Chapter 56

Book:The Dark Side Published:2024-5-1

Ariana’s POV –
I’m dreaming. Dreaming of walking through a tiny hallway that’s drowned with darkness. Black shards of glass cover the floor, thick black sludge dripping from the walls. I squirm and whimper, the feeling of wet tears drowning my cheeks. When I muster enough confidence to lift my head up, my eyes land on a door at the end of the hallway. Running straight down the door is a scar I remember vividly . . . A scar that covered my captors face.
I begin to shake my head in disbelief, fear building up inside my chest. It continues to grow, the panic inside of me in-creasing until it feels like I’m going to explode in fright. I feel my knees weaken resulting in me falling to the floor, my arms automatically covering my head. I cower and cry, the image of the scar repeatedly playing over and over again inside my mind.
“One, two, three, four . . . ” I whisper, using my palms to cover my ears. I squeeze my eyes shut tightly, refusing to see or hear anything. No matter how hard I try to block out the noise, a continuing alarm rings through my ears.
I gasp and fling my body up and out of bed. My eyes are wide as I manically glance around the room, studying my sur-roundings. I’m in my bedroom, at home. The small alarm clock on my bedside table continues to ring and I lunge forward, slamming the button on the top to make it stop. My hands are dripping with sweat, mirroring the sweat coming from my forehead. The fabric on my back clings to my skin uncomfortably.
“It’s just a dream. . . You’re safe.” I mumble to myself, taking a seat on the edge of my bed. I blow out a deep breath and put my head in my hands for a few seconds. I can feel my heart thudding away inside my chest, my body struggling to return back to normal.
I brush away the last of the tears on my cheeks and take another look at the alarm clock. It’s 6am in the morning which means I have exactly one hour to shower, dress and be at the coffee shop to begin my very first shift back.
The day definitely didn’t get off to a good start.
*****
My first customer back is one I’ve never seen before. She pushes the door open, headphones in whilst clutching a bottle of water. Her chest is rising and falling and I’m guessing she’s been on a morning run. As she walks in, I freeze but quickly plaster a smile on my face. I remind myself that I can do this, I’ve done it a million times before.
“One cappuccino and a blueberry muffin when you’re ready please.” She smiles, sliding change across the counter towards me. I give her a small nod and place the change inside the register before turning to make her order. I notice my hands are shaking as I reach for a cup and begin to turn the coffee machine on. I take one of the freshly baked muffins and place it inside a paper bag whilst I wait for the coffee.
“There’s your muffin. Coffee is coming up.” I tell her and she smiles at me in return before putting her headphones back in. I spin back around to focus my attention on her cappuccino and despite the tight anxious feeling in my chest, I’m okay.
I breathe in deeply, closing my eyes for a brief second. When I re-open them, there’s a faint smile on my lips and I finish her order with no further problems. Before she leaves, she spins round and thanks me. I give her a small wave and watch her go, the door firmly shutting behind her.
After my first customer, I serve five other people and finally begin to feel my confidence creep back. The bell above the door rings as I’m wiping down the counter and I see a figure stand in front of me, waiting to order.
“Hi, what can I get you?” I smile automatically, finally glancing up. When my eyes meet dark green ones, I freeze in shock. He stares back at me for what seems like forever, both of us unable to look away.
“Ariana.”
“Caleb. Hi.” I whisper, finally tearing my eyes off him. They fall to the floor and I clear my throat, taking a small step back.
“How are you?” Caleb says quietly, leaning forward. His eyes never leave me and I squirm under his gaze, feeling incredi-bly uncomfortable. Being around Caleb reminds me of the camping trip, the car crash, being held captive and worst of all, Alex.
“I’m doing . . . good. How are you? How is Nikki?” I ask him, the words a struggle to say. I pretend to clean the same spot that’s already gleaming but I have to do something so I don’t look at Caleb, it’s too painful. He doesn’t respond and I can practically feel his gaze burning into me, watching me. Without warning, his hand reaches forward and he places it on my wrist. I completely stop what I’m doing and close my eyes, inhaling sharply.
“He’s struggling Ariana.” Caleb murmurs, his voice softening. I can feel the tears building in my eyes and when I re-open them, I stare directly at Caleb. My jaw is locked with tension and I feel a mixture of emotions, mainly anger and sadness.
“He left me Caleb. He left the hospital room and I haven’t seen him since. I have no idea where he is or whether he’s okay.” I tell him bluntly. Caleb’s eyes flicker between both of mine and he nods slowly, agreeing with me.
“He’s been an idiot. A first class idiot.”
“He’s worse than an idiot.” I respond, reaching up quickly to wipe at my eyes.
“Look, Alex is blaming himself entirely for what happened to you. It’s eating him up alive, he doesn’t sleep or eat. He drinks all damn day and he’s slowly disappearing. You can help him Ariana.” Caleb says desperately. I clench my jaw and focus on my breathing, remembering what my therapist taught me.
One, two, three, four, five.
“He made his decision.”
“He misses you.” Caleb says quickly, trying to break through my hard exterior. I slam my hands down on the counter, si-lencing him. My body is shaking, tears silently rolling down my cheeks.
“He hasn’t contacted me once, he left me completely in the dark. He walked away Caleb so this is his mess to fix, not yours.” I tell him, pain stabbing through my chest and straight into my heart. Hearing that Alex misses me causes all my old feelings to rush back but so much has changed since then.
Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten.
“I’m working on myself Caleb, every day is so damn hard. He chose to leave me to battle it alone.” I finally say, my voice sounding exhausted. Silence falls upon us and Caleb barely blinks, his eyes trained directly on me. Eventually he nods and takes a few steps back, hands stuffed inside his dark jacket pockets.
“I’m sorry for what happened to you Ariana, I’m so sorry.” Caleb says firmly. I don’t have the energy to respond but I’m hooked on his green eyes, unable to look away. They fill with remorse and sadness and I’ve never seen him look so pained before.
“But whilst you were missing, Alex did whatever he could to find you. He’d walk through hell for you, he loves you like nobody else ever could. I want you to remember that.” He finishes off before turning and walking out of the door. When he leaves, I clutch the counter in front of me and bend over, struggling to gain my breath back.
His words hit me hard, harder than I ever want to admit.