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Chapter 2 - Chapter 1

"Ares…Ares!...ARES!" I gasped out loud as I tried to breathe deep breaths, letting as much air into my airways as possible. I didn't notice my fingers digging into my blanket at first, the extremely tight grip on it made my hands numb. The sweat on my neck was running down my back and I felt my hair clinging onto my back which felt uncomfortable.

"Honey, you weren't breathing in your sleep when I came in to check on you." My Aunt, Margaret exclaimed, I was still breathing hard, looking at anywhere but her. My eyes landed on the pill bottle that had toppled over on the wooden floor which resulted in the pills being everywhere. The pills were accompanied by glass pieces made from a shattered glass cup and there was a puddle of water sitting in the middle of the room.

Aunt Margaret held my face in her hands, taking my eyes off the mess in my bedroom as I was forced to look up to her. "Hey-hey, I'm here, Ares. Don't- don't look at that, focus on just breathing, okay?" She looked at me as if I were to disappear again. 

Overtime, my breathing slowly became normal as I managed to find my words again. I snapped out of the deep trance I was in and felt Aunt Margaret's cold hands still holding onto me. I slowly find the strength in me and reach up to hold Aunt Margaret's hands that were glued to the side of my face.

"I'm okay Margaret. I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. I'm fine now." I found myself convincing her again. This wasn't my first rodeo with nightmares but it was never this bad. Aunt Margaret heaved a sigh of relief as she embraced me with her usual warm hug that always comforted me whenever this happened to me.

The nightmares were recurring dreams of something that happened to me in the past. Margaret told me she didn't know what had happened to me last year, all she knew was that I was lying in a hospital bed for a month and when I awoke, I had lost my memory about what happened to me. I tried really hard to remember and even relied on the recurring nightmares but I always seem to forget about them whenever I wake up the next day. 

My mind didn't remember but my body did. It would shut down whenever I thought about the past. It will react unknowingly to different things I come across throughout my day. Whether it was a lighter or loud voices, I would react to it. I hated it and I would run from it. I would tell myself that I was okay and time will heal everything.

Margaret was my Mum's sister, or that's what she told me. She was a doctor who had tended to my wounds at her hospital. She broke the news that my parents died in the fire in our home and I was about to go with them too. She told me I managed to stay alive since I escaped the fiery wreckage before it was too late. I didn't feel anything when I was told that and it was as if I felt happy that my parents died which was fucked up of me to feel that way.

"Are you sure you're going to be fine today?" She questioned with concern laced in her tone, staring at me worriedly.

"Yeah, I will be fine." I reassured her, snapping out of it.

Aunt Margaret didn't look convinced but she decided to not dwell on it further. She looked at the mess she had made earlier, sighing heavily before turning to me, "I will clean the mess up. You should wash up soon, it's almost 8 in the morning and you don't want to be late on your first day after semester break." She ruffled my messy hair before she walked away, making sure to avoid the mess on the floor as she left the room for the broom and paper towels.

The continuous buzzing of my phone under my pillow shook the bed as I reached under the pillow and picked up the call without looking at the caller id. 

"Hey, overslept again?" 

"Yeah." I replied, feeling an incoming headache anytime soon.

"You don't sound well." 

"I'm fine, Zion." I assured him.

There was a moment of silence before Zion continued.

"Care to share a coffee takeout?"

"Sure." I answered. I could really use a cup now.

"Meet you outside your house in twenty?"

"I will be ready in fifteen." I told him before putting the phone down as I rushed to get ready.

I entered the bathroom with my bath towel hung on my shoulder. I made sure the mirror was covered before stepping into the shower with lukewarm water running down my hair and over my body. I winced as the water came into contact with the huge burn scar on my back and cut wounds on my upper arms. Although they were already healed and it didn't hurt at all, my mind felt the excruciating pain. I ignored it and continued with my shower.

I was ready to head out, tying my brown hair into a claw clip while holding a piece of bread with jam between my lips. Margaret has been making breakfast every morning for me even though she has been having overnight shifts at the community hospital. My phone buzzed on the kitchen counter-top, signalling to me that Zion was already outside. I made sure I had my keys on me before carrying my laptop as I left the kitchen and into the living room.

"You forgot something." Margaret rushed behind me as she slipped the very familiar and v very colourful pill box into my laptop sleeve.

"Make sure to take them before you attend class." She said strictly before pecking me on the forehead.

"I just did my skincare!" I screamed at her jokingly as she ran back into her room on her tiptoes as if she had done something wrong.

