‹ Prequel: Winter Wakes

Summer Shadows

Fourteen.

Katie and I sat on the back deck of the Dreyton’s house that night; feet in the pool and a shared blanket around our shoulders as we looked out towards the ocean. The sound of the waves crashing against the shore was the epitome of calming; my head resting on her shoulder as I gazed out at the dark horizon where the stars dipped below the distant edge of the black waters.

I had told her of the funeral for Chassie; another unexpected tragedy. She had uttered a few curses in her southern accent, wrapping an arm around me before we settled into a peaceful silence. I hadn’t realized just how much I had missed the southern blonde until she had come down those stairs, frustrated at both Oliver and myself. But now that she was here, I didn’t want her to leave my side.

Oliver—on the other hand—had escaped her presence as soon as he found possible. Something changed in him at the sight of her that evening, something neutral and cold slipping back over him. He’d kept his gaze down, quickly limping past us with his bag, uttering an insincere “glad to see you” before he retreated into the house. Katie had almost followed, a slew of foul language leaving her for a brief period. But she had stopped at the base of the stairs, turning back to me with a pitying look. She hadn’t pursued him past that point. Instead she’d helped me with my bag and to my room before ushering me into the kitchen. The blonde had gone so far as to make dinner. Things had fallen silent momentarily in the kitchen as we heard the Stingray roar to life, and felt the slight vibration of the garage door. Her face had taken on a rare stony look in that instant, and the sincere frustration she felt at his behavior was unmasked. It only lasted a moment—but it was long enough to see the hurt. She covered it up soon after that, with a shake of her head and a comment about how relieved Mr. Dreyton had been when he’d finally gotten ahold of Oliver and found out we were returning. Despite how she acted, Katie knew good and well she’d gotten under his skin. And she almost seemed proud of it.

The crash of the waves on the shore seemed more calming than usual; perhaps due to the fact the effects of the medication Oliver had given me had yet to wear off. Despite all the events of the day and the past few, it was easily the most at peace I’d been in a long while. I preferred to attribute it to Katie’s appearance. I felt the slight pressure of her head on mine as I closed my eyes; a soft sigh leaving the blonde.

“…Hey. Uh. How’s… Ollie been lately?”

I held my silence for a few moments after Katie posed her question; the answer initially seemed simple. But that only lasted a moment. With a slight grain of hesitance, I slowly began to give her a run down on just how things had gone thus far between the two of us; how he was distant and I thought he blamed me for whatever had happened to his mother initially, the incident with his father and the news of a hospital visit—that worried her significantly—and how we’d reached an agreement. I omitted all the parts pertaining to Simon; my projecting him onto his brother, and the likes of. But I left in mostly everything else. I even told her of the last few days; how he had seemed to thaw. How he actually seemed to worry and care.

Katie held her silence for the most part, offering a small nod here or there. I could feel something below the surface, though. Something was bothering her. I gave her a few moments once I finished speaking, before slowly lifting my head to look over at her.

“…What’s wrong?”

She looked at me then; a small frown on her lips as she gave her head a slight shake. “He just. Doesn’t feel like him. He won’t even look at me. We were supposed to be best friends, Maggie. And he ran out the door as soon as he saw me, that—that hurt. I’m not sure what’s changed, but, he just… feels off.”

I wasn’t sure what to say to that, but, it echoed James Dreyton’s sentiments a week or so earlier. Suddenly, I couldn’t get his words out of my head.

“He’s changed since he woke up.”

I hadn’t realized I’d begun to unconsciously pick at my nails until I looked down, deciding to finish picking off the small corner I’d already been working on. I couldn’t help the sigh that left me then. Even with the medication, this wasn’t precisely an easy situation.

“He. He had a brother and mother before the accident. And suddenly, he wakes up a month later without either one of those. It can’t not have some type of effect on him, I expect,” I muttered in a hush tone. I didn’t have any further explanation for his behavior. I hadn’t known him before the accident; I had no basis to judge the changes they spoke of. It bothered me a bit though, that I felt so much familiarity with someone others could no longer relate to. Maybe it really was the loss. Maybe it had truly brought us some painful bonding ground.

Then again, my perceptions on Oliver were changing; and I couldn’t deny myself that truth. By the time we had arrived back in the drive of the beach house earlier I couldn’t bring myself to see him as the distant figure I’d initially met. He was so much like Simon it almost hurt.

Or, maybe, I was just projecting. Maybe I wanted him to be like Simon that badly.

