Away from home

That same night, throughout dinner, Oliver noticed his mother and father exchanging glances. He felt a strange tension in the air that was not there before, and he wanted to ask but was not able to somehow find the words.

He wondered if it had to do with him, but he quickly brushed the thought aside.

Besides, he thought while trying to spoon up the last of his vegetables which he absolutely hated, he had not done anything that warranted that kind of look over the dinner table from both of his parents.

Now that dinner was over, he left his seat pretty quickly, not wanting to get caught up in whatever the two of them had going on.

Meanwhile, Oliver’s father, Jay, looked at his dear wife with concern in his eyes. Now that Oliver had gone to his room, it felt safe enough to talk about the pressing issue at hand, which was Scarlett.

“I will be going to see Elder Quinn tomorrow,” he informed her, and she looked at him with shock in her eyes, her eyes widened. He could see a bit of fear in them and had to try to reassure her, even when he did not feel reassured at that moment.

“It’s nothing. I just need to check on Scarlett,” he said, standing up from the dining table, and watching her brows furrow in worry. He itched to take her in his arms now, and soothe those worries of hers.

But he could not deny how he also felt the same worry that she did.

His brows raised high into his forehead when he heard her say in reply, “I will go with you,” and he turned to face her. Their eyes met, and a world of communication passed between them.

He understood her, he really did. But, “You cannot come with me,” he finally responded.

“Why not? I need to also check on Scarlett. I need to make sure she is safe,” his wife stood now, crossing her arms over her chest as she glowered at him.

Jay needed to find a way to make her feel better, so he walked toward her, wrapping his arms around her, and pulling her body to him. She leaned her head against his chest, and he felt her breaths shudder.

“I will go,” he spoke, and he knew she was hearing him, “I will simply check on how Scarlett is doing, and come back as fast as I possibly can, It is not as serious as you think, and I don’t think it would be helpful for any of us if you come along with me. What about Oliver, hmm?” she raised her head to look at him, but he silenced her with a look. That look told her the gist of it – he had made the decision and was not likely to change it for her.

She nodded then, her eyes meeting his. “I will be fine,” he reassured her, then leaned in to take her lips in his.

They kissed for a long moment, and ended up parting after they had run out of air, and needed to breathe. The two panted, and she glanced up at him again. Her eyes seemed to say the words she did not want to say, and he nodded, understanding.

The next day came and passed by with not much happening for Oliver. He had noticed less tension between his parents as he ate dinner with them.

Although it seemed to him that they were obviously hiding something.

He played around with his food as his mind ran in circles while he tried to figure out what was going on. Alas, he had no idea.

But, he had decided not to pry, for fear of his mother’s reaction. No need to make her upset for no reason was his thought process.

Much like the same night, Oliver practically fled to his room after he had eaten, locking the door and heading to his bed straight. He had an early morning the next day.

But that night, he had a dream which had shaken him to the core.

Oliver gaped at the sight which formed in front of his eyes. The surroundings seemed to be a strange and unfamiliar place. But the sight of his sister,

Scarlett standing right there was very jarring. She was glaring, her expression the angriest he had ever seen. What was going on? Why was she angry? Who was she angry at?

He noticed right then that her glare aimed at the ground, upon which a body lay. Confused, Oliver began to take steps towards it to see who it was. He suddenly stopped once he realized.

“No,” he whispered, dread pooling in his body. He suddenly felt the unmistakable urge to retch.

Before him, was the corpse of his father. He lay in a pool of blood and was paler, not moving at all. He noticed how Scarlett glared at the corpse as if it had annoyed her somehow.

Oliver’s mind whirled. What did all of this mean even?

All of a sudden he turned around, looking over his shoulder.

It had felt like something was watching him, right behind him.

Oliver took a step forward, not seeing anything in the darkness of his vision at first, but then something made him stop. At the far corner of the edges of his consciousness, there was a shadow.

The darkness stared at him and it made adrenaline wash through his veins. How are you? He wondered, and made to take a step towards it, trying to decipher what it was, when-

-He woke up, his alarm clock blaring like the world was about to end.

He let out a curse word in the darkness, realizing that it was a vision he had.

And it definitely was not a good one.

That day, he found out from his mother that his father had left for an ‘unimportant minor trip’ the previous evening after dinner.

That alone was enough to set Oliver’s teeth on edge