228
Lucy
"Hello?" My voice wavered as I answered, still trembling from the remnants of the dream.
"Lucy, are you okay?" David's voice came through the phone, laced with genuine concern.
A surge of relief washed over me as I recognized his voice. "David," I breathed, feeling a bit more grounded. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just had a nightmare, that's all."
I shuddered, wiping my mouth. I got up and headed to the bathroom as my stomach kept lurching like I would throw up. There was a pause on the other end, and I could almost picture the worry in his eyes.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
I hesitated, the memories of the nightmare still vivid in my mind. "It was..."
I sniffled, wiping my face as I sat on the edge of the tub leaning towards the toilet, and tried to breathe.
"I... I had a flashback earlier. I-I didn't think anything of it, but it was... it was so much worse in the dream. I kept trying to run but I couldn't get anywhere..."
I sniffled. "I couldn't..."
"You're not there," David whispered. "You're safe now, and you're not going back. You sure you don't want me to kick in their door?"
A laugh stuttered out of me. His words were a soothing balm to my frayed nerves. I let out a shaky breath, grateful for his presence, even if it was only through the phone.
"I appreciate that," I replied, my voice steadier now. "B-But no. Thanks for calling. It means a lot... Did you need something?"
"At almost one o'clock in the morning? No," he said gently. "I just had a feeling I should call. I had a vision about you."
My heart skipped a beat at his words. A vision? The idea that David could have seen something related to me sent a shiver down my spine. Had he seen what I was dreaming about? I still hadn't asked him about him appearing in my dreams. Or had it been something else? The thought of what else he could have seen sent a different kind of shiver, one that wasn't born of fear.
"What did you see?" I asked, my voice hesitant.
David hesitated for a moment before he spoke. "I saw you running through a forest full of darkness. I wasn't sure what it was exactly, but I somehow knew you'd be awake when I called, and here we are."
His words made me want to cry.
"N-Nothing else?"
"No," he said. "But you know that even if I had seen anything else, I would have called, don't you?"
I swallowed. "T-Thank you."
"Nothing I could see could change the way I feel about you, Lucy."
"You're sure?"
He chuckled. "You have a secret tattoo you don't want me to know about?"
My jaw trembled. "I couldn't... I didn't say no."
Tears slipped down my cheeks. I covered my mouth to smother my crying.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have--"
"The absence of a no is not a yes," he said softly. "I know it will take some time to... truly believe that to truly let go of any sense of guilt or responsibility you have about what happened to you, but I'll tell you as many times as you need. You are not to blame for what was done to you."
I shuddered. His voice was so warm. His words were so comforting. I curled up beside the bathtub. It was as if he had reached through the phone and wrapped his arms around me, dispelling the remnants of the nightmare's grip.
"Had I had half a clue about what was happening to you in that house I would have killed them both then and taken you," David said. "I am sorry they were allowed to get away with it. I am sorry that I cannot do more for you, but I am here to do whatever I can to help you heal from it."
I sniffled again. "Thank you..."
His words were a lifeline, grounding me in the reality of the present. With David on the other end of the line, the nightmare felt like a distant memory, fading away in the presence of his comforting voice.
"Thank you for calling," I said.
"Anytime," he replied warmly. "I'll always be here for you, Lucy."
I dabbed at my eyes and slowly shuffled back to bed to wrap myself up in the thick blanket on the bed. I was still cold, but David's voice was warming me slowly.
I curled up. "Is that a special power? Having visions?"
"Sort of. In my case, it's because I have elf-blood."
"What does that mean?"
"I'm a descendant of an elf."
"Family reunion is pretty accurate, isn't it?"
"It is."
"What's it like to have elf-blood, David?"
David chuckled softly on the other end of the line.
"It's a bit like having an extra layer of perception, at least it is now that I'm tapping into it," he explained. "I get these flashes, these visions, about things that might happen. Sometimes it's a blessing, sometimes it's... well, not so pleasant."
"Can you control it, these visions?"
"To an extent," he replied thoughtfully. "It's like catching glimpses of the future in fragments. I can't always predict when they'll come, and they're not always crystal clear. I can't even control when they come yet, but I know by how clear they are how near in time they are."
I hummed. "It sounds useful. But is that all? Does it change your ability to do magic? Can you like... talk to trees or something?"
David laughed a warm and genuine sound that made my heart flutter. "I can, but that's not elf-blood," he said.
"What?"
"I'm pretty sure you can talk to trees too. That's a witch thing. Elf powers are usually more subtle."
"So you talk to the wind."
"Well, a cousin of mine can whisper across long distances. I haven't tried it."
"Ooh, does that mean if you stopped cutting it, you'd have super long hair like in that movie?" I chuckled at the mental image of David with impossibly long hair.
"Well, that's anyone, but that would be a bit impractical, wouldn't it?"
"Very," I said.
"Like you, I prefer my hair shorter." He chuckled. "Feeling a bit better?"
"Yeah... a bit." I looked out the window. "I don't think I'm going to sleep, though."
"How about some company? Pizza? Ice cream?"
I smiled. "Sure, pizza and ice cream sounds great."
"Great. I'll come pick you up in a bit. Duke and Michelle are up, so we'll make it a small gathering."
I almost melted in relief at the thought of not being alone with David after that nightmare.
"I'll be ready soon."
I hung up and got out of bed, and got dressed in some comfy clothes. I headed downstairs through the quiet of the house and waited in the foyer until I heard the car pull up. Duke hopped out of the car and knocked.
"You look like hell," Duke said. His eyes were also sleepless.
"You, too."
He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and led me to the car. Michelle smiled and waved at me. She looked like she had just gotten off work, and David was dressed in what looked like pajamas. My nerves were still on edge, but I felt them easing as David drove us to a late-night pizza place that also had ice cream. Then, he drove us to a lookout point.
"It's the best place to see the sunrise in the entire territory," David said. "I figured we're all having a pretty sleepless night."
I was grateful. The scent of pizza filled the car as David played music, and we drove. We didn't talk much, but it didn't feel uncomfortable.
Soon, the car came to a stop at the lookout point, and we all piled out, each one of us carrying a box of pizza and a container of ice cream. The view before us was nothing short of breathtaking; the dawn wasn't breaking yet, but the moon cast a soft glow over the mountains and forest below the lookout point.
We spread a blanket on the ground and settled down, indulging in conversation and savoring our delicious meal. I couldn't help but voice the question that had been on my mind.
"So, how are you and Peter?" I asked Michelle as I took a slice.
"He's on bedrest." Michelle sighed as she took a bite of her pizza. "He's been ordered to take it easy, but he should be fine by the time the Crescent Moon Festival comes around."
A sigh of relief escaped me. "That's good."
Duke stopped chewing for a minute. "You need armor, too?"
Michelle laughed. "Absolutely not."
He shrugged. "What about you, Lucy?"
"I have no idea," I said. "Stacy is taking over my dress."
David smirked. "You'll have armor. Stacy was... adamant about it."
I smiled, thinking back to my conversation with her. I shivered and David shucked off his jacket to drape over my shoulders. I leaned back as he wrapped an arm around me and rubbed my shoulder. He was so warm. The jacket enveloped me further in his scent, and the serene atmosphere of the sunrise started to lull me into sleep.
As the sun began to rise over the horizon, I closed my eyes and allowed myself to drift into a peaceful sleep.
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