by K. G. Reuss
“See you around.” He smiled as he turned and sauntered away.
Olivia stood there, frozen in fear. I wanted to comfort her, but I wanted revenge even more. So instead of sticking around to watch her fall apart when there was nothing I could do about it, I chased after him.
He got behind the wheel of his fancy sports car, and I briefly thought about climbing into the back. In the blink of an eye, I was there, sitting in the backseat, going for a ride with him.
I ground my teeth together, hoping to lose some anger, but I was fighting an endless battle. Nobody messed with my girl and got away with it. I didn’t know how, but I intended on fucking his world up. Even though I knew it wouldn’t do any good, I pulled back my fist and threw punch after punch, never making contact. I didn’t have a body. He didn’t even know I was there, didn’t know I could see what he was doing to her. No wonder she seemed so lost and scared. She had a fucking asshole assaulting her every time she turned around.
I spaced out the entire drive, lost to my rage. Before I knew it, the car stopped at a big, white house. He climbed out and jogged inside where I followed. I stepped through the open door before he pushed it shut and looked around.
It looked like dipshit was a rich kid — a fucking spoiled brat who got whatever he wanted. I knew most of them got shoved out into the real world and had a rude awakening. But some… some got lucky and got to continue treating people like shit. I was going to make sure he learned his lesson.
I hung around his room—watching him, making mental notes, and learning everything I could. He sat back, watching porn on his computer as he snacked on a bag of chips. Once he had wiped out the entire bag, he crumbled it up and threw it at the trash can in the corner of the room, missing the can but landing it in the pile of other trash that had also missed.
He dusted his hands off on his shorts, then pulled something out of the drawer. His eyes glazed over as he looked at whatever it was. Finally, he reached into his shorts and took himself in hand.
Out of curiosity, I walked up behind him and peeked over the corner of his chair, so I only saw what was in his hands. It was a picture of Olivia.
Fury filled me again, bubbling up my throat like boiling acid. My cheek was raw from me gnawing on it. I squeezed my hands into tight fists, waiting for when I could make my move.
He finished with a loud moan and reached for the tissues that was on his desk. After he had cleaned up, he threw himself onto his bed, closing his eyes with a smile.
I stared him down, wishing I could get into his dreams. Revenge would’ve tasted so fucking sweet.
If he put another hand on Olivia, I’d put Abe’s theory to the test and come back, not only for Olivia, but to beat the ever-loving shit out of him. I’d make him pray for death.
As the anger swirled around in my body, my head started swimming. I began drifting away. No! I wasn’t ready to go back. I needed to get even. I needed to teach him a lesson!
When my eyes opened again, I was at a basketball court. It was dark, and the concrete was wet. The earth smelled like a heavy, spring rain. The thud of a ball bouncing and shoes scraping off the wet ground were the only sounds in the night.
“Yes! I made it!” a guy said. “That’s thirty-five shots in a row. There’s no way I won’t make MVP.”
I turned around to find douche bag in front of me… alone.
Smiling to myself, I closed the distance between us. I envisioned myself in a black ski mask, making it so. He didn’t know I was there. He was backing up, trying to make another shot when I reached out and pushed him forward. The ball went rolling across the pavement as he fell to the ground. The edges of the court were blurred, plus there was no way the douche was that skilled at basketball. This had to be a dream.
“Hey! What the fuck?” he asked, looking up at me. He shook as he took me in, his wonderful dream turning into an ugly nightmare as I stood in front of him in my ski mask.
“You know Olivia?” I asked him, kneeling down to his level.
“Butt Whore? Yeah, who doesn’t?”
Without warning, I stood and kicked him in the stomach. He curled up in a ball with a groan. “Hey, what was that for?”
Looming over him, I planted a foot on either side of his body and grabbed him by his shirt. “You’re never going to call her that again. In fact, you’re never going to touch her again. Got it?”
He tried shoving my hand off him but failed. “Get off of me, man.”
