Video on the side is the first trailer made for this book, and I absolutely love it. Go, check it out and let me know what you think of it. :D

Happy reading! :)

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Chapter Six

Waking up to a nightmare in the middle of the night was disconcerting, but waking up to it like it was a part of the routine was a different feeling altogether. And that's how it had been for me since the time I woke up from the coma.

Every night I would dream of what I had learnt about my past life during the day, and each time, that dream turned into one of my many worst nightmares. Tonight's nightmare was just another one to add to the list.

I couldn't always recollect these dreams piece by piece, but whatever I did remember, was enough to send shivers down my spine. Tonight, I had been thrown back into the house I supposedly called home, the house that I had left not even twenty-four hours ago.

A series of events—that I couldn't recall—later, I was left kneeling on the floor of the living room, my hands wrapped around my throat as I was gasping for air. Beads of sweat slid down my forehead as my eyes were fixated on the walls of the house that were closing in on me, and upon the graves of my parents in front of me. I didn't understand how the graves were dug in my house's living room, though what caught my attention was the grave that was dug beside my parents' graves, a tombstone placed over it with my name carved on it. Just as I was about to fall into that unoccupied grave, I woke up, breathing heavily as I sat up with a start.

I exhaled a few fatigued breaths, burying my face into my hands as I waited for my erratic breathing to calm down. After a few moments of listening into the silence of the night, I let out a small sigh, relieved that at least the nightmare wasn't one of those that had me screaming. If it were, Ethan would have been by my side when I woke up—like he always was.

I reached a hand beneath my pillow, searching blindly for my phone, and once I found it, I quickly pulled it out from underneath my pillow. I crinkled my eyes as the sharp brightness of the lit screen clashed with the soothing darkness of the room, and groaned lowly when my eyes fell on the small clock displayed on its top right corner.

1:42 A.M.

I kept the phone back on the bed with its screen facing down, its brightness slowly dying, and let my head fall back on the pillow with a soft thud. A low guttural sound escaped my lips as my irritation began to grow. It hadn't even been three hours since I went to sleep and I was awake already.

"Frigging nightmares," I murmured sulkily, turning on my side and closing my eyes, trying to fall back into a deep slumber, hopefully minus the nightmares now.

After having forced myself to go back to sleep, and failing, for what felt like a long time, I finally gave up on tossing and turning around in my bed in hopes of finding a more comfortable position to sleep in. I knew it from my past experiences that nothing would help me fall back asleep; sleep would only come to me after a few hours now. Even then, I had decided that there was no harm in trying once again, even if I didn't succeed.

I sighed, sitting up on my bed and grabbing my phone, lighting its screen once again. I exhaled deeply as the digital clock on the screen displayed 2:17 A.M. After a few more minutes of just sitting there in the dark, distractedly fiddling with my phone as I wondered what to do now, I decided to unpack some of my stuff.

I had been so tired after dinner that once Natalie and Daniel had left, I had resigned to the bed the moment Leah and Ethan went inside their own rooms. I hadn't even cared to bring my boxes inside my room, and right now seemed as good a time as any other to do it—obviously, keeping in mind to be as silent as a burglar would be.

I switched on the lights inside the room after getting off the bed, and pulled open the door, not bothering to put on more clothes over my tank top and pajama shorts. It was a hot summer night in Wishword City, probably the hottest till now, and I didn't want to drown in my own sweat as I moved the boxes around.

I made my way towards the kitchen first, helping myself with a glass of chilled water to comfort my parched throat, before going around the small area of the living room to gather my boxes and bring them in my room. I walked towards the last few boxes that Reece had dropped on the kitchen counter, and couldn't stop myself from pulling out the photo album that was peeking out from one of the boxes. I sat down on the high bar stool as I looked through the various photographs of myself, my siblings, my parents, and my friends. Most of them were clicked in my house; the same house that I had just revisited in my nightmare only minutes ago.