I shook my head, chuckling at how goofy she was before opening the front door. It creaked open, revealing a very angry Zion on my doorstep. "You took long." He raised his brow as I approached him with a smile on my face. We both started walking over to his car which was parked at the side of the road. Watching him have his own car had made me dream for one too, but there was a specific model I wanted and I'm waiting to earn enough to finally get one.

I swallowed the last bite of my jam bread before speaking, "I'm actually on the dot. Now where's my coffee." I retorted as he passed me the paper bag. I looked into the bag and found 3 cups inside. After finding the one labelled cappuccino, I eagerly took the cup and drank a sip of it, enjoying the richness of the espresso as I sighed loudly at how good it was.

"Any louder and people might mistake you for an animal." Zion scoffed before taking the paper bag from me as he held it in his hand. 

"Don't judge a girl who knows her coffee." I reprimanded him before entering the Honda. He sat in the driver's seat and started the ignition of the car before driving off my street and to Queenstown University which is about a good ten minutes from my home.

"So… What possessed you to be so kind and pick me up from my house?" I spoke up as we stopped at a street light. 

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm just trying to be a good friend." He exclaimed. The streetlight turned green and he started driving off again. I let out a sigh and looked out the window as the streets flew past like a blur, that's when I couldn't help but look at him through the reflection on the window, staring as he kept a hand on a steering wheel and another on his leg.

We met when we were in middle school and without a doubt, we instantly became best friends. Like a hopeless romantic I was, I started liking him the moment I met him. But, Zion had this thing that made him extremely charismatic and calm. He captures the eyes of literally anyone and I already knew that this was unrequited love. I tried really hard to get rid of the feelings but it would just keep running back like a lost soul without a body. I'm not saying he's out of my league. He loves someone else, not me.

Speaking of which, his phone buzzed with a text message notification lighting up his phone as the bold words of my best friend's name caught my eye. I watched as he took a peek at his phone, still keeping his eyes on the road. I watched from the side as he started smiling slightly as his eyes softened immediately.

Zion and I met Sophie along with Maeya in our first year of high school. That's when Zion developed a huge interest in Sophie, and tried every move to get together with her. He would leave paper flowers that he hand-crafted in her locker every morning and it continued on throughout our high school years. Two years ago, on our graduation day, Sophie finally accepted and reciprocated his feelings. Although I was a tad bit sad, I was really happy for them and I knew Sophie was the only one for him. I had to accept it and I did.

"Sophie said she just arrived with Maeya and they will meet us at the parking lot." Zion mentioned it to me and before we knew it, we arrived at Queenstown University. I left the car in a hurry as Zion followed behind.

"Hey!" Sophie called out to us loudly, startling the people surrounding us as they stared at both of them before going back to what they were doing. Maeya was unbothered by that as she waved at us while we walked towards them.

"Hi!" I gave them both a hug as they did the same.

Zion cleared his throat as Sophie let go of me and Maeya before scurrying over to kiss Zion on his cheek. She made it a habit to do so every time they meet and I thought it was cute of her to do so. He took out a cup which was labelled matcha latte from the bag and gave it to Sophie as she stared at him in awe.

Her bright smile turned into a deep frown when Zion then passed another cup which had her cafe mocha to Maeya. Sophie's eyes slowly moved to the cappuccino I was currently holding onto before staring back at Zion with a look of intense fury.

Zion was ready to take the hit but he chose to defend himself first, "I treasure my friends but I treasure you more." He said, accepting his defeat. He observed as Sophie started passing Maeya her matcha latte. She then slowly slid her bag off her shoulder and before I could blink again, she started hitting him with her bag. Hard.

"Doesn't seem like that!" Sophie screamed at him as she ran after him when Zion was making his escape. As usual, Sophie's violent tendencies never failed to show up whenever she was mad. Maeya and I could only shake our heads at how playful the two of them were.

"Have you seen the news about Dallas University?" Maeya asked me as we entered the building entrance. I didn't know anyone or anything about Dallas University but I do know I had a creative writing course that I needed to attend in Dallas next week.

"No and why are you asking about that?" I asked, furrowing my brows at her unusual question.

She stopped short in her tracks and I followed suit as a look of surprise was plastered on her pretty face. "Ares, Ares, Ares, are you so busy with your life that you forget what the outside feels like or, I don't know, you are oblivious to the world we are living in? I'm not one to act this way but are you living under a rock? Blink if you need help." She waved her cup of coffee in front of my face as if telling me to face reality.

I laughed, pushing the cup away from my face, "Mind enlightening me then?" 

"Oh, I definitely will, please be rest assured." Maeya said with boredom before starting her usual morning rant session.

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