Love Me, Dreamy: A YA Paranormal Romance with Breathtaking Twists

by Laura Burton

  Amelia closed the locker and frowned as she wondered where Suzie was now. It had been at least five years since they had last seen each other—Suzie and Robert’s wedding day. She was the maid of honour and had to wear a ridiculously bright purple gown that made her look like a character on a board game. Amelia imagined Suzie walking around her huge house out in the country, with a couple of fancy cars on the driveway, a baby on her hip and a toddler or two running riot around her. Her husband would come home and the kids would take turns jumping into his arms to be catapulted up into the sky with lots of squeals and laughter. Something delicious would be cooking in the oven and to top it all off, their perfectly-groomed poodle would bounce into the room and the whole family would laugh and laugh.

  “Hey, um, you might want to check your buttons.” Amelia jumped as she snapped out of her thoughts and saw Toby standing in front of her outside the building. She wondered how she managed to leave the clubhouse without paying attention and looked down to find she had buttoned up her blouse completely wrong. She blushed and turned her back to Toby and faced the brick wall of the building and quickly adjusted her blouse.

  “What had you so distracted?” Toby’s amused voice floated over her shoulder and into her ears, making Amelia grin even wider.

  “I was thinking about when I was your age,” she said as she turned back to face him with a proud smile. This time she looked perfectly presentable. Toby cocked an eyebrow at her.

  “Oh? Back in the days of yore? I’m not that much younger than you, you know,” he said with his arms folded.

  Amelia laughed. “Only nine years.”

  Toby shrugged. “So? Would it matter if I were eighty-nine and you were ninety-eight?”

  “I don’t think I’ll be alive at ninety-eight.”

  Toby looked at her blankly as she maintained a grin. “Well, you know what I mean. Nine years isn’t that long. Don’t they say that life passes by like a dream?” he asked with both eyebrows raised.

  “You are exactly my type, you know,” Toby added triumphantly, looking pleased with himself, as if he had found a rare artefact.

  “Oh, you have a type?” Amelia shifted her bag on her shoulder as they walked. What was I thinking wearing stilettoes? Amelia thought grumpily as she became acutely aware of them pinching her toes. They walked along the pavement back to the centre of Bath among streams of people. Toby started to tell Amelia about his ideal girlfriend, but his words failed to reach her ears as she suddenly became aware of a sense of foreboding. Her ears pricked up and she had laser focus, searching the crowds for a reason why she sensed something bad was going to happen. Her breath caught in her throat and she felt a pain spread across her chest. She quickened her strides and dug her nails into the palms of her hands and her eyes darted around, looking at the faces of the people. From afar she heard the shrill ringing of an alarm, perhaps a car was being broken into? Or maybe it was a house alarm, set off by a cat? Then, the crowds across the road parted and she saw him. The tall gentleman wearing a dark suit who had steely black eyes. He stood perfectly still and stared at Amelia with such intensity she felt his gaze. She wanted to shriek or cry out, but her lips were paralysed, and the sound of her heartbeat drummed loudly in her ears. The world faded around her and all that remained was this man, who stood immobile and quietly watched her. Judging her. Urging her to come to him. Despite the sick feeling of danger in the pit of her stomach, Amelia found herself dashing across the road towards him. The beating drum in her ears accelerated and almost reached a crescendo when suddenly it stopped entirely and Amelia was jerked backward. Pressed up against Toby’s firm body, his strong arms enveloped her narrow frame protectively.

  “What is going on with you?” he asked softly, as he wiped the cold sweat from Amelia’s brow. She blinked up and panted, then craned her neck to look for the man standing across the road. He was gone.

  “I thought, I thought I saw—” she started to say but couldn’t find the words. Toby leaned in and hugged her tightly. She placed her hands around his back and rested her head into his collarbone. She could still smell chlorine on him.

  “You need to stop daydreaming, you know. It’s going to get you hurt! And you said that I was the daydreamer,” Toby said seriously as they broke apart. Crowds of people walked past them like nothing untoward had happened. Two pigeons swooped across the road and stood on the pavement where the mysterious man had been just moments earlier. Amelia smiled up at Toby apologetically.

  “You just walked into the traffic. I had to pull you back to stop you becoming road kill,” Toby added.

  “I don’t know what happened. Thank you for helping me… I’m a little shaken up now,” Amelia thought aloud. Toby just nodded in response. “Do you want to come and eat at my place, instead? We can order pizza. I feel a bit ill,” Amelia offered tentatively. She did not want to be surrounded by people, but she also did not want to be alone. It was a complicated emotion.

