CHAPTER SIXTEEN:
DREAMS BECOME REALITY

SHE DIDN'T KNOW WHY SHE was so
nervous. Walking down the halls, turning the corner, she made her way into the room in which Charles was sitting. He stopped what he was doing, glancing up to look at the blonde who stood there, as if silently asking if she could come in. He nodded, and she closed the door behind her, sitting down in front of him. Charles studied the girl for a moment, watching as her eyes darted around the room.

     "Aurelia." Charles calmly spoke her name, making the girl jump as she looked at him. "What's wrong?"

     "How did my parents really die?" Aurelia asked, tears already forming in her eyes. "I believe you when you say it was an accident, but everything else I'm a little hesitant on. You lied to Jean, and we see how that turned out, so Charles, if there is something you aren't telling me, I'm practically begging you to tell me."

     Charles looked at the girl for a moment. He knew that Aurelia was nice, everyone in the school knew that, but he also knew that she had her breaking point, and knowing about her family was right at that line. He closed his eyes as a sigh fell from his lips, before deciding it would be easier to simply just rip off the band-aid. "You have a sister."

Out of everything he could have said, somehow letting her know that she had a sister was something that did not occur to her at all. Her mouth opened slightly, words unable to form as the four words ran through her head. She had a sister, an older sister she assumed. And she was only just learning about her.

     She swallowed thickly, stuttering out her words. "I-what-what is she like?"

     "She is the reason your parents are dead."

     "What?" Her brows furrowed as a tear slipped down her cheek. She shook her head. "What-what do you mean?"

     "Her name is Raelynn Quinn." Charles informed her. "She looks just like you, same blonde hair and everything, only older. Like you, Raelynn has special abilities of her own. She's the reason why we knew where you were, why we had the chance to take you in, because she wanted us to. I told her to come as well, but she said that she was too dangerous to be around anyone."

     "Why did she kill them?" Aurelia whispered. Her voice almost sounded broken. "Why did she kill our parents?"

     "Like I said, the death of your parents was an accident. Raelynn's powers are. . . complicated. She hadn't figured out a way to control it. Whenever she goes to sleep. . . her dreams become a reality. Dark or light dreams, doesn't matter. They physically come to life, and they walk around, and sometimes they harm people that get in the way." He watched as more tears rolled down her cheeks. "Your parents woke up, knew what was happening, and tried to get to her. But her nightmare got to them first, and they were killed. You were so young, and there was so much blood everywhere, I didn't think that I six year old girl deserved to remember something so traumatic as that."

Aurelia looked down, her eyes wide as more tears escaped. She didn't know what to say. Not only did she have a sister, but her sister was the one who had accidentally killed her parents all because she was trying to get a good nights rest. She was shocked into silence, barely glancing up when Charles spoke again.

     "I'm sorry for not telling you. I should have never done what I did without your permission. But it's what your sister wanted."

     "Is she. . . is she still alive?" She looked up, frowning as she looked at the Professor.

     He sighed, shaking his head slightly. "In all honesty, Aria, I don't know whether or not she's alive. And if she is, I don't know where to find her. She knows how to keep herself well hidden."

     "Can you, uh, can you try?" Aurelia whispered, her voice cracking as she met his eyes. "Can you try to track her down? Please? If this thing with Jean goes the way I have a feeling it's going to go, I don't know if I'm going to be able to stay here much longer. And I just, I don't know, it'd be nice to know what she's like. To know what my parents were like."

     Charles nodded his head. "I'll do everything I can."

     Aurelia muttered a small thanks, going to stand up before a thought occurred to her. She stopped, her hands holding onto the armrests of the chair as she looked up towards Charles with slightly narrowed eyes. "Can you remove it? The block I mean?" She saw his hesitance. "Charles, please." Finally, the man sighed and moved around the table.

     "Are you sure?" He carefully asked. Aurelia didn't answer, and instead just met his eyes. With a sigh, he nodded. And before she knew it, the block was removed and she was sucked into a memory.

The six year old sat up at the sound of a scream abruptly forcing her awake. She frowned, her hair a disheveled mess. She gripped her teddy bear tightly in her hands, making her way from her room and towards the living room as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She looked at her older sister who was standing there with horror on her face and tears filling her eyes.

     "Sissy?" She quietly asked.

     Raelynn's head snapped towards her little sister, her eyes widening. "Ari, Ari go back to bed."

The little girl ignored her, turning her head only to stop when she saw her mother and father laying there. Blood coated their bodies. Raelynn was quick to run up to her sister, moving her head away from the body of her dead parents. Tears rolled down the little girls cheeks as she looked at Raelynn who kneeled down so that she was meeting her eye level. She cupped Aurelia's cheeks in her hands.

     "Just look at me." Raelynn shook her head, trying to keep her own tears from falling. "Just look at me, okay?"

     "What's wrong with mommy and daddy?"

     Swallowing thickly, Raelynn met her sisters eyes. "An accident happened. Okay? An accident happened, and I couldn't stop it. I couldn't―︎I couldn't stop them from getting hurt." She's ran a hand through Aurelia's hair. "The police and ambulance are on their way. So is social services."

     "Social what?"

     "Social services." Raelynn let in a shaky breath. "People who are going to take you away, okay? Take you somewhere safe."

     "I don't wanna go." Aurelia shook her head, a fresh new set of tears falling. "I don't wanna go, don't make me go, Rae I don't wanna go."

     "I know, I know."

     "I don't wanna leave you. I wanna stay with you. Don't let them take me."

     "Ari―︎"

Aurelia threw her arms tightly around her older sister, sobbing into her shoulder as she repeated over and over that she didn't want to go. But when they arrived, they were quick to rip the girl from her sisters arms, causing her to cry out and thrash in the man's arms as she tried to reach for Raelyn who watched her leave with a reassuring smile.

     "I'll find you, Aria." Were Raelynn's last words before Aurelia was placed into the car, and was driven away from the crimson stained home.