I pulled back my fist. “I said, you’re going to leave her alone. Don’t talk to her. Don’t even look at her. Got it?” I threw my fist forward, landing a solid hit to his nose. Blood immediately started spewing.
“I got it!”
I released his shirt and stepped away. I paused, reaching down and scooping up the ball as I walked back over to him. “If you ever see me again, you better fucking run. You got off easy this time.” To make sure I got my point across, I hurled the basketball straight at his face. He took a shuttering inhale, and the next thing I knew, I was back in my apartment, kicked out of his dream because he woke up.
Donovan
“I got here as fast as I could,” Abe declared, stepping into my living room.
“Not fast enough,” I shot back as I paced my room. “I was there. I saw her. Just like you said I’d be able to.”
A wide grin spilled onto his face. “Fuck yeah! You’re close!”
“I am.” I stopped my pacing and stared at him. “I’m scared.”
“Scared?” He blanched at my words, looking at me like I was nuts. “What’s to be scared of? You’re probably only a fuck or two away from getting your girl back. What’s the fear in that?”
“I’m afraid of what it could mean.” I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants. “What if she freaks out when she sees me? She thinks I’m just a dream. What if she’s so terrified she won’t talk to me? What if she realizes that the dreams are what made her want me? What if—”
“What if you’re just being a big pussy and she loves you and fucks your brains out and you’re together again for eternity?”
I nodded, swallowing hard. “You’re right. I’m being dramatic.”
“To be fair, it’s understandable.”
“Her birthday is a few days away. I want to be able to show up for that. Are you sure about what you say, Abe?”
“Yes.” He nodded solemnly. “Gather enough souls. Go to her and make her yours. Make love to her. I’m positive everything will be fine.”
“How do you know?” I narrowed my eyes at him. I’d never really been the trusting sort after all. It didn’t matter that he was my best friend. Something was niggling at me. Maybe it was because it seemed too easy. And nothing in my existence had ever been easy.
“Honestly?”
“I don’t want a damn lie,” I growled at him.
“I overheard Malachi bragging about it like fifty years ago down at the bar. Saying the devil told him that you could get enough souls to make it to the surface. Last night I confirmed it. He got drunk and was trying to fuck Celeste. She told him he wasn’t half the demon you are, which pissed him off. Then he went off on a tangent about how you’re nothing but an incubus now. Well, you remember how Celeste was. I think she wants you to succeed just as much as you want to. She started questioning him. Told him she’d suck him off if he told her what happened to you. And he did. Right down to revealing the devil’s secrets.”
“And you’re sure it wasn’t some kind of trick to screw me over?”
“I’m positive. He was wasted on every kind of mind-altering substance we have down here.”
I nodded, rubbing my face. This was good news. Great news. I was so close to getting Olivia back I could barely contain my excitement. I looked over at Abe. He had a strange look on his face.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“What? Nothing.” He shook his head, clearing his throat. The look melted off his face, and a smile replaced it. “Malachi didn’t get any from Celeste.”
> “No?” I snorted.
“No, but I did.” He waggled his brows at me, causing me to let out a loud laugh.
“I hope it was better for you than every time I’ve fucked her.”
“She doesn’t move a lot. I think she likes to be dominated. Which is fine with me. I don’t like to deal with women that want a lot of effort.”
“You're such a catch,” I teased him.
“If I remember correctly, so were you.”
“I still am.” I flopped down on my couch. “I’ve just finally been caught.”
We both grew silent before he finally spoke, “You really love this girl, huh?”
“Yes.” I looked at him, the seriousness oozing from my voice, “She was… is my whole world. And now I’ve got a chance to have her back. I’ll do anything to be with her again. I lost her once. I won’t fail her this time.”
“Then I hope you know what you’re getting into. And know that just because you think you’ve hit a dead end doesn’t necessarily make it so.”
“There won’t be any dead ends. Not this time. If I hit one, I’ll bust the wall down. I won’t stop.”
