The cool sand felt calming under my bare feet as I walked towards the beach.

As I reached the water, I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it behind me, where my shoes, and my wet wipes (which held my phone and car keys) lay.

There was no one on the beach as it was almost midnight.

I reached the ankle deep water and took a lung full of sea weed smelling air.

My shorts lay abandoned on the small pile of belongings I had.

I went deeper and deeper into the ocean.

The water now reached my collar bones. I took a deep breath and went underwater.

The midnight glow of the moon wasn't enough to show much. Some shiny pebbles and corals glistened under the pale, translucent light.

Not able to take the pressure in my lungs anymore, I broke the surface of the water.

With the two piece clothing sticking to me like second skin, I made my way to the small blanket and laid down.

The shimmering stars yearned for my attention.

I quickly took out my note book and a pencil, and I wrote the lines that came into my mind.

I put the date on top of the page on the left hand corner and named the title as 'Stars'

Twinkling bright in the sky,

Seeing them, I wish I could fly,

Like million little bulbs they glow,

And to us, their smiling faces they show,

Sometimes they fall, sometimes they blink,

Their glowing faces seem to wink,

They need to go during the day,

"Gotta study" they seem to say,

They make the night sky even better,

And to them I will write this letter. 

I hope my letter reaches him,

The shiny star, not at all dim,

He and his friends always glimmer,

In the night breeze, they seem to shimmer.

The poem is true up till the day,

That one, the little children say,

"Twinkle twinkle little star,

How I wonder what you are,

Up above the world you fly,

Like a diamond in the sky."

I put my notebook beside me, along with the pencil, and closed my eyes.

________

"Honey, is that you?" The voice of a man rang through the house. I flinched at the concern laced through the words.

"Yes dad."

"Happened again?" He asked as he crossed the hallway and pulled me into a hug.

I sighed as I relished the warmth he provided and buried my head into his chest. "Yeah."

He sighed. "You know that medication and going to a doctor helps right?"

"But I don't want to dad. My insomnia is not that bad. I won't die from lack of sleep."

He pulled away from me and cupped my face into his hands.

"Look honey, you know that I am not gonna force you to go see a doctor or anything. Just tell me if anything bothers you, okay?"

I nodded and he pulled me into a quick hug yet again.

"Oh and Wilona", he turned back to look at me, "Don't go too deep in the ocean."

After that, he went into his room.

I sighed for the thousandth time.

I dragged my feet up the stairs and into my room.

_________

The morning light peeped through the seams of my curtains, and I pulled them back to let the warm sun shine on my face.

It was 6:14. It was hard not to be a morning person when you didn't even sleep. No fragrance worked. Ever. The insomnia just kept coming back.

I had already packed my bag for the day, and I was just brushing my hair.

The dark brown locks cascaded over my back like a waterfall.

I went down in the kitchen to the smell of crepes.

Dad was standing over the stove, one hand swirling the pan, while the other stirred a pot of scrambled eggs.

I walked up behind him and hugged him from the back. He smelled of crepes too.

"Oh. You're here. Good. I was just going to call you. Here."

He handed me my plate of crepes as I sat on the dining room chair. I took the plate and dug in.

I moaned in pleasure at the amazing taste.

"I am pretty sure that that sound isn't used here darling." He said his mouth twitching.

I laughed out loud, and he started to laugh with me.

After I had finished my meal, I took my backpack and drove to school.

As I parked in an available slot and got out, I was forced into a bone crushing hug.

"C-can't breathe" I managed to say.

"Willow!!" My best friend relieved me to take a deep breath.

  Elisha was just so over excited about everything. And that was the thing that I loved so much about her. She could cheer up almost everyone with her dazzling smile and bubbly mood.

I looked over her shoulder to see Meredith smiling. She has always been the shy one. She didn't speak much all the time. All she did was nod and hum at the right places.

We went together inside and towards the first class that Meredith and I shared. History.

__________

I was on the way to the small park that I went to everyday for my daily dose of exercise.

'Back to you' by Louis Tomlinson and Bebe Rexha was blasting through the headphones.

I started to walk, my pedometer doing it's work. I know that all that stuff doesn't work, but it was an inbuilt in my phone.

You know the feeling you get when you wear your headphones, and you feel someone is behind you? Yeah. That creepy feeling. I was getting that right now. 

I looked over my shoulder but saw nothing.

___________

Night came again, and yet again, I couldn't sleep. I took my backpack and went towards the beach.

Tonight, the starts were gleaming more, but there was no moon. New moon.

I took off my clothes, and with the two piece bikini barely covering my body, I went into the water.

There was something weird today. The sea seemed eerily calm, the sounds of faraway boats were not heard, the pungent yet calming smell of the sea was masked with something different.

I wasn't far from the beach. The water was just seven to eight feet.

Suddenly, I felt something wrap around my ankles and pull me.

I tried to break free from it but I couldn't. The salt water was burning my eyes.

My lungs would soon explode from the pressure.

I sunk even lower, until I reached the bottom.

I looked at my ankle. Sea weed. That looked and felt like fingers.

There, half buried in the glittering sand, lay a dagger.

I picked it up, and voices clouded my head, my vision blurred, and black spots danced before my eyes.

