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𝐒𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐚 𝐄𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧
༻❤︎︎༺

I'm under water. Not in a lake or an ocean, but in a large container. The world looks blue through my water-irritated eyes.

Why am I here? What did I do to deserve this?

I try to get away from the people holding me down, but it is of no use. I take a deep breath through my nose but water instantly hits my insides.

The blue world goes fuzzy and blurry and my head and eyelids feel heavy. Somebody lifts me out of the water before the world goes black.

I'm carried from the container of water to a bed that seems like it should be in a hospital. I'm coughing and hyperventilating. Struggling to breathe. I need my inhaler.

"How did you feel underwater, Sophia?" A man with brown hair and blue eyes asks me. My vision is still blurry and I cannot see the man's face clearly. His voice sounds familiar, but disorientation gives me a lack of memory.

"Sophia?" Another man asks. I can recognize his voice immediately. "You were asked how you feel," my father says to me.

A tear rolls down my face. "I-" I say between gasps "I couldn't breathe..." My nine-year-old voice is quiet and shaky. "I know, babydoll, I know..." My father speaks softly, "but we need you to go back in." He sounds sorry but it seems like he's pretending to feel bad.

"Max," my mother's voice pierces the air. "I don't want her to go back there."

"Cass..." my father's voice pleads, "we need her for these tests, just-"

"Maxwell." My mother's voice is firm but tearful.

"We need somebody to consent to Sophia going back into the water," the brown-haired, blue-eyed man says as he looks between my two parents.

"No," my mother's voice is stern.

My father sighs and whispers to the unidentified man when he thinks I'm out of earshot, "Only one of us has to consent?" The man nods.

"Yes," my father says. Nods his head.

"Alright, Sophia," the same, unidentified man says to me, "up you go." I'm suddenly lifted into somebody's arms, moving towards the big tank of water.

"No..." I say, shaking my head with tears flowing down my cheeks. "Please, no!"

My vision is clearer now and I see my father holding my mother in a tight embrace, refusing to let her go despite her protests. "Cass!" My father shouts, trying to gain my mother's attention. Her hands are reaching out. Reaching for me. She suddenly falls to her knees, sobbing. My father pulls her head to his chest and smoothes her hair with his hand, shushing her and wiping her tears.

I call out for somebody when my body is above the water.

I'm falling.

The world is blue again and I try to hold my breath for as long as possible now that I know how much it hurts when water goes up my nose. I eventually cave, taking a deep, water-filled breath. Soon enough, my head and eyelids are heavy and I close my eyes, trying to think happy thoughts before the world goes black.

I take a moment to remember the name of the person I called out in an attempt to ease my panic. The person who could calm me down no matter how awful the situation is. I didn't call out for my father.

Or brother,

or mother,

or any family member, for that matter. And I didn't call out for Juliette.

"Aaron!" I screamed at the top of my lungs before I was submerged in water.

My body shoots up as my eyes open.

I'm gasping as if I was underwater, like in my nightmare. I'm cold-sweating and shivering. Thankfully, neither the twins or Juliette are awake and they don't see me in my current state of fear. I use my thumb and middle finger to push my hair away from my face before pulling the blanket up to my chest and lying back down. I close my eyes once more and think about something someone who makes me happy in an attempt to chase off all bad dreams.

I close my eyes and think of Aaron.

I think about how he would hold my hand and tell me it was only a bad dream. I think about how he would hold me close and whisper reassuring words in my ear. He would put his hands on my waist and kiss me and hug me while I slept.

I turn my body to lay on my stomach as I hug my pillow and slowly drift off to sleep.

***

The sound of clattering wakes me. I rub the sleep out of my eyes and sit up.

"Juliette?" I call out.

"Oh, sorry! Did I wake you up?" She asks apologetically before I chuckle, "Nope." I lie. I push the blankets off my legs before standing up and stretching.

"What are you looking for, anyways?" I ask her, my voice still laced with sleep. Juliette huffs out a sigh and puts her hands on her hips.

"My journal. I can't find it anywhere," she says as she leans back down to rummage through her drawers.

"Could Adam have it? I know he held onto it for you for a while–"

My words are cut off by Juliette's own. "Ohmygod, ADAM!" She yells in realization. Faster than I ever thought possible, Juliette yanks the door open and speeds down the hallway. I laugh softly as I walk towards the door to close it.

I walk back to where my bed is to choose something to wear for today. Somebody knocks on the door and I internally groan before making my way back to the door.

"Yes?" I say as I open the door.

"Morning!" A British accent that is too cheerful for early morning says.

"Hi, Brendan. Everything alright?" I ask him.

"Yup! Just came to letcha know that we've got training today, so, uh," he gestures to my current clothes– a short, baby blue nightgown– before continuing, "make sure you dress accordingly." I nod and Brendan smiles before turning on his heel and walking down the hallway.

I close the door once again before going back to my drawers to pick out an outfit. I take out a black long-sleeved shirt, black cargo pants, black combat boots, and my black gloves. Basically, the same outfit I wore the day I saw Aaron in the park.

Aaron.

Oh, Aaron.

I almost cry at the thought of him. I really, really, really miss him. I'd do anything to be able to hug him again and kiss him and tell him that I'm sorry and that I really like him. But I had an opportunity, and I missed it.

My fingers pull my hair back into a low bun. I think about leaving my hair down– how Aaron likes it– but I realize that it makes much more sense to keep my hair back and out of my face if we're training today. I smile at myself in the mirror hanging on the back of the door before opening it and walking out.
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Guys I wanna write longer chapters so badly but since I write all of my chapters on Google docs when a chapter is like longer than six pages I start stressing because I feel like it's getting too long and you guys are gonna loose interest

Let me know how you guys feel about me writing longer chapters 💋