“He hasn’t once called me, or tried to contact me, Maggie. Not a word. And I’ve had you around so, I haven’t had a chance to think too much of it until I was back at my grandma’s farm. But when he completely blew me off earlier? I don’t know what to think of that. Ollie never acted that way towards me.” The hurt in her voice was undeniable; Katie had truly valued his friendship. And this was not what she had expected in the end. I leaned in again, carefully wrapping my arms around her before pulling the blonde into a tight hug. Bit of a change of pace from how we’d been doing things lately, but, I didn’t mind. She wasted no time returning the action, giving me a bit a squeeze.

“I’m sorry, Katie.”

I felt her shake her head against me. “Not your fault. I mean, he can’t avoid me the whole time I’m down here, can he?”

“I suppose not. Unless he just. Doesn’t come back.”

Katie heaved a sigh, then, soon letting me go before turning her focus to the darkened shoreline. No moon; the stars were the focus of the sky this evening and they didn’t have to fight with anything for center stage.

“Wanna go for a walk? It’s a nice night, after all.” Her suggestion came with what I could only describe as a feigned nonchalance; I couldn’t help but pause before I spoke again.

“Yeah, sure.” My reply came with a nod, and soon we both pulled our legs from the warm water of the pool before making our way towards the dunes. I kept the blanket pulled around my shoulders without much thought. Katie was quiet then; one of the rare occasions she didn’t talk me into a stupor. She had a lot on her mind, though, no doubts there. Probably trying to figure out just how she was going to handle the Oliver situation. I had no intentions of disturbing her.

My feet pulled us in the direction of the inlet; away from the Windjammer and the busier part of the little island. I wasn’t feeling people; and despite how social Katie tended to be, I’m not sure she was, either. I spared her a few glances as we walked on the hard, wet sand, tide pulling barely up and around our feet. It was truly odd to see her so quiet; so serious. I bit the inside of my lip; glancing out at the water.

Oddly enough, though—even with Katie like this—I couldn’t help wonder where Oliver was; or just. How he was. The change had been so quick that I hadn’t had much time to really process it. One moment he’d given me one of the most reassuring smiles I’d received from him. The next, any trace of warmth had vanished. What specifically about Katie’s appearance had brought that on? I fought off the small piece of me that was slightly irritated by her presence. We had been making progress, hadn’t we?

But then again, maybe that actually made Katie’s presence… good. Maybe I could bring back the distance between us this way. Maybe I could use this and somehow keep Darren away from Oliver Dreyton.

Progress wasn’t necessarily a good or safe thing when it came to our relationship, despite what he seemed to think. My best interests were clearly with keeping him safe and alive. Even if I did like the odd comfort he provided me, giving that up if it meant protecting him wasn’t even something I would bat an eye at. It was for the best, right?

I’d been so lost in my own thoughts that I hadn’t realized we had almost reached the inlet, feet slowing a bit as I took a moment to survey our surroundings. The water in the inlet itself seemed… choppy. Dangerous. Even at this time of night it was something you could just. Tell. I frowned a bit as I glanced over at Katie. I needed to warn her about that. Both James and Oliver had stressed how unsafe it was to me on separate occasions.

“Hey, um, Katie—“

“Oi, Maggie!” A voice just behind us caused me to jump in surprise, a third voice had been unexpected, and I managed to almost trip over my own feet as I turned to see the source of it. Even in the pale light of the stars, I could see Cal approaching. Something about his build, I suppose. Or the way he walked. Maybe both—just made it obvious. On top of the very fact it wasn’t Oliver, and I wasn’t quite certain precisely who else would know my name here. I took a step or two in his direction, carefully tugging the blanket up a bit around my shoulders. My brow furrowed slightly as I recalled the phone conversation we had while I was in Rhode Island. I was kind of surprised to see that he seemed willing to talk with me, in all honesty.

“Cal, uh, hey. You startled me.”

He slowed to a stop a few paces away, and I did the same. The brunette shifted, dropping his hands into his pockets as he watched me with an expression I couldn’t quite place. A few moments of silence passed before he spoke again. “So, you’re back, I see. Suppose you and Dreyton had some kind of squabble while you were gone? Rumor has it he showed up at Molly Darcy’s kind of. Pissed.”

I blinked a few times; a small hint of something I intentionally tried not to place pulsing slightly at the back of my mind. Something unpleasant. Something bitter. “Ah. Um… Who’s… Molly Darcy?”

Cal proceeded to raise an eyebrow, before offering a shrug. “Molly Darcy is the pub we all hit up when we want a drink. Don’t worry, Maggie. Your boy didn’t go to another chick’s house.”

I was grateful for the dark of night at that point; feeling the heat of a flush color my face as I gave my head a rapid shake. “He’s not—No. He’s not—that.”

