Blood.

There's so much blood.

It clouds my vision until all I see is red. My white sneakers have turned scarlet. It's on my hands, my knees, in my hair.

How can there be so much of it?

How can there be any left flowing in his veins when it's spilled all over the floor like crimson paint?

The ambulance is taking too long. The body on the floor has gone still, unmoving. There's no pulse in the wrist I hold. There's no rise and fall of his chest.

There's no heartbeat.

"Audrey." Someone shakes my shoulders and my eyes start to clear. I'm no longer in the lake house staring at the body on the floor; I'm outside on my knees in the grass. "Audrey, it's me Brennan. Are you okay? You need to breathe."

"It was when that girl screamed." I vaguely hear Carter's anxious voice in the background. "She fell to the floor and started to hyperventilate."

"She'll be okay, she just needs a minute." This time it's Saige who speaks. "Given what happened last time she was here, I'm not surprised the sound of someone screaming caused her to panic."

"I should take her home." Carter again. "I have my car."

"I'm okay," I whisper hoarsely, struggling to believe it myself. "Sorry."

"No I am." Saige crouches down in front of me, her hazel eyes swimming with regret. "I should never have forced you to come here."

"What happened?" I'm not even sure why I ask, I don't think I want to know.

"Some girl cut her foot open on a piece of broken glass. Her boyfriend's taken her to the hospital to get stitched up."

Okay, that's okay. I can handle that. The thought of history repeating itself is what has me on edge.

"Come Audrey, let me take you home." Carter's holds his hand out to me and I gratefully take it, struggling to my feet. "I'll make sure she's alright."

"Are you sure?" Saige asks, still hovering near me as if she's afraid I'm so fragile I might break.

Maybe I am.

"Yeah. Stay, have fun. Tell Rhea I say bye." I don't see her anywhere around. "Thanks Brennan."

He nods his head. His usually warm brown eyes are clouded over. "Get her home safe."

Carter pulls me along, our fingers still entwined. I follow willingly, ready to get the hell away from this awful place. With the dream still playing on my mind and now the memories threatening to overwhelm me, I know I won't get any sleep tonight.

Carter leads me to his silver truck and opens the door for me, finally releasing my hand. I feel bereft, as if he was the anchor that was holding me down, and without the contact I may float away.

The drive to my house is silent, neither of us saying a word. I'm too lost in my thoughts to even appreciate the fact that Carter is driving me home, something I have secretly been wishing for.

It's only when he parks his truck outside my house that Carter finally speaks. "You won't feel this way forever, Audrey."

"I thought I was finally starting to move on." I'm ashamed at the catch in my voice and the tears that threaten to spill from my eyes.

His hand lands on my thigh and gives it a reassuring squeeze. "I can't even begin to imagine what you're going through. It was bad enough just being there when it happened. But you loved him; of course it's going to be hard to move on. Some scars take longer to heal."

"It's more than that. I had a dream last night." I'm not sure why I'm telling him. I think I just need to get it off my chest and he has been so understanding and kind tonight. "Rhea, Brennan and Saige were all dead."

I expect him to recoil away in horror. To remove his hand from my thigh as though he has been burned and try put as much space as possible between us in the confines of his car.

He doesn't. Instead, he nods slowly as though my words don't surprise him.

"Do you have dreams like that often?"

"All the time," I admit. "Most nights they're flashbacks, memories of what happened. But this one felt different. It felt so real. I haven't been able to get it out of my head."

"I've read that it's common for people who," he pauses as if he is afraid he will offend me, "went through something traumatic to experience night terrors."

There's something that he's not telling me. I can see it in his eyes. A storm is brewing behind the beautiful blue of his irises. I want to know, but I'm too scared to ask. So I leave it, knowing he would tell me if it was really important.

"Thank you, Carter. For being so kind and for the ride home." I unbuckle my seatbelt, ready to climb out, but his hand reaches out and grabs my arm.

"You know you can come to me with anything right? I know we drifted apart a bit after what happened, but we're still friends. I'm always here for you Audrey."

We didn't 'drift apart'. I pushed everyone away by becoming a different person. I'm still struggling to find my way back to who I was before.

"Thank you," I whisper, but it sounds deafening in the small space between us.

"Always." This time when he says it, it sounds like a promise. "Here's your phone."

Why does he have it? Did Saige give it to him during my meltdown?

I take it from him without question and exit the car, offering him a small wave as I head to my front door. Slipping inside the house quietly, I pause for a moment to make sure my parents are sleeping before climbing the stairs to my room.

I need to get the memories of tonight out of my head. I need to stop thinking about my dream. Carter is a nice distraction, but it doesn't last. The panic returns as soon as he's gone. I settle for the next best option, turning the water in my shower to scalding hot and stepping in.

I scrub under the cascade of water for so long that the temperature turns cold and my skin is red and raw.

And yet, I can still feel the blood on my hands.