Chapter 16: XVI

Isabell POV

When I woke up, everything around me seemed like it had been painted with new colours, colors that were too bright, colours that almost blurred my vision.

The ceiling above me swayed slightly, or maybe it was just my eyes. My entire body ached, a dull, unrelenting throb that made me want to sink deeper into the bed, shut my eyes, and not come awake until I finally could wake up without pain.

I shut my eyes and opened them a number of times and yet there was really no difference to the view in front of me.

And migraines? They hit me like a sledgehammer and left me on the bed. The pain in my head seemed to increase with each attempt I made to get up.

Something wasn't right, I knew this even though my head felt fuzzy, something just wasn't right, but I couldn't remember what it was. What was wrong?

I tried to sit up, but the pain flared sharply, pulling a groan from my lips. My hands clutched the duvet as I pushed myself up slowly, wincing with every movement.

“Zoe?” My voice came out hoarse, scratchy. It sounded foreign to my own ears. I could not recognize it for a few seconds after talking.

A shuffle of footsteps echoed from somewhere outside the room. A moment later, the door opened, and Zoe got inside, with a very troubled look hounding her face. But it seemed to wear off, replaced by a calmer and relieved look.

“Isabell, you’re awake," She said, coming towards the bed and sitting on it. “What’s wrong?” She asked, noticing my expression.

“Isabell?” Her tone became more concerned when I didn't say anything in reply.

I shook my head, trying hard to get rid of the fog clouding my mind. “It’s nothing,” I murmured. “I don't know… I feel different, everything hurts and it feels like I missed out on something.”

Zoe frowned. “You’ve been sleeping all morning. Maybe it’s the flu? You look like you’ve been through something.”

“Flu? What flu? I don't remember having

the flu”

She looked at me, confused. “But… you’ve had one since yesterday.”

I was confused, unsure of where she got that information from. “Even if I have the flu, I don't think it's the reason why I feel this way. I had a strange dream.” I whispered the last part and tried to avoid her gaze, so that she wouldn't notice how pale I suddenly seemed.

Her mouth fell open, her eyebrows knitted together “What dream? Tell me.”

I was hesitant, I didn't want her to look at me as crazy . I swallowed nervously and closed my eyes, trying my best to keep out the vivid images that filled my head, the cool breeze of the night, I could still feel it on my skin. I clenched my teeth, feeling my jaw clench as tightly as possible.

My breathing came faster, shallow breaths as I struggled to keep my head straight, I didn't have enough control over my hands.

“Isabell, tell me the dream” She insisted.

This time I was unable to hold back, my shoulders began trembling,” There was this creature. It had golden eyes, Zoe. Bright, glowing golden eyes. It kept calling out to me, like it wanted me to follow it.”

“Follow it? ” Zoe repeated. Her eyes widened, staring at me.

I nodded my head frantically. “Yeah..." I hesitated, unsure if what I was saying made any sense.

Zoe tilted her head, her expression, cautious. “What kind of creature?” Her arms were crossed around her chest as she pressed on to listen.

“I’m not sure,” I admitted, my voice dropping to a whisper. “It looked dangerous, big, and powerful. But at first I wasn’t scared of it. I should’ve been, but I wasn’t. It was like… I felt drawn to it.”

Zoe stared at me, and then her expression softened and she leaned forward to wrap her arms loosely around my shoulders, holding me. For several moments, we sat in silence, only the sound of our breathing filling the air between us.

“Bad dreams happen all the time, Izzy. You shouldn’t let it get to you,” She mumbled, rubbing small circles over my shoulder blades.

I squeezed my eyes tighter together, “I know. I know they do. It doesn’t help me understand it.” I said.

“It didn’t feel like just a bad dream,” I muttered. “It felt real. In fact, for some reason I wouldn't even call it bad.”

Zoe reached out, placing a comforting hand on my arm. “You’re probably just stressed. It’s okay, though. You’ll be fine. Don’t overthink things.”

I nodded slowly, even though my mind was still troubled by the dream.

“I’ll try my best...”

She hummed softly in response, still caressing my arm. She looked like she wanted to say something, but held herself back, waiting for me to speak first.

Something about it didn’t sit right with me. It wasn’t just the golden eyes or the strange pull I’d felt. It was the way it all felt so… real. And how come I could barely remember much? That question resounded in my head for a really long time.

As I stared down at my hands, another thought crept into my mind. Levi. I couldn’t stop thinking about why he had left me last night, denying me pleasure.The way his eyes had looked at me like I was the only thing that mattered. I looked up at Zoe, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Where’s Levi?”

"You don't need to bother yourself so much, Izzy," she said, placing both hands on my shoulders.

“Zoe, what’s going on? Answer me, where is Levi?” I asked, this time I was worried.

I put down her hands from my shoulders, watching her face. Something strange was going on, I couldn’t quite wrap my fingers around it, but I knew something strange was going on.

“Isabell, I told you already, it’s nothing. Seriously. Look around, there are no such things as creatures with glowing eyes, don’t you think it’s crazy?” Zoe’s tone was dismissive, leaving no room for arguments from me.

The memories seemed even brighter now. I swallowed hard and stared down at my hands. “It wasn’t just the golden-eyed creature. There was more.”

Her brow furrowed as she leaned forward. “More? Like what?”

I took a deep breath, the memory or vision, or dream, or whatever it was, playing in my mind like a movie on repeat.

“I followed the creature into the woods. It wasn’t like I wanted to, it was more like I had to, you know? Like something was pulling me toward it.”

Zoe’s lips pressed into a thin line, but she nodded for me to continue.

“And then… We were attacked. There were other creatures that came out of nowhere. But the golden-eyed one… it protected me. It fought them off, and I…I don’t know how, but I knew it was trying to keep me safe.”

Zoe’s eyes widened slightly, but she quickly masked her reaction with a small, reassuring smile. “That sounds intense, Isabell but…”

“It’s not just that,” I interrupted, “I remember falling. One of the creatures knocked me over, and I hit my head. Hard. But then everything else is blank. I don’t remember how I got back here, Zoe. I don’t remember walking out of those woods.”

“You need to stop Isabell, you are scaring me.”

When I looked at her fearful eyes and the way she clutched her stomach protectively, I knew I had gone too far.

I dropped my gaze from hers and sighed softly, taking my gaze away from her.

“I am sorry.”