Atlantis (22 page)

“
Lilly,” a muffled voice called to me. I looked around under the water, eyes stinging, trying to locate the source of the sound.

It was too late. The black water started to disappear. It was over. All light drained from view. Yet, the banging got louder.

“
Lilly! Are you okay?” The voice was clearer now.

I opened my eyes, I was back in the bathroom. The water was cold. All the bubbles were gone and the candles had gone out. The banging continued.

“
Lilly!” a worried scream came from the other side of the locked bathroom door.

“
I’m...okay.” I think? I sat up in the water, not sure what had happened. Had I really just watched myself die? The tears started to fall. At least I was already wet.

“
Lilly, are you really okay?” It was Nicholas. I had almost forgotten I promised he could come by later. Technically, it was later.

I tried to quiet my eyes as I stood up and started to dry off. I managed to pull myself together long enough to mumble out, “I’ll be out in a second.”

The hardest part of the dream to shake was that I had been
happy
. Totally, utterly, completely happy when I, when
we
, had jumped from the cliff. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. I couldn’t make sense of it. Refueled from the emotional roller coaster ride I just took, my eyes started to pour salt water down my cheeks.

How was I ever going to manage to pull myself together in front of Nicholas? Crap. I didn’t bring my pajamas in the bathroom with me. I hadn’t realized I should have.

“
Nich-o-las?” I called through the door, trying to suppress the tears.

“
Yeah?”

“
I’m not decent. Any way you can hand me the pajama bottoms and tank top that are on my bedroom floor?”

“
I’m on it.” I heard his feet move towards my room as I waited patiently. My hand stuck out of the cracked door as I waited for my clothes. In less than thirty seconds he was back placing the crumpled up clothes in my hand.

“
Thanks. I’ll be out in a sec.” I grabbed the clothes and shut the door.

I dressed, still slightly in a daze, and towel dried my short black hair. Considering how I was feeling at the moment, I was surprised I just didn’t let it drip dry. I didn’t realize it until I had gotten to my room that I had passed by the bathroom mirror without giving it a second thought, or glance for that matter.
So much for a relaxing bath
, I thought as I walked into my room.

Just then I realized the spider hadn’t left. Probably just took a nap. Now awake and reenergized, its spinning continued.

I looked at Nicholas sitting on my bed, propped against the wall. I meant to say
how’d it go with Charlotte
, but instead, “Water is the key” came out.

“
What are you talking about hoe?” Nicholas laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

I stood shock still. The weights in my slippers had returned.
Water is the key
, I thought. Had I somehow, subconsciously known to take a bath, to submerge myself in water? That dream I had was so real. I was willing to bet it really happened, back in 1719... Or whenever Elliott said it was.

The dream even had to do with water. It all had to be connected, I was sure of that. Unfortunately, the meaning still eluded me.

I didn’t even see Nicholas get up off the bed and shake his hand in front of my face to try and reclaim my attention. It wasn’t until he gripped my shoulders and gently shook me that I came out of my trance.

“
What is going on with you Lilly? Are you okay?”

I looked up into his eyes, and shrugged my shoulders. “I have no idea.”

“
What was that you mumbled earlier, something about water?”

Something inside told me that although I could tell Nicholas about my dream, I shouldn’t. He would listen, maybe even believe me. But then he would try and thwart my plans with Elliott. As far as my shaggy blond headed friend was concerned, Elliott was his competition. I shook my head, “It was nothing hoe. How’d it go with Charlotte? You two set a wedding date?” I winked at him.

“
Don’t even start that. I think I got through to her that we can only be friends.”

“
Friends huh?” If I could only get that same concept through to Nicholas.

I smiled. I knew that Charlotte was sure to view Nicholas’s break-up ice cream lunch as their first date. She was as bad as him when it came to seeing what was there, or not there rather. And she gave me a hard time about reality.

“
So, how did she take it?” I asked.