All I received from the Charleston native was a laugh, nothing but amusement gleaming in his eyes as he took a step forward, giving my shoulder a fairly rough pat.

“Jeez, Maggie, I’m just messing with you, calm down. But yeah, he’s apparently downtown right now. Duncan ran into him. Anyways. Um. How’d your trip go?”

I fell silent in response to that for a moment; casting my gaze down as I tugged at the blanket once more. To my right, I noticed the shift of a figure. Oh. I’d almost forgotten Katie was there for a moment.

“And who is this?” Cal spoke first. It didn’t take much to tell from the sound of his tone that his attention was quickly shifting elsewhere. To Hell with my trip and how it had gone. Ladykiller Cal had just set eyes on my best friend. I spared him a small glance then, unsurprised to find his eyes trained steadily on the blonde at my side. Thank god for distractions, I suppose.

“Cal, this is Katie. Katie, Cal. He lives in the house next door to us. I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of him this summer.”

Cal wasted no hand thrusting his hand forward, and with a smile, Katie took it before offering a gentle shake.

“Nice to meet you, Cal.”

“You too.” He smiled back, slowly releasing her hand. I managed to raise an eyebrow as I spared him a glance, before looking in her direction. Whether she realized it or not, she had her “Charmer” smile on. She’d never really had bad taste, and appearance wise, I could see how Cal was right up her alley. Something about him was vaguely reminiscent of Daniel Adriens, after all. If she was interested in him even the slightest, maybe I’d found something to perhaps put an end to Cal’s own interest in me.

I watched them for a few moments as they exchanged tentative looks, before clearing my throat a bit. Cal, at least, stopped. Katie on the other hand, kept that too innocent smile on her face. I couldn’t help but give my head a shake.

“Er. Was there something you needed, or did you just want to say hello?” My voice broke the silence between the three of us, and Cal gave a small nod before quickly shaking his head instead.

“It’s… nothing important. Another time. Just something I wanted to discuss. But you’ve got company, so it can wait.” With a shrug, he shoved his hands back in his pockets once more.

I gave a slow nod in return as the night breeze pulled a few strands of hair into my face. “Nothing important” was a bald faced lie. Something was up. But I wasn’t going to push it. Not then, at least.

“…Right, yeah,” I said.

Cal nodded once more, an awkward tension filling the air as he gave a glance towards the ocean. “Hey, uh, there’s a few volleyball games tomorrow at the Windjammer with me and the guys. You two should come, meet some of the locals. It’ll be a good time.”

“Windjammer?” Katie piped in. Right. I hadn’t filled her in on that yet. And apparently I wasn’t going to. Before I could even get a word out, Cal launched into an explanation of the Windjammer and the little shops and restaurants that populated the central tourist point of the Isle of Palms. Katie listened with obvious interest, soon looking to me with pleading eyes.

“Maggie, it sounds like a blast, can we go?”

I didn’t exactly consider watching a bunch of dude-bros play volleyball “a blast” but, I wasn’t about to deny Katie a bit of fun, and perhaps a chance to talk to Cal more, if that’s what she wanted. Hell, it might help take her mind off of Oliver. I offered a quiet sigh and a nod, muttering, “Not as though I really had anything else planned. I don’t see why not.”

“Great, sounds like we’ll be there, then.” And Katie smiled at Cal once again. He smiled back, of course, and I once again found myself glancing between them with what I could only assume to be a deadpan look.

“Cool. Now that that’s all settled, I think I want to head back so I can at least try to get a bit of shut eye before she drags me down the beach at the crack of dawn. Night, Cal. See you tomorrow.”

I offered a limp wave, managing to keep a hold on my blanket before I moved past Cal. Katie would either follow after, or walk with Cal back. Either was fine with me really. I didn’t glance over my shoulder as I began to make my way down the shoreline; following our footprints all the way to the Dreyton’s beach house.

***

It wasn’t the first time I woke up to my own sobs with in the last few months; it wasn’t the first time I’d woken up to hitched breath and what felt like an inability to get any air into my lungs. I could feel the cold sheen of sweat and tears on my face, feel the biting sensations of panic and heartbreak resonating through my being without relenting. This wasn’t new, but it was still hellish each and every time. I could hear my own voice heaving a series of garbled pleas and curses, and I began to take notice of the not so subtle shaking of my hands and arms.
What wasn’t expected was the tight grip my quaking hands had on something; the warmth beneath the fabric my face was pressed to, or the arms wrapped tightly around me. The voice, I wasn’t even sure how I hadn’t processed that at all. Night terrors can be one hell of a thing, I suppose.

“Maggie, it’s okay, just breathe. Please breathe, can you do that for me?”

