Autumn woke up gasping and thrashing, her lungs burning like fire. She was drowning. Water was filling her lungs and she couldn't surface. Ice was pulling her down into darkness. The lake. She was in the lake. The water was so cold it felt like knives. Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to break through her ribs and burst out of her chest. She clawed at the sheets, trying to surface, trying to breathe, trying to escape from the water that was trying to kill her.
Gabriel was awake. She could feel it immediately. He'd been waiting for her to wake up. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest, and this time his grip was different than it usually was. It wasn't comforting. It was possessive, like he was holding her down to keep her from escaping.
"