  “Yeah, that’d be great. I don’t think it would be a good idea for you to be on your own,” he said as he rubbed her back, looking at her like she was a wounded puppy. Amelia smiled at his touch and felt her chest pains dissipate.

  “I live in Weston-Super-Mare.” Toby shrugged, not knowing where that was. “Are you happy for me to drive?” Amelia asked.

  “Only as long as you can focus on the road without crashing into a tree,” he added with a wry smile. Amelia rolled her eyes at him and they walked arm in arm, together.

  Chapter Four

  Explosive Chemistry

  “You can see the sea from here,” Toby exclaimed as he stood by the front window and peered through the wooden blinds of her apartment. Amelia busied herself making camomile tea in the kitchenette, then smiled when she glanced at Toby’s tall frame. The sight of his strong torso highlighted by the sunshine stirred a funny feeling in her stomach. He had his solid legs slightly apart, his hands on his waist and shoulders squared—he looked like a comic book hero. Confident and sure. Suddenly, a hot piercing pain shot through the back of her pale hand. She was so distracted by Toby that she had poured boiling water onto herself, missing the porcelain mug sitting on the worktop.

  “Ouch!” she yelped, nearly dropping the kettle. Toby swivelled round and rushed to her side in a flash.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Amelia stared at him blankly as she held her hand close to her chest with tears welling in her eyes.

  “I burnt myself,” she replied dumbly, the pain in her hand throbbed. Toby took her hand in his and peered down at the pink flesh. They were standing so close, she could smell his hair as he stooped down and studied the burn. She closed her eyes and inhaled the mint shampoo fragrance intoxicating her senses. Toby guided Amelia to the kitchen sink and turned on the cold tap. A rush of ice-cold water sent shivers through Amelia’s hand and travelled up her arm. The entire hand went numb and she opened her eyes in surprise at the sensation.

  “Is this common with you?” Toby asked as he took a small floral towel and soaked it in cold water. Amelia watched him wring it out and place it gently on her hand.

  “What?” she asked breathlessly as she gazed at the bulging veins along his tanned arms. Toby took her chin in his other hand and lifted her head to look at her eyes. He parted his lips to speak but nothing came out and he closed them again, perhaps wondering what to say. Amelia instinctively licked her lips and felt her heart begin to race. The close proximity of his body to hers and feeling of his hands on her skin sent bolts of electricity through her. If she were a robot, she was certain he would be capable of recharging her batteries.

  “First, you didn’t focus on getting dressed properly, then you ran into traffic, and now you’ve poured hot water onto your hand, all in one day!”

  He let go of her hand and dropped his other hand from under her chin. Amelia blinked and mentally shook herself as if the enchantment she was under had broken.

  “You’re right. I’m having a weird day.” She pulled the damp towel from her han
d, which was entirely numb, and placed the towel over the edge of the sink. Toby picked up the kettle and filled the two mugs and handed one to her.

  “Now, are you going to be okay holding that? Or shall I carry it for you?” he asked carefully. Amelia looked down as she cradled the mug in her hands. To her surprise, the throbbing pain had already dissipated and the flesh had returned to a normal colour.

  “I’ll be fine. Come on, let’s sit down.” Amelia walked over to the couch in the living room area and turned back to see Toby hadn’t moved. He was frowning and appeared to be having an internal battle.

  “Do you know where we are?”

  Amelia sat down on the couch and laughed at the sensitive sounding question.

  “Okay, I get it. I’ve been all over the place today,” she admitted as Toby walked over to the small armchair by the couch and sat down.

  “I’m fine. Really,” she pressed. Toby looked at her for a moment as if deciding whether to believe her or not.

  “Do you know where we are?” he asked again. Amelia took a sip of the camomile tea; it was already lukewarm. That was odd.

  “Of course. We’re in my apartment in Weston-Super-Mare,” she sighed. “Happy now?” Toby’s face portrayed a faint look of shock but quickly recovered himself. He nodded and gave her a smile.

  “It’s a very nice apartment at that,” he replied looking around the room. Amelia scanned her familiar surroundings. She had lived in this apartment for the last eighteen months after getting a job as a reporter for the local newspaper. Her income was modest, but she loved the team she worked with and the rush—and panic—to reach deadlines.

  “You’re a fan of peacocks, I take it,” Toby said politely, as he pointed at the portrait hanging over a small electric fireplace. The portrait was the side profile of a large peacock with its multi-coloured tail on full display. Amelia blushed. She did not like peacocks. That picture creeped her out, in fact.

