1.

ALORA

Someone was watching me.

His dark eyes and the smile on his lips made me want to turn around and run, but my legs refused to cooperate.

He lifted his hand and beckoned to me with a sickening smile that made my body twist with unease. “My doll,” his grimy voice called, “I’m coming for you, Alora. You belong to me."

My eyes prickled with frustrated tears. I hated how helpless I felt towards this stranger. All the alarm bells in my head were going crazy, but I couldn’t move.

“Who are you?” I managed to choke out, but my voice betrayed the terror I felt with the obvious tremble. I had no idea who this man was or why I was so terrified of him.

All of a sudden, he began to run towards me. “Stop,” I screamed. “Don’t come any closer,” I cried out desperately as I struggled to force my legs to move.

“Alora,” Someone yelled from a distance, but I was too petrified to look away. What if he caught me when I did?

I watched him come closer, and when the distance between us closed, I screamed with horror when his hand darted out to touch me. “No, don’t touch me."

“Ali!” the voice yelled again, and this time, it sounded closer, almost like they were beside me. The voice was desperate.

“No,” A bloodcurdling scream tore past my lips when arms grabbed me, and I was forced into a sitting position. “Don’t touch me. Don’t put your hands on me,” I cried out with so much terror.

Hands wrapped around me as I thrashed blindly, scratching and pushing at them.

“I got you." A familiar voice that sounded like it was in pain whispered, holding me tighter, “I’ve got you, princess.”

“Tris?” I whispered brokenly, my thrashing stilling as I recognized the voice of my cousin, pulling me out of the haze of the nightmare.

“Yes, baby. It’s me. You are safe now,” he assured, and I could feel his heart racing as fast as mine did.

I clung to him tighter and took in deep breaths, so I could calm down. I felt another hand pat my hair gently, and I looked up to see Ronan, my best friend since I was little, looking down at me with worry.

My body trembled as I tried to force myself to calm down, but it wasn’t easy. It was never easy after every dream, and I hated how they made me feel.

“Here,” Ronan whispered after a while, handing me a glass of water and some pills.

“Thank you,” I mumbled, pulling away from Tristan’s hug to take them from him. My hands were shaky when I took them, but I swallowed the drug and handed the empty glass cup to Tristan, who placed it on the bedside table.

Ronan took a seat beside me, his green eyes filled with so much worry as he leaned down to place a gentle kiss on my forehead.

I leaned into his touch instinctively and let out a shaky breath as a sigh of contentment followed. I always got warm whenever Ronan held me. There was something comforting in his hold that made him always warm.

"Are you sure you can resume classes tomorrow? You are a mess, Ali?" Tristan asked with a frown.

"I will be fine. It was just a nightmare," I told him, sitting up and wiping the stray tear that slipped down my cheeks.

"Maybe you should take a week off. It's college; no one would give you any hassle for deciding to resume a week late," Ronan suggested, but I was already shaking my head in refusal.

“No,” I said firmly, “I have to start with everyone else. What use is starting over if I’m just going to cower before the starting line?”

It had been seven months since I graduated from high school. Seven months have passed since the bullying incident that forced me to lose over 50 kg of weight. Three years since the mistake that ruined my life and an eternity since the whispers and nightmares that tormented me. 

Tristan sighed. We have had this conversation before. More times than I could count. I knew he was worried, but I couldn’t stop now, and he also knew that. It would be so much more difficult to start over again if I did.

Tristan was more than my cousin on my mama’s side. His parents died in an air crash when he was barely ten, so he was adopted by my parents. He was the only sibling I had.

“Ali, I know this is very important for you, so why don’t you consider coming to school from home? That way Mama can keep her eyes on you,” he suggested, like I knew he would, so I shook my head in refusal.

“I am not going to attend Uni from home, Tris. I am fine,” I insisted. “They are just nightmares. I didn’t push myself to the point of death trying to lose that much weight in a short amount of time, so I could back down because of a stupid nightmare.”

"Maybe we should leave tomorrow? We can still make it to practice," Ronan suggested, and I get on my feet.

Tristan was currently signed to a basketball team in Manchester. Ronan loved playing basketball too and wanted to go pro, so Tristan managed to convince his team to sign Ronan as well. They were due at the camp today, but they had insisted on helping me move into my apartment since Uni resumed today.

I would have stayed at the dorms, but Mama was worried about my nightmare disturbing my roommates and a lot of other issues I had, so Dad gifted me an apartment close to school.

"No," I refused, glaring at them both. “I am not a child. I can take care of myself."

Tristan was not one to back down, and neither was I. His golden-brown eyes, similar to mine, peered at me intently, and I held his gaze.

I had always envied Tristan growing up. For as long as I could remember, he was always the popular jock. His 6'5" athletic build, thick curly brown hair, and sleeve tattoos drew people to him like a magnet.

The only advantage I had over him were my deep dimples. I had a pair on my cheeks and another pair on my lower back.

Tristan sighed in defeat before he stood up and grabbed his backpack from the floor by the bed. He turned to Ronan and beckoned to him to stand up. “We have to leave now if we don’t want to miss our flight."

“Are you coming with us?” Ronan asked, and I arched a brow.

“To the airport?” I wouldn’t mind going with them any other day since the airport was close to my apartment, but I still had a lot to unpack.

Tris shook his head and pointed to my anxiety and panic disorder pill bottles in Ro’s hands. “You are almost out, and Mama said to make sure you got them refilled."

“Mama said that?” My eyes grew wide in disbelief. She was strongly against me using pills to manage my anxiety and panic attacks because she feared I might get too addicted to them, which was ironic considering that she was a doctor as well.

“I thought she didn’t want me to take them anymore?” I asked, trying to fight the smile.

Tris noticed and rolled his eyes. “Pops managed to convince her to let you get refills since you wouldn’t be at home where they could watch you themselves,” he answered with a shrug.

“Here,” he handed me a prescription signed by my personal doctor, Miss Dianne. “But she still doesn’t want you taking them unless it’s absolutely necessary.” He warned, giving me a knowing look as I snatched the prescription and tucked it into my shorts’ pocket.

“You want us to drop you?” Ronan asked again, and I shook my head.

“No. I want to go alone so I can drive myself back,” I explained. I wasn’t in the mood to take public transport after the nightmare.

“Are you sure you’ll be fine?” Tris asked again, and I rolled my eyes before I pushed them toward the door.

“Stay safe, Al,” Ro said with a small smile before he hugged me. “I’ll miss you like crazy, so make sure to text me all the time, even if I get too busy to reply. I want pictures too."

  

I hugged Tris next before pushing them out the door. "Call me before you take off and after you land," I instructed before slamming the door in their faces.

"She is such a spoiled brat," Tristan gasped, and I could imagine the dramatic expression on his face.

"As if that's not on you," Ronan scoffed.

The smile disappeared from my face as soon as I heard their footsteps move away from the door. I sank to the floor against the door, and my hand found its way into my newly installed butterfly locs.

I pulled hard, hoping the pain would make me feel better. “I’ll be fine.”

I had to be.