My eyes shut on their own accord, and my heartbeat rose as the scenes from the nightmare replayed in my head. It felt like the nightmare was to make me realize that I was supposed to be dead, too. It could be called the survivor's guilt, though, it felt like there was more to it than just that. The more I thought about it, the more I felt myself getting lost into the nightmare once again. To hold onto the reality, I grasped for something, anything that I could find, knocking off the glass—half filled with water—off the counter in the process. The sound of the glass shattering brought me out of my trance, and I took deep breaths to stop the trembling of my body. I felt a lone tear trace the curve of my cheek, and just as I went to wipe it, I heard a voice calling out to me.

"Raelyn? What the... What are you doing?" I could tell that Gale's confusion was slowly morphing into annoyance, but I didn't have the strength to get into yet another squabble with him.

"I'm sorry, I was just bringing my boxes inside my room," I said with a steady voice, however, much lower in volume than his loud one.

"It's past three in morning!" Disbelief was apparent in his voice as it raised a notch higher, and I felt a frown grow on my face. 'He is going to wake up Leah and Ethan, too,' I thought to myself.

"Yes, it is. I am sorry for waking you up this late, I didn't mean to," I said, still not turning around to look at him. I wasn't sure if I would be able to school my expression to not give away my distress. "And, please, can you not speak so loudly? The others are still asleep," I told him, hoping he would just leave and let me be. And he did.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? You're gonna pay for this, White," he said, his tone filled with a certain promise, however, this time he used a much lower voice which I was grateful for. A few seconds later, I heard shuffling of feet, and when I glanced over my shoulder, Gale's back was turned to me as he walked back towards his room. "Such a bitch." I heard him mutter, most likely, it wasn't meant for me to hear, but it was so silent around the room that I heard him anyway.

I sighed, not letting myself dwell over Gale's words, and placed the album back inside the box before lifting it up in my arms. Just as I turned around, I heard a distinct sound of a door being shut in a stealthy manner, and my eyes snapped towards it. It was Leah's door. I decided to drop the box once again on the counter to go, and check up on Leah.

I knocked softly on her door once before opening it just enough to poke my head inside, precisely in time to see Leah jump into her bed. A soft smile formed on my lips at her antics as I opened the door wider and walked towards her bed.

"Leah, did I wake you up?" I asked softly, peeking at her, trying to get a look at her face as her back was turned to me. She didn't offer me a response for several seconds, but I knew she was awake. I could sense her fast breathing. "Do you want me to tuck you in, sweetie?" I tried again, noticing how her covers were half falling off her body. When I didn't get a response once again, I made a move to tuck her in anyway.

The moment my hand touched the corner of her covers, it was snatched away from me, making my eyes find Leah's immediately. My brows furrowed at the anger in Leah's eyes, and my mouth parted slightly in bewilderment as I wondered what was wrong.

"Thanks, but I'll do it myself. Please leave," Leah said in a small voice, but the edginess of it didn't go unnoticed by me.

I stood there for a few more moments, just staring at her, and trying not to flinch at the hostility she was giving me. I couldn't understand what I had done wrong to make Leah so mad at me. "What's wro—" I began to ask, but she cut me off.

"You already woke me up, now at least let me go back to sleep," she said, turning away from me, letting me know that I wasn't welcomed there one bit.

I walked backwards a few steps, my eyes trained on her small body curled up on the bed, before I turned around and walked out the room, closing the door softly behind me. I was hurt by her words, and as much as I wanted to blame it on the crankiness for having been woken up in the middle of the night, it seemed that a huge piece was still missing from the puzzle. I remembered how Leah had requested Ethan to take the room across from hers, and how she tried to mask it but her reluctance in sharing a bathroom with me was still quite apparent, resulting in me taking the room across from Gale's and sharing a bathroom with him. I remembered how she had been so distant with me while I was in still in the hospital, coming to visit me only when forced. All of her actions showed her dislike for me, reason for which was still unknown to me. I always wondered if we were not the loving sisters from the start, despite what everyone else had told me.