“Promise?” He looked at me with his dark eyes wavering.
“Yeah, man. Why are you acting so fucking weird?” I sat forward and studied him.
“It’s just… I want to see you bring that asshole down. The king. I fucking hate him to my very core. If there’s a way to do it, I’ll do it. I’ll help you do it. I know you want Olivia back, but honestly, I just want to see that prick lose for once. I want to be there when it happens.”
“I’ll make sure you get the first slice of cake.” I tossed him an easy smile. He seemed so tightly wound. He typically was, but this was something different. This was like he was unnerved and stressed out. I assumed it was because of the situation. It wasn’t exactly a stress-free one. If any part of it was wrong, I’d be screwed. And so would Olivia.
“Then just trust that I know what I’m doing.”
“I do, man. You’re the only person aside from Olivia that I’ve ever trusted in my existence.”
“Likewise, friend.”
I spent the following hours taking more souls, including a very excited middle-aged school teacher who wanted to beat me with a ruler. I had a hard time dealing with that one. I liked being in charge. She wasn’t having it though. So, grinding my teeth, I suffered through, fucking her soul out of her, her ruler clutched in her hand when the last breath left her body.
All I could think about was Olivia and getting back to her. I had to make sure she was doing OK.
Rapidly, I sorted through the dreamscape and found hers easily. A beautiful red glow surrounded the image that called to me. And like any love-struck fool, I stepped inside.
“Hey, beautiful,” I greeted her. She turned around to face me in that white dress I knew so well, her hair a tangled mess around her.
“Van.” Her face split into a massive grin, her arms wrapping around my neck. “You’re here.”
“Nowhere else I’d rather be, baby,” I cooed in her ear, planting a trail of fiery kisses down her cheek and neck. Her head fell to the side, a soft moan slipping from her lips.
“I missed you.” I nipped at her bottom lip. Her lips tipped up into a smile beneath mine causing me to break away.
“I missed you, too,” she returned, taking my hand and leading me through the library I’d first found her in.
“What happened to the forest?” I asked, looking around at the stacks of old books.
“I was thinking that I’ve never made out in a library before.” She giggled shyly, biting her bottom lip. “And I thought you might be the perfect guy to help me get what I wanted.”
“You got that right,” I growled, sweeping her up into my arms. Her long legs wrapped around my waist as I sat her down on the table, knocking the books to the floor in the process. My mouth was on hers in seconds, my hands on every part of her delicious body I could get them on.
“Van," she let out a breathy moan as I pushed myself against her.
“Shh, baby,” I chuckled softly in her ear. “This is a library. We have to be quiet.”
That was all it took for laughter to erupt from her mouth, her entire body shaking with it. I pulled away and grinned down at her.
“What?” I asked, enjoying her mirth.
“You.” Her fingers twisted in my shirt as she pulled me closer. “You’re handsome. Smart. A damn good kisser. Funny. Is there anything you can’t do?”
“I can’t stay away from you,” I replied, planting a tender kiss on her lips. “And I never intend to.”
Her hands dropped from my shirt, her entire mood shifting.
“What’s wrong?” I asked as she moved off the table. Her fingers dragged through her wild waves, her green eyes sad as she paced in front of me.
“I want you to be real, Van. I-I need you to be. It’s fun to be here in these dreams with you, but I want something more. I’m going crazy with longing. I want to sleep all the time just to have a chance to see you. It’s ruining my life.”
I swallowed hard and stared at her for a moment, trying to find the words to make it right.
“I am real, Olivia,” I whispered fiercely, approaching her and taking her in my arms. “I swear to you that I am. Just stay with me, baby. I’ll prove it to you. I made a promise that I intend to keep. You just have to trust me. And don’t run away when I find you. Promise?” My eyes swept over her pretty face quickly, worry encasing my heart. What if she did run? It was a thought that kept haunting me.
