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Chapter 24
Nightmares
thirteen years Ago, summer
Thirteen-year-old Sebastian was watching Sakura from afar, and like always, she was alone with a book. He suspected it must be Shakespeare. She was sitting under the magnolia tree now, reading. Sebastian stayed back, watching her, marveling at the glossy black hair, the porcelain skin, and the ruby lips. Every time he had managed to get close to her, he stared at her eyes, those beautiful eyes that seemed to always pull him into a deep, dark pool of mystery and intrigue.
He had seen Hayden dragging her out the other night, for what Hayden would call borrowing a motorbike. That really pissed him off because he didn’t want Hayden to get Sakura into trouble. And trouble he did get her into because he had crashed the bike and had gotten grounded. What really pissed Sebastian off even more was the fact that Hayden had believed Tara and Alaina’s lies that it had been Sakura who had told on him. Now Hayden really hated Sakura.
Then there were Tristan and Logan. His stupid teenage brothers had a bet on who would get to kiss Sakura first. He suspected they hadn’t had enough kisses yet from those silly, eager teenage girls from New York who would only be too pleased to let the boys take their virginities. Sebastian knew Tristan did get to kiss Sakura, albeit only on the cheek and in which case she had slapped him really hard afterward. Tara had seen, of course, got really jealous, and told James, who grounded both Tristan and Logan for a month. This only led to the boys despising Sakura even more, believing Sakura was the real bitchy adopted sister Tara and Alaina had constantly told them about. Though to be honest, Sebastian was glad his brothers now left Sakura alone.
He watched her closing the book then running her fingers through her long hair. She got up and slowly made her way across the sandy beach to the rocky cliff by the sea. There she stood, gazing across at the ocean beyond.
Sebastian watched her, his heart aching for her—for her loneliness and for her sadness.
He didn’t know how it happened. Perhaps he’d been too engrossed in watching Sakura that he didn’t know Tara and Alaina were there until they were behind Sakura. Alaina had her left arm in a sling since she’d broken it after she’d fallen from the tree house, which he was told Sakura had pushed her off. Sebastian knew it was bullshit. He knew Tara and Alaina lied. But then again, Darcy wouldn’t lie. Darcy never lied, and so he wasn’t sure.
He made his way across to get closer, to hear what they were saying because he was curious. He also felt as though something wasn’t right. He didn’t know why, but he had to. It was stupid to spy on your own siblings, but he just had to.
“See what you did, you bitch?” Tara shouted. “You pushed poor Alaina out of the tree house, and now look at her arm. It’s broken!”
“You have to pay, you bitch!” Alaina yelled, pointing a finger at Sakura.
“But I didn’t,” Sakura said, moving backward as they advanced toward her, her legs inches from the edge of the cliff. “I didn’t push you off.”
“Stop arguing and just go and die!” Alaina screamed. “No one wants you here. No one!”
“You’re better off dead anyway,” Tara shouted, her face red.
“You have to pay for what you did to me,” Alaina said. “Now go and die!”
Sebastian watched in horror as Alaina pushed Sakura back then, with all her might, shoved Sakura into the sea. “Just die already!” she screamed.
Sakura didn’t shout for help. She just gasped as she found herself falling backward.
Splash!
Her body hit the water, and she began to struggle trying to climb back, but she found she couldn’t. She was drowning, and no one was going to help her.
Without thinking, Sebastian ran from his spot. He raced past Tara and Alaina and threw himself into the ocean. Once his body hit the water, he pulled himself together and swam.
Within the deep, murky water, he tried his best to find his way to help Sakura. But she was nowhere in sight, and he panicked. No! He had to find her. She had to be somewhere here.
He found her being dragged down to the bottom. He reached his hand out to her, begging her to come to him, his blue eyes large, filled with dread and fear. Then he found he couldn’t go any farther and felt himself being dragged down and about, deeper and deeper and round and round. The waves, they were too strong. They were churning and whirling him from his destination. He felt himself being suffocated. God! He needed to breathe. But there was Sakura. He had to save her.
He closed his eyes, could no longer think, could no longer hold on to his life. He knew he was dying.
A moment later, he felt himself being pulled up, and then he was out of the water. He opened his mouth wide and sucked air into his starved lungs.
“Come on,” he heard Nicolas say faintly against the howling wind and smashing waves. He tightened his arms around his brother’s neck as they both struggled their way across to the beach.
“Sakura!” he shouted, his heart thundering loudly within his chest.
“Dad,” Nicolas replied between taking deep breaths.
Once they’d reached the shore, Nicolas helped him onto the sandy beach. Sebastian didn’t even care that he could have just died if it weren’t for his brother. He was more concerned about Sakura, so he rushed to her the moment James brought her up from the sea. Tears burned his eyes as he helplessly watched his dad giving her CPR.
Oh, God! She was so pale and still, as though she were already dead. Is she dead? He wondered and blamed himself for what happened. If only he had been a stronger swimmer. If only he had been there before Alaina had pushed her over. If only—
Sebastian felt himself shivering from fear and his heart aching with sorrow. Sakura! Please wake up. Don’t you die on me! Sakura, please don’t go. Please, don’t go.
He wanted to shout at her for being so weak, for letting other people bully her. Oh, God, how he wanted to shout at her.
Again, James blew air into her little lungs and pressed on her chest, begging her to wake up, to come back alive.
“Come on, Sakura,” James said in anguish. “Sweetheart, wake up.”
Sebastian felt dark and hollow within his stomach. The world around him felt cold, and at the same time, he felt angry with himself. He was angry because of what he couldn’t do. He couldn’t even protect her. He couldn’t even save her. He felt tears sting his eyes as his heart burned in anguish.
And then finally she breathed again. She coughed, spurted out loads of seawater, and collapsed again in James’s arms.
James sighed with relief, tears in his eyes.
Sebastian couldn’t control himself and cried, tears rolling down his cheeks. He felt Nicolas’s arms around him, comforting him.
“Sakura,” he whispered, staring at her pale face. “Don’t leave me.”
