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~ Day Dreams ~
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~ Chapter Thirty Four ~
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~ Shadowed Ghosts ~
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~ Eighteen-Years-Old ~
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~ Hazel's POV ~
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Emerald blue eyes focus on the seaside road as nature, traffic, and the ocean pass me by. On one side of the review mirror are shadows of vast trees and nature. On the other side is the afternoon sun glaring and blinding me as birds fly high in the sky. The shadows motion and reflect upon the thick glass on the sides of the car.

I roll down the window next to me as the wild wind breaks loose, blowing through my half-up half-down, honey blonde strands with small amounts of apricot red regrowths visible on top. No more lies. I promised myself. I vow to tell Jake the truth after Summer break.

No more will I pretend to be Summer and I will tell Jake Rivers who I really am — Hazel. But in reality, and only in my wildest daydreams, it sounds like a childish fantasy. I have a difficult journey ahead of me but the most difficult part is if Jake believes — Hazel is alive... I still cannot believe that Jake's mother convinced Jake I was gone. Jake's mother is the only suspect I can muster and who would have a motive to remove me from Jake's life. Maybe that is it? If I just remove myself from Jake's life altogether then no harm done... before I screw up even more! Should I take the painful road of truth or the road full of guilt...?

Before I left the campus grounds I hugged my two best friends, Honey and Jordan. They have both grown close to my heart and I consider them as a family now and that is more than I could have asked for — to be accepted into this grey world.

When leaving campus I avoided Jake as best as I could and with luck on my side, I did not see him. Plus, I wanted to avoid Chanel because she is going to be a big problem later on because of her selfishness. I have never met anyone as self-centered as Chanel and she is even worse than my foster siblings and that is saying something. But we are more alike than a viable eye can see beneath the surface. We are different but with the same pain.

After an hour of driving, I finally arrive home in one piece. I texted Emma earlier before I left the college campus so she knew I was on my way home. Emma stands on the driveway holding Forest and standing next to Gus who is waving, Emma's brother. They step back so I can park the car and when cutting the engine, I jump out of the car and close the car door, hugging my family in the process who I have missed dearly.

After settling into the spare room which I can now call my own. We sit down for a nice family dinner but afterward Gus went to bed early, (his heart is a great bother to him) leaving Emma and me to talk at the dining table. I fill in Emma on some details about college like friends, good grades but not all the details. I leave out the Jake part because I need to remove him from my life so I do not screw up his life. That is the least I can do.

*   *    *

The next couple of months fall slow but I finish all my assignments and homework over the Summer break and now I just find myself reading novels and regretting my bad decisions.

When I trashed the washout dyes it felt good knowing now that being different is okay. I can finally be the real me with red hair with no more lies drowning me whole. I have to shower twice a day until my body is prune; in order to wash out the dye I used a two months ago.

Wash, after wash, after wash, my hair finally looks how it used to be but dry from the over washing. Frizzy apricot hair, head full of endless waves down the length of my back. I am no longer Summer with honey blonde hair. Instead, I am Hazel Anne with an 'e' Summers with carrot hair. I was born a fighter and I hope just like my mother was. Maybe this is what my nightmares mean when my mother says 'we are closer than you think we are'.

The heat beats down hard onto the tin roof all summer long, as sun showers break loose on the roof and slips and slides down the windows, making the air feel muggy. Every night into Summer break my nightmares worsen and lead into night sweats again, however, these dreams per se were never-ending. Every single night and when I space out daydreaming they appear and have lasted all Summer long.

For some odd reason the night terrors would always subside when Jake was near, but it never occurred to me that he was still protecting me even if he did not know it himself. I cannot think about Jake! Get him out of your head, Hazel!

However, these nightmares all Summer long are never-ending dreams of Fiona again... But on the second last night of the Summer break, was another episode of sleep paralysis within the dead of night, sending shivers throughout my entire body.

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Heavy eyelids peel gaping as I gasp for air, staring at the ceiling of the bedroom. However, my body cannot move an inch because I am pinned to the bed. My eyes are the only part of my body that can manage to blink at this given moment.

The bedroom door creaks ajar and opens with a bang but I cannot see who or what creeps through the door. My breathing hitches in my throat as I swallow a lump that is stuck within my windpipe. My heart rate quickens as blood rushes to my skull causing an extensive amount of dizziness.

Slow, heavy footsteps lead their way towards the bed as I twitch in order to break free from the stiffness. But to my disappointment, I am with no luck. Then I see her... Fiona!

I scramble but my body stays intact as my eyes agape at the sight of Fiona. Using every ounce I have left in me, but still my screams muffle as my body would not allow it. A silent tear falls down my porcelain cheek as I sob to myself.

Is Fiona here to kill me? I deserve it. I deserve to be punished. I am a liar and a coward and I deserve the pain.

"Hazel," Fiona's voice growls, staring me down causing shivers up my spine, "I finally have you all alone with nowhere you can hide."

I try to speak but no words form out of my stuttering mouth. Instead I continue to sob to myself.

Fiona laughs, then all of a sudden she is on top of my body wrapping her sausage-like fingers around the small of my neck and squeezes, causing a limited amount of air rushing to my brain.

"Hazel, you're a coward just like your good-for-nothing of a mother," Fiona spits, "You've avoided me all summer. You're a pathetic orphan and orphans are all trash."

Fiona continues to choke me to death as silent tears form in the corners of my eyes. My breath hitches in my throat as I continue to listen to the revengeful Fiona.

Fiona no longer appears like Fiona. Her stares are ghostly as she transforms into a dark shadowy figure, still choking me dry. I have moments if not seconds to live but I need to find a way out of this nightmare...

That is it! This is not real. This is just a figment of my inner dark imagination. Wake up, Hazel! Hazel, you need to move!

I squeeze my hands into fists and the knuckles turn white under the pressure. I pry the shadow's hands off my neck and scream as loud as I can.

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I scramble out of the bedsheets and lean up against the plaster of the wall, as my breathless screams continue to muffle within my throat. I pant as sweat covers my entire body from head to toe, staring at fingernail marks imprinted into my dry bloody hands once again. I wipe my eyes with the back of my hands and motion them into fists, planting them on either side of my face and ponder whether or not I am still dreaming.

A gust of wind blows through the open window as the thin curtains sway, intertwining within the nights' breeze. Dim light reflects from the full moon from above the clear night sky full of endless stars. Shadows from the window reflect onto the wooden, planked floor and onto the bedsheets of the bed. The light in the dark of the night rests upon Forest's thick fur and my emerald blue eyes, which glow in the dim of the moonlight as I stare at my reflection in a mirror, leaning against the wall. A cold breeze causes shivers throughout my whole body, as my stomach boils inside like a volcano about to explode at any given moment at the thought of Fiona.

Fiona...! She makes me mad as a hatter, but why do I feel scared at the same time? I guess it is just my guilty conscience and being a pathetic coward... I need to swallow my pride and face Fiona, alone... I need answers from the one and only person who is capable of providing information who happens to be in a mental institution. Fiona...!

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~ Cheers ~
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Please, tell me in the comments what you thought about Chapter Thirty Four? 🙈 I'll be greatly appreciated, thank you, you very kind soul!
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~ Chapter Thirty Four ~
~ Dedications ~
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HeliiBoh
DebMorey
PeterPetruzzella
CaitlinWoodward9
DaniJones_14
ChloeMayerhofer
savvvy1998
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You guys should totally check out PeterPetruzzella short story! Lighthouse. It's amazing!
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You guys should totally check out ChloeMayerhofer story! Fallen! It's awesome!
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C.Morey 🥕 xoxo
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