Averyn's POV
I woke choking on air.
For a moment, I had no idea where I was-only that my heart was pounding so hard it hurt. My sheets were tangled around my legs, my skin damp with sweat.
The ceiling above me slowly came into focus: familiar cracks, faint glow from the streetlight outside. Evershade. My room. Safe.
I pressed my palm against my chest and compelled myself to breathe.
The dream lingered anyway. A rent in the sky. Light splintering like glass. Voices calling out-not screaming, not pleading-waiting. I could still feel the weight of it, the loss of something I couldn't name. Again.
The clatter of dishes downstairs echoed up the hall. Normal sounds. Normal morning. I clung to that as I dragged myself out of bed and pulled on a hoodie.
Over breakfast, my mom looked at me over her coffee. "You didn't sleep."
"I did," I lied, nudging my toast around on the plate.
She didn't disagree. "Nightmares", I shrugged.
"Stress, that The look in her eyes softened, but she did not release her hold on him. "You don't have to bear everything by yourself, Averyn" I smiled weakly. "I know,"
I caught all this in one blast at school--slamming lockers, laughter reverberating through the halls, a shout about a missing homework assignment. It focused me in a way that caffeine never could.
Ruelle saw me first. "You look like you lost a fight with your pillow," she said.
"Rude," I said. "But accurate. Very Jade smirked.
"You've been acting strange lately."
"Define weird."
"Shh," Carmira said softly.
I tried to open my mouth to brush it away, but the words got stuck. "I have these dreams," I started to confess. "Bad dreams."
Gianna rubbed her eyes and asked, "Is the whole thing more of a horror movie or just annoying?"
I said, "It is of the type you would usually call end-of-the-world bad."
Curiosity indeed has been great.
Ruelle was an eagle-eyeing me. "That's a new one indeed."
"I am not sure," I said, "and I wished I had a quicker reply."
"It might be just nothing."
Jade leaned into me with her shoulder. "We will sort it, whatever it is."
Just as I started to speak, the bell went off.
The rest of the day flew by, with few notes taken and fewer teachers heard. During the time between second period and lunch, my head felt something strange and unpleasant-like quiet thunder, but with no sound.
I pressed my palms together until it went away.
During lunch, I was not able to pay attention to my meal. "Storm's coming," I exclaimed, while looking into the window. Gianna was not happy, "But the forecast indicates it's clear."
On my walk home I saw clouds approaching rapidly and darkening my neighborhood. The wind caressed my hair sharply and restlessly.
For a few moments, it felt as if the earth was thin enough that if you pushed hard enough, something could rip through it. A sudden loud noise came from somewhere far away.
I turned, and my heart raced, yet the street was void of any activity. "You're just exhausted," was my only thought.
When I lay in bed that night and looked up toward the ceiling. I knew one thing with total clarity, my nightmares were far from fading away; they were drawing closer toward me.