Somebody's hand making its way towards me is all I saw before falling into the deep pits of unconsciousness.

The world was spinning. All I could see were blotches of black, blue, and green.

"Thank the gods that you are awake." The deep husky voice was somewhere close.

I struggled to open my eyes. There was a deep throbbing in the right side of my forehead.

I was covered in a sheet, and I was laying on something soft.

I looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings and shook my head.

I must be dreaming.

"No you aren't. This is very real."

My head snapped towards the figure that was standing on my right.

He was tall, had amazing cheekbones, deep chiselled jaw and blue-green eyes. He was handsome.

My eyes widened at seeing him standing there shirtless.

And seeing him shirtless, I saw a very disturbing image inside in my mind.

Instead of his gorgeous face, there were only muscles and tissues visible.

His throat was slit and his intestines peeked out from his abs.

The image made me sick. I choked on my own spit.

"Hey, hey, are you okay?" He rushed beside me and patted my back.

"Where are we? Who are you? What am I doing here?" The questions fired from my mouth like bullets.

"Easy on the questions there, raspy throat. I am Tobias and this is my house. Well a cottage to say at least."

"Are we near the beach?" I could still smell the distinct smell of the sea and hear the waves crashing on the rocky beach. Rocky beach.

The only beach which had jagged rocks on our shore was Sea View. Very original name.

But the problem was that this beach was a few miles away from the beach that I was a few moments ago.

Was I there few moments ago? Or had a large amount of time passed? I had no idea.

The room had no windows, and the lights were switched on.

"Earth to whoever you are!" He snapped his fingers in front of my face and brought me back to reality.

I looked around myself.

My backpack lay on the floor, and I was wearing a huge T-shirt over the bikini.

My phone was on the table beside the comfy bed I was laying upon.

I picked up the phone to the horror of 35 missed calls. 21 from my father, 6 from Elisha, and 8 from Meredith. 

My eyes widened at the number of texts and voice mails.

And I cursed loudly because the phone went dead in my hands.

"How long have I been out?" I asked, getting up and throwing the shirt over my head.

"36 hours approx."

I cursed even louder and hurried to put my shorts and shirt.

"Can I use your phone please? My phone is dead. And I will have to put my SIM card in it."

"Uh, yeah sure. Here." He handed me his sleek midnight blue phone and I  quickly changed the SIM card. I dialled the number that was learnt by heart.

I put the phone on speaker as I dusted the dried sand off my body.

Tobias passed me a comb without me even asking for it. But I took it gratefully.

"Yellow?" A deep voice asked and the phone was picked up on the fourth ring.

"Papa Bear!" I exclaimed.

Tobias raised his eyebrow but said nothing.

"Wilona? Baby bear where are you?" Caleb said his voice filling with worry.

"On one of my road trips as usual."

"Okay... why is your voice so far away?"

"Uh, the phone is on speaker! I am driving. No using phones while driving you see."

He sighed. I know he didn't believe a word that I said, but he went along with it. That's what I admired most about him.

Tobias was standing on the other side of the bed as he listened our conversation attentively.

"Papa bear I need a favour." I said trying to keep my voice steady as I put my hair in a braid.

"Anything for you baby bear."

Tobias laughed but turned it into a cough.

"Did dad call you yet?" I asked Caleb while giving Tobias the stink eye.

"Nope." Before he could speak anything else, I interrupted.

"Great. Can you tell him that I was with you yesterday? I swear I am returning home right now. I won't bring any trouble. I promise."

"Sure. But are you sure that you are okay and alone Willow?"He asked with concern and amusement laced in his voice.

My eyes widened and I choked out an affirmative. But then I smiled.

He always managed to make me smile. With just his concern even.

"Now to be a good brother, I am going to say, use protection!" The line went dead and I stared at the screen in horror.

Tobias burst into laughter and fell on the bed laughing. He clutched his stomach and tears rolled down his cheeks.

"What the hell is so funny?" I snapped at him.

"Papa bear, baby bear!" He somehow managed to say between peals of laughter.

I glared at him, while I hurried to my backpack and checked the contents within.

After being sure that everything was in place, I took out my sim card from his phone and gave it back to him.

"How do I get back to where you picked me up from?" I didn't look at him as I tied my shoelaces.

Yup. I wore sports shoes to the beach. Cause it was midnight when I took off and I couldn't find my flip flops. So no judging.

Oh it's a fifteen minute walk from here.

"So let's go then?" I waved my arms in the air to justify my statement.

"Oh no. I'm not coming." He said flopping on the bed face down.

"But I don't know the way!"

"Look at me. Do I look like I care?" He said his voice muffled by the pillow.

"But.. ugh. Fine." I turned around and walked out of the so called cottage.

It was probably noon, but the sky was filled with grey clouds.

I looked around me. The area was unfamiliar.

I decided to walk in the opposite direction of the cottage and along the shore.

___________

I am sure that the time was more than fifteen minutes.

I has been walking for almost an hour. Where the hell was I? 

Something was amiss. I could tell that. Suddenly, a chill passed through my spine.

I turned around slowly, not yet ready to see the whatever behind me.

As I turned around, I saw........