“I promise.” She rested her forehead against mine as we held one another. “But if you don’t come, this has to end, OK? I can’t live my life sleeping, Van. I need to be out in the real world, trying to survive. This isn’t how I do that.”
“I understand.” That wasn’t a lie. I did get it, but damn did it suck. I was quiet for a moment before I spoke again. “Livvy?”
“Hm?”
“Why does that guy torment you?”
“Brent?” Her eyes met mine, wavering with a sheen of tears. “I don’t know. He said he likes me. But he does things to me that I hate. I’m just happy school’s out for a few days, and we graduate soon. Then I’ll be free of him.”
“You’re going to be free of him even sooner if I can help it,” I vowed, wiping the tears the fucker had created in my girl.
“Are you going to save me?” her voice was small and shaky, another tear slipping from her eye.
“You’re damn right I am. You don’t know it yet, Livvy, but I’m your knight in shining armor. You’ll see.” I planted a sweet kiss on her lips. Her body relaxed against mine as my hold on her tightened.
Almost, Livvy. I’m almost there. I’m going to save you. I swear it.
Olivia
Everyone at school was behaving themselves. Everyone except Brent. He completely ignored me when there were prying eyes, but he looked for any opportunity he could find to get me alone — like when he caught me after school in the hall. So, I made it my mission to avoid going anywhere if the hallways and bathrooms weren’t filled with students.
Wes and Anita had been spending every day together. He even continued to sit with us at lunch. As hard as I tired, I couldn’t resist forming a friendship with him. He was funny, nice, and good to my best friend. Too bad he couldn’t get Brent under control.
The week passed quickly. And I guessed Brent was getting anxious since he hadn’t been able to catch me alone anymore. As Wes, Anita, and I were sitting at our normal lunch table, Brent’s eyes locked on me from across the crowded lunchroom. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, and this numbing feeling settled over me. I knew he was going to do something, but I prayed he wouldn’t, considering we were surrounded by people.
With dread, I watched him as he stood with his tray and walked in my direction. Was he going to say something to me or ignore me until he could find me alone? I quickly figured out it wouldn’t be that simple. He drew closer, and as I watched
he faked tripping, slinging his tray of milk, salisbury steak slathered in gravy, mashed potatoes, and mixed vegetables all down the front of me.
A shriek slipped past my lips as I quickly stood up, pulling my food covered shirt away from my body.
Wes stood up so quickly, his chair fell backward, clanging loudly to the floor. “What the fuck, Brent?” He held his arms out at his side like he was welcoming a fight.
“I’m sorry, man. I tripped.”
“Yeah, right. You’ve been looking for a way to cause Olivia grief in any way you fucking can.” He took a step closer, pointing his finger in Brent’s face. “You’re nothing but a useless dick. Why don’t you man up instead of being a pussy bitch, huh? If you like her, treat her like you fucking like her.” He shoved against Brent’s chest. Brent dropped his empty tray, causing it to clatter to the floor loudly.
The lunchroom was deathly silent with every eye on them. Someone off in the distance started chanting, “Fight, fight, fight, fight.” They began banging on the tables, making the room louder than I could stand.
Brent rushed toward Wes, wrapping his arms around his waist like some kind of football tackle, bringing him to the floor. They both fought for the top position, trying to get the upper hand.
Suddenly, a loud whistle blew throughout the room, and everyone sat down and went silent.
“Break it up!” Mrs. Stevens yelled as she marched through the lunchroom and came to a stop next to our table. Her kind eyes met mine before she raked them up and down my body to see the mess I was. Then, she looked at the boys on the floor who’d stopped fighting but had yet to move.
“What’s going on here?”
Brent jumped at the chance to prove his innocence, getting up off the floor to stand in front of her. “I tripped. Then Wes started calling me names, picking a fight. I wasn’t doing anything but trying to put up my lunch tray.”
Wes stood and dusted off his ass. “That’s not true. He purposely dumped his food all over Liv. He’s always had it out for her. I was just trying to stop his bullying.”