I tried to focus on that, the all too familiar voice, the one that plagued my dreams. I squeezed my eyes shut, inhaling an uneven breath before exhaling with another sob. The rapid-fire inhale-exhales weren’t doing me any good, weren’t calming me down in the least as I spewed another series of choked words. I felt a hand in my hair, gently stroking through the tangled strands as his other arm kept its place wrapped tightly around me. Gripping the font of his shirt a bit tighter, I did everything I could to fixate on his voice, the soft, reassuring murmurs as he tried to calm me down.

“Just a dream, Maggie. It’s over now. You’re not alone, okay? I’m right here. It’s going to be okay, I promise.” Oliver’s voice was so much like the one from my dreams; so similar to the ghost I had lost. That was both a gift and a curse. Nothing could be as reassuring, while simultaneously being so very heartbreaking.

“I-I’m s-so sorry… It’s a-all my fault—“ I choked out another sob. He simply shushed me; carefully running a hand through my hair again. He didn’t say anything else as my sobs died down, as I found the ability to breathe again. Hiccups and hitched breaths continued long after I’d exhausted myself to quietly crying against his chest. My eyes felt puffy as I opened them slightly; vision blurred by the tears that clung to my lashes. Finally, I managed one deep, if not shaky breath.

“…Feeling better?” His voice was soft and reassuring, perhaps a bit tired as well. I gave a small nod, not able to find the will to move my head from it’s place against his chest. Nights like these were so exhausting. My eyes fell shut again, grip on his shirt relaxing only the slightest. “Good. You had me worried.”

“I… Sorry…”

“Its fine. You don’t need to apologize, Maggie,” he sighed; the weariness in his own voice was undeniable. Very carefully, I pushed myself slightly back from Oliver Dreyton. He seemed almost reluctant to let me go, but. He did. My fingers were still trembling a bit as I wiped my eyes, sniffling a few times.

“I hope… I didn’t wake you up, I… thought I closed my door,” my voice was a scratchy mutter, and tiredly, I turned my eyes up to look at him. Oliver looked exhausted himself, circles under his eyes fairly prominent. Even the glasses couldn’t hide that.

“No, I just came in, actually. And your door was shut, so don’t worry about that. I just. Heard you when I was coming down the hall. I couldn’t not check on you.” He paused a moment, glancing to the side. When he spoke again, his voice was barely above a whisper. “How… often does that happen to you?”

The room fell silent for a minute, and in the shadows of the night I turned my gaze back down once more. “It’s… been worse lately. With everything that’s happened. It eased up for a few months. But, never fully gone away I suppose.”

“I’m so sorry, Maggie.”

I shook my head at that. “Not your fault. I just… have a lot of guilt about. Things. I suppose I’m subconsciously torturing myself, really.”

He was quiet again. I let my eyes fall shut once more, biting the inside of my lip as I felt the heat begin to sting at the corners of my eyes once more. The memory of the dream was fading, but it was still there, and probably would remain until I fell back asleep. I jumped slightly as I felt his hand gently grasp for my own, tensing up as he gave a small squeeze. “You’re torturing yourself with a guilt that doesn’t even belong to you, and I wish I knew how to make you stop.”

I couldn’t stop the scoff that left me then, wiping at my eyes once more with my free hand. “It’s my fault they’re all…”

“No. No it isn’t,” Oliver Dreyton cut me off with a slightly biting tone. It echoed a tone I was only used to from Simon, effectively shutting me up. A sigh left him then, his thumb lightly rubbing the back of my hand. “Sorry. I just. Wish I could convince you of that.”

“Much easier said than done,” I muttered, unable to stifle a yawn that left me. “…Although, a part of me wishes you could.”

He didn’t respond to that, just. Quietly continued to rub circles on the back of my hand until I felt drowsiness beginning to take hold once more. The pull of sleep was still alarming though, and I jerked myself only slightly more awake as I started to doze off.

“Hey, Maggie, go back to sleep, okay? I’ll stay here until you do. Promise. No more nightmares for now.” Oliver’s voice was as soft as a down comforter in that instant, and I found myself wanting to believe the words he spoke. No more nightmares. He wouldn’t leave. I gave a small, drowsy nod, shifting to let my head rest on the pillow once more. My one hand was still clasped in his, and I felt the fingers of his other hand in my hair once more. The pull of sleep was too much to deny at that point, and slowly but surely, my hold on his hand became lax.

For a change, Oliver Dreyton was the last thing on my mind before I fell back asleep
♠ ♠ ♠
Every night, I dream you're still here.
The ghost by my side, so perfectly clear

-Digital Daggers

Insomnia is a bitch. I figured I may as well put it to good use. Enjoy.