*Dafydd glanced down the road that the lady with a camera had come down, the same road Cerys would’ve walked along to go home. He turned back towards her.*
*He glanced around the parking lot, but couldn’t see her, and then shaking his head, he looked back down that road. Trying to find Cerys in the dark was a stupid idea, but a little voice in the back of his mind begged him to try, to see what would happen. With a sigh, Dafydd walks the route he knows Cerys would have.*
*It’s not too far, just a handful of miles, and his eyes scan every inch of it. Maybe she dropped her phone, that’s why she didn’t answer it, and so he keeps an eye out for it.*
*He takes the shortcut he knows Cerys loves to take, through a little bit of parkland, a dirt path through a small copse of trees. The mud and tree roots make it hard to walk along, he has to go slow, constantly looking down at his feet to make sure he doesn’t trip. And then he turns a bend, and his heart drops.*
*He runs forward, almost slips as he gets close to her. There’s blood, coating the side of her head, painting the rock beneath her. In his heart he knows what happened, knows it’s too late, knows that she’s cold, stiff, lifeless.*
*Still he drops to his knees beside her, rests his head on her chest, hoping against hope for a sign she’s still alive. He finds it. Her chest barely rises, her breathing shallow, her heartbeat weak. But she’s alive. He fumbles his jacket off, presses it against her still bleeding wound, and with one hand dials for an ambulance. She’s alive. Not out of the woods yet, but alive. She’ll make it, she’s tough. She’s alive.*
*Grif startled awake, breathing heavily. This was wrong, that’s not what happened. It’s wrong. All wrong. But... but what if it wasn't... what if there was some shred of truth in the dream?*
*He could have saved her. If he’d been brave, if he’d thrown caution to the wind, he could have saved her. But he was a coward, chose to play things safe, to wait until morning. And she died because of it.*
*He clutched at his pillow, burying his face into it, his tears staining the fabric.*
I’m so sorry, Cer. I’m so sorry.