#62 The Doubt

"No!" I screamed as I jolted awake, drenched in sweat, my heart racing as the nightmare began to fade.

Yet again, I was at the fire. The same suffocating heat, the crackling of flames, the smoke stinging my eyes.

But this time, there has been an improvement.

"Elsa, don't worry. We will not die today. Not when I am with you." I heard the boy’s voice. Almost clear, like a distant memory fighting to resurface.

“Asher!” I clearly heard this name in my dream, a woman crying her heart out as we were carried away on stretchers after being rescued. I was barely conscious while Asher was heavily affected by the fire. There was even some blood on him. But how?

"Asher!" I whispered, now convinced that... it was him. He helped me escape after breaking the glass. I felt guilty for mistreating him. I should have been grateful. He, too, suffered a lot if Jake's words were true.

I tried to get back to sleep, but every time my eyes shut, the dream was back. I twisted and turned in my bed, trying to