“
Good, I think. Since we were never actually dating and all.” He shook his head to indicate how frustrated he was with Charlotte and the awkward little love triangle we had gotten into.

“
It’s funny how people can view two
identical
situations and see them very differently.” I looked at him. I don’t think he understood I was talking about him and myself.

I searched his face, trying to see Charlotte’s reaction through his eyes. To see if I was right or Nicholas was.

“
She even hugged me goodnight when I dropped her off at her house,” he added.

I shot Nicholas an accusing glance. Looks like I was right. Charlotte saw it as a date. Her hugging Nicholas only solidified that fact in my mind. My hugging him was common practice, and even though she usually shot me jealous, longing glances as we hugged, she never got up the courage. If she saw him as her boyfriend, no courage would be necessary. Hugging would then be a perk.

“
She wants you,” I teased.

“
Who wouldn’t,” he teased back, but then looked at me seriously.

I wasn’t up for more arguing. I sat on my bed. “Nicholas, I don’t feel like doing this again tonight. I’m tired, and I’m not debating my love interests anymore today.”

He sat down next to me. I let my body fall back in frustration and closed my eyes. Nicholas sat beside me, quiet as a mouse and brushed his fingers up and down my arm. Sadly, as we sat there in silence, I realized that Nicholas hadn’t changed. He had always been a hopeless flirt. And I, thinking it was meant to be facetious, rather than actual flirting with me, flirted back. He hadn’t changed. My perception had.

I felt him move himself back on the bed, probably propping himself up against the wall. “Why did it take you so long to answer me earlier?” he asked.

I opened my eyes and tilted my head in his direction. “What do you mean?”

“
When you were in the bathroom. What was the matter? Are you okay?” There was a seriousness to the worry in his words that confused me.

“
I’m fine hoe.”

“
Lilly, don’t bother trying to lie to me. You can lie to other people, but why even try with me? You know I can see through you.”

I really didn’t feel like telling Nicholas about my dream. I didn’t want to relive my death. Or tell him how happy I was as it happened in my dream. I didn’t reply.

“
Hey,” he nudged me. “I’m still here. Answer me.”

Instead of answering him, I readjusted my body on the bed. I laid my head in Nicholas’s lap and put my feet on my pillows. After cuddling myself in my blanket, I sighed and started to speak.

“
I accidently fell asleep in the tub.”

Nicholas was quiet as he assessed my answer. I hoped in my head that it would be good enough for him. Ironically, I started to relax lying in Nicholas’s lap as he played with my hair.

Finally, he responded, “You’re not telling me something. What are you hiding Lilly?”

“
I may have had a really strange dream, that’s all,” I mumbled out. It must be getting late, I was sleepy and it had already been a really long day.

“
What do you mean by strange?”

It was a wonder I was still talking. My eyes refused to open as my mouth moved mechanically, retelling Nicholas an edited version of my dream. “I was in an underground tunnel, walking. I came to an door, archway thing that opened up to a cliff by the sea. . . It was so high. . .” I trailed off.

“
What’s so strange about that? Sounds cool to me.”

“
It was amazing,” I yawned.

“
Anything else Lil?”

I yawned again, and was out cold a second later. I was so happy sleep saved me from having to explain the jumping-off-the-cliff part of my dream. I was sure Nicholas wouldn’t take that sitting down.

As the peaceful darkness of sleep cradled me, my thoughts turned to the spider that had annoyed me so much throughout the day. I imagined that I could see him hiding in the dark corners of my mind. He was trying to unlock a secret door that was hidden and locked, deep in my subconscious. I followed the annoying little spider as it delved deeper into unknown sectors of my brain.

When I finally caught up to him, he was using one of his long, skinny legs as a pick. Trying to crack the lock of a massive chest he had found. I hurried forward once I realized what he was doing. I needed to stop him.
This
chest shouldn’t be opened. It was locked for a reason. But I couldn’t seem to run fast enough. My body flew towards to chest, but I was too late. The spider won. The lid popped open with the last click of the lock.