physically stop my heart from bursting from my body. I’m wrapped up in a cocoon of warmth... love... support.
Ashton pulls me tighter and presses a kiss to my forehead. He shifts slightly and lifts my chin with his hand. He places kisses on my wet cheeks.
“You remember me?” he whispers, his voice cracking at the end.
I sniffle. “I do.”
“Please tell me about your dream.”
My fingers rise, tenderly tracing the contours of his face. Feeling the stubble under my fingers, I take a deep breath before starting. “We watched the sunrise together. We never spoke, so I never got to hear your voice, but I felt nothing but happiness and contentment and... peace.” I pause. “The dream was never more than that, but when I woke, I always wanted to go back to sleep to see you once more, to be with someone who cared about me.”
His eyes swirl with conflicting emotions. “Do you still watch the sunrise?”
“No. Why didn’t you come for me?” I wished the boy in my dream would rescue me, take me away to a place where I was loved.
He gulps hard. “When you woke up, your mom wouldn’t let anyone see you, and before we knew it, she left and took you with her, and no one was told where you had moved to.” He briefly glances at the water before looking back at me. “Every so often I would check on social media, but I could never find you.”
“You searched for me?” I ask.
His eyes soften. “Of course.”
“I didn’t bother to set up any accounts because I only had one friend and I was told I had no family, so I didn’t see the point.”
“I would have come for you if I knew where you were. Hell, we all would have. Can you imagine Ruby? She would have kidnapped you and gone on the run.”
I’m sniffing, trying to clear my nose, while a smile curves at the sides of my lips because I could see her doing that.
The warmth of his embrace makes me relax as my head rests on his shoulder.Just like my dream.A strong sense of calm envelops me while I’m in Ashton’s arms, looking at the shallow water soaking the sand. We watch the horizon in comfortable silence as the glowing sun becomes visible, creating a pyramid of light across the water. Flashes of vivid color splash the sky in bright yellow, orange, and pink. As the sun rises, the water reflects the colors of the sky.
“It’s incredible.”
“Yes, it is,” he replies, and as I turn my gaze back to him, his eyes are on me.