Chapter Twenty-two

The wind batted them from all sides, whipping their hair into their faces and distorting their words. They had to yell to talk to each other. She was standing on the cliff, very close to the edge while Hayden desperately tried to convince her to step away from the cliff.

“Don’t do this, please. I beg you. I can’t live without you. You’ll wreck me,” he pleaded.

“You can, and you will. I have to do this, it’s for your own good,” she replied. Her red hair whipped into her face as her green eyes became iridescent with tears.

“Goodbye, Hayden,” she said as she took a single step backward and plunged into the dark, raging seas below.

“HELENA! NOOOOOOOOOO!!” Hayden yelled as she fell. Tears streamed from his eyes as his heart wrenched in painful, unimaginable ways.

He was still yelling when he woke up from his nightmare.

Alexia also woke up with a start and she turned on the bedside lamp. Hayden was illuminated and he was sweating profusely, his breath coming out in short gasps.

“Hayden, you were screaming. What’s wrong?” she asked him, “You screamed Helena. Who is Helena?”

He turned to her sharply, then he turned away and lifted the covers off himself, saying nothing. He had a pair of shorts on, so he pulled on a t-shirt and walked towards the door.

Alexia jumped off the bed and followed him. She grabbed his hand from behind as he tried to turn the doorknob.

“What is the matter? Who is Helena?” she asked again, “You know you can tell me anything, Hayden.”

He released his hand from her grip and walked out of the room in the middle of the night.

Alexia was worried, but she could not go after him. She sat down on the bed, and looked on into the darkness. She soon fell into a fitful sleep.

When she woke up in the morning, Hayden was not in bed with her. Quickly, she took a bath and dressed.

Thankfully, her clothes had been retrieved from Hayden’s room that was still being cleansed to the spare bedroom that they were currently using.

It was a little chilly, so she put on a dark green cardigan over a pair of black jeans and finished it off with a pair of suede boots. She rushed out of the room and descended four flights of stairs to end up in the common room.

Adrian, Athena and Vanessa were in the common room, having breakfast. Adrian and Athena greeted her, “Hey Alexia.”

“Adrian, Athens, good morning,” she greeted back.

Athena smiled and rolled her eyes. She and Alexia had formed a fast friendship when she retrieved her clothes for her. They found out that they had the same fashion sense and attended the same college.

“Have any of you seen Hayden?” she asked. They both shook their heads.

“What about Ace?” They pointed in the direction of the gym.

“Okay, thanks,” she replied.

She started in the direction of the gym, then stopped to give Vanessa a casual nod, “Hey.”

Vanessa returned the nod, her white-blonde bob swishing, “Hey.”

Alexia hurried in the direction of the gym. She opened the door and punk-rock music filtered upwards towards her. She descended the stairs quickly, and met Ace hip-thrusting a huge barbell. He was shirtless, but he had no tattoos.

“Woah, okay,” she muttered to herself.

He raised his head up to look at her, “Oh. Hey, Alexia.”

He lifted the barbell off himself easily and wiped the glistening sweat off his skin with a towel.

“Hi, Ace. Have you seen Hayden? He left the room since midnight, and I haven’t seen him anywhere.”

Ace looked puzzled, “Why did he leave the room?”

“I don’t know. I was hoping you could know where he is. Although, he was having a nightmare, and he yelled the name Helena,” she said.

Ace’s eyes bulged out of their sockets, “Helena? What’s today’s date?”

“Uhmm…” she checked her phone, “23rd of September. Why?”

He sighed, “Helena was his first mate. Today is the anniversary of her death, the fifth anniversary to be precise.”

Alexia felt a pang of jealousy mixed with sadness, “Wow. I didn’t know that. I’ve never heard him talk about his first mate. I didn’t even know her name until today.”

“Yeah, well, every year, he just goes off somewhere for the whole day and nobody knows where he goes. He comes back late at night, talks to nobody and goes to his room. The next day, he is back to normal like nothing ever happened,” Ace explained.

“Hmmn. Do you think you can mindlink him so I can know where he is? I’m worried about him,” she admitted.

“I may have an idea. But he is going to be in such a foul mood, and he might take it out on you,” he warned her.

“I’m willing to take that risk. Please just tell me,” she begged.

He sighed, “Okay. There’s a path in the backyard. It is quite hidden, but it is lined with juniper flowers. You’d have to look very hard for it. It leads straight to the beach, about 3 kilometres from here. You’d have to walk, or take an ATV or his bike, or something. He’s usually at the beach there, just walking up and down the shoreline,” he told her.

“Thanks,” she said and started to walk out of the gym. Then she stopped, and turned back briefly, “By the way, Ace, nice abs.”

She could hear him chuckling behind her as she walked out the gym. On her way to the back door, she met Clara, who was walking in. They both stopped and stared at each other.

Suddenly, a memory flashed in Alexia’s brain as she looked into Clara’s icy blue eyes. They looked hauntingly familiar. She couldn’t process it, but those cold blue eyes had glared at her before.

“Quit staring at me, you dumb bitch,” Clara swore and shoved past Alexia.

Alexia collected herself and walked out of the pack house. She carefully inspected the expanse of the backyard, until she sighted the collection of juniper flowers. She started walking down the almost-invisible path, still haunted by Clara’s eyes.


***


After walking for about an hour, Alexia broke through the treeline and onto a sandy beach. Her eyes widened. It was beautiful. The sun’s reflection shone on the surface of the azure sea, as it gently lapped over the white sand of the beach.

Alexia moved closer to it and the water was crystal clear, showing the organisms that lived in the tide. A salty breeze blew and carried a few grains of sand into the air.

Her hair whipped around her, blocking her vision, so she quickly put it into a ponytail and secured it so every strand was away from her face. She looked around the beach and spotted a lone figure standing in water some distance away from her.

She quickly walked towards him. When her boots kept sinking into the sand, she bent down and took them off, holding them in one hand. She finally got to where he was standing.

Overwhelmed, she put her arms around him and hugged him, “I was so worried.” She let him go when he made no move to return the hug. Peering up into his face, she asked, “What’s wrong?”

His usually expressive blue eyes stared blankly at her, “How did you find me?” he asked tonelessly.

She was taken aback, “I…uh…Ace told me where you always go,” she replied. He nodded slightly and resumed his stare into the horizon. She stood beside him and silence prevailed for several moments.

She broke the silence, “I know who Helena is.”

Hayden whirled to look at her. His eyes asked a question.

“You mentioned Helena in your sleep when you woke up today. I know who she is,” she said.

“You don’t,” he replied gruffly. She took his hand. It had no effect on him. He continued to stare at the splashing waves.

“I do. Helena was your first mate. Ace told me. Today is the fifth anniversary of her death,” she told him, “I…I’m sorry.”

He squeezed her hand back, “You have nothing to be sorry about. The people who are to be sorry are the people that killed her, and me, who failed to protect her.”

Alexis sighed, “The only people who should be sorry are the people who killed her, not you. It wasn’t your fault. Things happen for a reason, and…maybe her death is part of your destiny. And mine too…in a way.”

Hayden’s face squeezed in pain, then the blank expression returned.

She pulled him and he followed grudgingly. She sat down in the sand and drew her knees up to her chin. Her toes were being washed by the sea, “Sit down,” she said.

He mimicked her sitting position and put his arms around his folded legs. He placed his chin on his knees and sighed.

“Tell me, Hayden. What was she like?”

******