I shifted the last few boxes in my room, all the while pondering over the day's events. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that things were being kept from me, and the more my frustration grew at that realization. Once inside my room, I drew apart the curtains just a bit before switching off the lights so the glimmer of the city casted a dim glow inside my room. I, then, plopped down on my bed, letting my thoughts once again wander to how powerless I was in finding out why Leah was behaving that way with me, and also, what problem Gale had with me.

***

I didn't know when I had fallen asleep last night, but my sleep didn't feel plenty enough when I was woken up again merely a few hours later. This time though, not from a nightmare but from music. Very loud Rock music, to be specific.

I groaned as I rubbed my eyes and poked around the covers for my phone, and groaned even louder when I saw the time on the screen. 7:04 A.M. My thoughts in that moment weren't meant to be heard by children as I sat up in my bed, glaring at the door from where the noise was coming from. I didn't know if it was because of the nightmares that were making me sleep deprived or if it was all me, but I had long since discovered that I wasn't a morning person. So having been woken up by the loud music just didn't settle well with me.

I dragged myself out of the bed with a set jaw and went out to find the source of the noise, although I could already make a pretty accurate guess as to who it was. No, I wasn't going to start another shouting match with him, but I could at least try to talk him into lowering the volume.

The moment I opened my door, I stood frozen in the doorway at the sight in front of me. My one hand rested on the doorknob and the other on the doorframe as my eyes widened for a brief moment before my eyebrows rose in cynicism. Directly across from my door was Gale's, where he was currently doing pull ups, dressed in only a pair of bright blue shorts that hung low enough on his waist to show off the beginnings of his v-line. Even though I appreciated the view, I found it impossible not to consider his egotistical motives behind it, and as if to attach value to my suspicions, he spoke up.

"Enjoying the view, White?" he asked arrogantly, his voice taking a bitter undertone when he addressed me by my last name.

Despite the slight blush coloring my cheeks, I crossed my arms on my chest as I leaned on the doorframe, my eyes narrowing as I looked Gale up and down, making sure he was noticing it. "Yeah," I answered with a nonchalant voice, giving him a one-shoulder shrug. "But it isn't attractive enough for me to notice it more than I already have, so I am going to go straight to the point. Could you ple-" I was cut short by a loud snicker from my right. There I saw Reece, lying flat against the floor on his stomach as he looked up at us while sniggering. His gear was much alike Gale's, no shirt and only a pair of light gray sweatpants, making me assume that he was doing push ups on the floor. I briefly wondered if he had stayed the night at our place or if he came back early in the morning.

"Morning, Raelyn," he greeted me, grinning as he stood up and dusted his torso with his palms, making my eyes roam down his body. I did find Reece more handsome than Gale, however, he didn't have as defined abs as Gale had. "If that view isn't good enough to keep your attention any longer, then I am sure I would have even worse luck with you," he said, making my eyes snap up to meet his. I noticed how his grin had widened at knowing that I was shamelessly staring at his body, making an embarrassed blush color my cheeks once again as I averted my eyes back to his.

I gave him a vibrant smile, something that was unusual for me to do in the mornings. "Morning to you too, Reece," I greeted him back, uncrossing my arms as I stood up straighter. "Well, if you must know, it's not the looks alone that I fall for. If I just had to pick one guy to date in this city, you would probably be on the top of my list, for now anyway. Though, don't get any ideas, alright?" I finished, fixing him with a stern look.

Reece merely chuckled at my words, coming to stand next to me and placing his arm over my shoulders. "Ah, it swells my heart to know that I am on the top of your list, even if it's only for a short time. I would make my peace with that," he said, looking amusedly at me, before adding, "for now anyway."

I glared at him playfully, shrugging his arm off of my shoulders. "Get away, you smell," I told him, scrunching my nose up as I pushed him away.

