Chapter 5

The words felt like poison in my mouth, but they were forced out, ragged and broken. "I'm... I'm sorry." My voice was barely a whisper, a ghost of a sound, but it was enough. Enough to satisfy them. Enough to break me.

Hot, humiliating tears streamed down my face, blurring the triumphant smirk on Sophia's lips. She looked down at me, her eyes devoid of any real pain, only a chilling satisfaction. "It's okay, Clara," she cooed, her voice sickly sweet. "I accept your apology. Just try to be more careful next time, alright?"

She extended a hand, a gesture of mock forgiveness. I recoiled, jerking my head away. I couldn't bear her touch. Not now. Not ever.

I scrambled away, my entire body trembling. I looked at Leo, his face still etched with anger, his arm still protectively wrapped around Sophia. In that moment, he was a stranger. A cruel, heartless stranger whom I had once loved.

I turned and ran. I didn't know where I was going, only that I had to escape. The jeers and laughter followed me, sharp barbs piercing my already shattered heart. I ran until my lungs burned, until the cliffside faded behind me, until I was deep in a series of sea caves, surrounded by the cool, indifferent embrace of the rocks.

I collapsed against a damp cave wall, gasping for breath, the sobs finally ripping through me. My phone vibrated in my pocket. My parents. My only solace. I typed a desperate message, my fingers fumbling. Mom, Dad, I need to come home. Please. Now.

Then, a sudden, chilling realization. The cave was growing darker. The air was heavy, pregnant with an approaching storm. Thunder rumbled in the distance, a low, ominous growl. Panic seized me. I was alone. Deep in an unfamiliar cave, with a storm brewing, and the tide was coming in.

I stumbled up, my mind racing. I had to get out. I had to.

I retraced my steps, the caves now a labyrinth of shadows and increasing wind. The thunder grew louder, closer. Rain began to fall, fine and cold at first, then quickly escalating into a downpour. The waves crashed harder against the rocks, sending spray deep into the cave.

I finally burst out of a narrow passage, back into the main cavern. Leo and Sophia were there, huddled near the entrance, arguing. His face was flushed, hers tear-streaked.

"Where were you?" Leo demanded, his voice tight with frustration, spotting me. "I was worried sick! You just ran off!"

"I... I got lost," I rasped, the rain plastering my hair to my face.

"Lost?" he scoffed. "You ran into a cave system during a storm because you were lost? Clara, what is wrong with you? Don't you ever think?"

"I was scared!" I stated, my voice gaining a desperate edge. "I needed to get away. I can't be... alone like that."

"You're not a child, Clara!" he yelled, his frustration boiling over. "You're nineteen! You can't just run off every time you're upset. You scare me half to death!"

"You don't care about me!" I screamed back, the words tearing from my throat, raw and painful. "You only care about her! About your reputation!"

His face hardened. "That's not fair, Clara! I was worried about you! Just like I'm worried about Sophia! You think I enjoy this? This drama? This constant... burden?"

The word, "burden," echoed the vile things I'd seen on his phone. It hit me harder than any physical blow.

"Leo, tell her to leave me alone!" Sophia whined, clinging to his arm, shivering dramatically. "She's always like this! So clingy!"

"Sophia, not now," Leo muttered, but his eyes were still on me, filled with a mixture of anger and exasperation.

The rain intensified. The wind howled, whipping through the cave entrance. The world around us seemed to mirror the tempest in my heart. The three of us stood there, drenched and miserable, the chasm between us growing wider with every passing moment.

Suddenly, a blinding flash of lightning split the sky, followed by an earth-shattering crack of thunder. The single flashlight we had, perched on a rock, clattered to the ground, its beam extinguishing. The cave was plunged into absolute darkness.

Sophia, with a piercing shriek, stumbled backward, pulling Leo with her. My hand reached out instinctively to find him in the blackness, but she twisted in a frantic motion. Her flailing arm caught me, hard, in the chest.

I lost my balance. My feet slid out from under me on the slick, wet rock. I fell, tumbling down a small, steep incline, the rough stone tearing at my skin. A sharp pain shot through my head as I hit something hard. My vision swam with black spots. And then, the world went black. Utterly, terrifyingly black. The same suffocating blackness from before my surgery.

Panic, cold and absolute, gripped me. I was blind. Again. In the dark, in the storm, in the rising tide. It was worse than the car crash. It was worse than anything.

"Leo!" I screamed, my voice raw, desperate, but it was swallowed by the roar of the waves. "Leo! Don't leave me! Please!"

I could hear him above me, his frantic breathing, the sound of his voice, but I couldn't make out the words. The darkness was absolute. The void was complete.

"Leo!" I screamed again, my arms outstretched, begging. "Don't abandon me! Please! Not again!" The echoes of the car crash, of being left alone, trapped and helpless, roared in my mind. He had promised. He had sworn.

I heard him hesitate. I heard Sophia's terrified sobs, her voice pleading with him. His fear, his cowardice, was a palpable thing in the darkness.

Then, I heard Sophia pull him. Hard. He stumbled. The sound of their movements shifted, moving away from me. He was leaving. Disappearing into the driving rain and the crushing darkness, leaving me alone in the terrifying, deafening black.