"So does your mouth. But did you see me complaining?" Reece asked, raising his eyebrows at me as if daring me to argue. I opened my mouth to speak but quickly closed it, only now feeling conscious about my morning breath after Reece—so politely—pointed it out. He took it as a sign for him to continue though. "No, I didn't. You know why? Because the view of you in the morning is pretty good. Even though the bed head is a bit too wild, it still goes well with the pajamas. I look at the bright side of everything, so should you, Raelyn!" I could feel my cheeks getting heated up for the nth time this morning, however, I managed to raise my eyebrows at him regardless of it. He only shrugged, looking down at me. "What? I was checking you out when you were doing the same to Gale," he said, laughing at my humiliated expression.

I didn't know what to say, though, a loud thumping noise from across us drew our attention away from the conversation, and I was silently grateful for the distraction. I turned to look at Gale, already knowing that the sound was of Gale finally planting his feet on the ground.

I watched with a blank expression as he dabbed the towel on his face before hanging it around his neck. "Could you please lower down the music, and not play it so loudly when everyone's still asleep?" I asked him, trying to mask my irritation as my thoughts went back to my disturbed morning sleep.

Gale scoffed as he looked at me, "No one else is home. Your siblings left with Natalie and her boyfriend at about six-thirty in the morning, though, it's something you should have already known." Gale's narrowed eyes at me were soon becoming a regularity that I might stop noticing even.

I bit the insides of my cheek, trying to hold my tongue to not reply with a snarky remark. I didn't like how he stressed the words 'her boyfriend' while referring to Daniel, his accusations from yesterday coming to my mind almost instantly. I took a deep breath, deciding to just ignore the butthead, after all, it was better to flatter a fool than fight him anyway.

Gale's words had just reminded me of Daniel and Natalie's offer to show us around the city a bit during a morning run as the city looked the most beautiful during the early hours—according to them. Despite my bad sleep hygiene, I had willingly volunteered to accompany them regardless of them all telling me to not to over exert myself and that it was okay if I didn't wish to join. I had been adamant to join them, but now, here I was—still standing outside my room, with a bad morning breath and wild bed head.

I sighed in disappointment, knowing that I must have switched off the alarm in my sleep. I shook my head a little, feeling two pairs of curious eyes staring at me, and looked up at Gale again. "I was still asleep," I offered as an argument, narrowing my eyes at him.

Gale smirked at my words, and shrugged callously. "That didn't matter to me after you woke me up at three in the morning."

I pursed my lips in a straight line, getting more irritated at his difficult self by the minute. I didn't wish to spoil my morning any further by getting into another pointless argument with him so I simply turned around, and went towards our shared bathroom, glad that I had already unpacked my bathroom essentials last night.

"You didn't clean up the mess you made in the kitchen at the ungodly hours of last night, don't forget to do it now," Gale said from behind me, his tone demanding. I didn't feel the need to regard him with a response, so without another word, I shut the door behind me, locking it securely, and decided to clean up once I was freshened up,  and was free of the bad breath.

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A/N: Hey, there! Nice seeing you again! I'm so sorry that I hadn't updated in a while! College had been keeping me just so busy, and also, my exams are beginning so I will not be able to update as often still. Please, bear with me for a while. :c

Dedication of the Chapter: Dedication for this chapter goes to MarbelisLugo for making this amazing trailer for my book. Thank you, love, for making this trailer for me. I know it must have taken so much of your efforts and hard work. I absolutely love it! <3

My Highlight of the Chapter: It was definitely when Raelyn tells Gale that the view of him being shirtless isn't worth anymore of her time. The girl gave a good comeback, won't you say? Though, we all know that she was lying... Come on, Gregg Sulkin shirtless is one hot sight to see.

What was your highlight of the chapter, if any?

Questions of the Chapter: What are your thoughts about Leah and Raelyn's relationship? Do you think Raelyn is overthinking things? If not, why do you think Leah is acting that way? Any theories yet? I'd love to hear them!

Don't forget to show your support through comments and votes, so that I'd know whether you're enjoying the story or not and can also thank you for reading it!

Follow me to get updates on this book and on any other works that I write in the future! :⦆

Hugs & Kisses,

Shagun