  “Not really,” she replied honestly. Her mind sent her back to a rainy day in her past. She was standing outside an old Victorian building in a small town near Weston–Super–Mare. She held a black umbrella in her trembling hands and battled against the ferocious wind and rain hammering the umbrella. She stared at the sign on the door, Howard and Co. Solicitors, and gulped as she climbed the concrete steps, pulled the umbrella down and pushed the wooden door open.

  “You’re doing it again.” Amelia jumped out of her memories to see Toby leaning forward and staring at her with worry.

  “Sorry.” Amelia quickly blinked against the tears welling in her eyes.

  “Someone I loved very much gave me that painting,” she said softly, wiping her eyes with a finger as she spoke. The memories burned a hole somewhere in her stomach leaving an ache.

  Toby stood up and moved to the couch; the weight of his body on the cushion seat tilted her into him. He draped an arm around her shoulders and held her tightly. Amelia closed her eyes and leaned her head into his collarbone and rested there for a few minutes. Or maybe more? Amelia lost track of time and just breathed deep and steady to the same rhythm as Toby.

  “You’re tired,” he said gently as he stroked her hair with one hand and rubbed her arm with the other. Amelia nodded slowly and found herself lost in a deep sleep, encased in Toby’s solid embrace.

  Chapter Five

  Demons and Monsters

  Amelia walked along the sandy banks of the beach. The sand was wet, dense and brown, which was why the locals referred to the place as “Weston-Super-Mud.” The tide was in and there was little beach exposed; few people braved the harsh winds and sat on the sand, leaving Amelia a clear path to walk along the front. The gale force winds sounded like a giant roar from the sea and the shrill seagulls’ cries were dampened in the storm.

  Amelia’s thick curls became frizzy in the humidity and her hair flew back and forth like the movement of the tide. She did not care though. Instead, she placed one foot in front of another, aware that she was barefoot. The ground was hard and grainy, and Amelia lifted the legs of her trousers to stop them from getting dirty. Something shiny on the ground caught her eye and she stooped down to take a closer look. The corner of a mirror was poking out of the sand; she pulled it out and brushed the sand away from the glass. As she peered into the mirror, she looked back to see her face beaten and bruised, her eyes so swollen she could hardly recognise herself. When she looked up, the few people on the beach had disappeared and she was alone.

  The storm disappeared and the tide stopped moving. All was still. Eerily so. Then a hiss came from behind her and echoed in her mind. She slowly turned on the spot and gasped at what she beheld. He was impossibly tall. His suit was black with stripes, but on closer inspection the stripes were, in fact, tiny snake patterns running up and down the legs of the trousers. Claw-like hands poked out of the dark sleeves of his jacket, and he wore a silky black shirt and tie. Amelia’s eyes slowly rose to take in the white hollow of his neck and a pointy chin. A pair of narrow lips were almost invisible against his milky complexion. With a gulp, she stared into giant black eyes, framed with thick black brows and a sleek dark mop of hair on his head. He did not speak but raised a hand and pointed a bony finger directly at Amelia’s chest. She wanted to scream, to run away, but instead stood rooted on the spot, unable to muster the energy to do anything but stare in horror. An agonizing pain spread like venom throughout her chest and down her arms; her stomach writhed inside, and her head pounded, making her aware of a distant scream.

  “Time to wake up,” his deathly whisper croaked in her ears. Amelia moaned and her eyes remained locked on the black irises fixed on hers.

  “No,” she moaned, dropping her throbbing head down to her chest to see the sand had transformed into mud. She was sinking into the unforgiving, filthy depths. Pressure mounted along her legs. She shook her head from side to side and looked up at the sky to see a swarm of bees invading the air. The buzzing drowned out the noise of the seagulls. Fear like she’d never known overwhelmed her.

  “Time to wake up,” an even stronger voice said. Amelia sobbed and shrieked, waist deep in the mud as a flurry of bees encircled her sinking form and stung her arms.

  “No!” She cried from the violent stings. Her chest tightened as the mud reached her shoulders, encasing her chest making it impossible to breathe. She closed her eyes and let out a scream, similar to the one she heard from afar.

  “Wake up!”

  Amelia jolted upwards and opened her eyes. She was on the couch in her apartment. The room was dark now, and she was covered in cold sweat. Toby sat next to her; his blue eyes shone in the moonlight peeking through the windows. Amelia’s heart rate slowly returned to normal and she wrung her hands in her lap as she focussed on calming her breathing.

  “Bad dream.”

  Toby nodded, his face looked pale and he handed her a glass of cold water. “I get those too,” he murmured as she raised the glass to her lips. Cool liquid wet her lips and she closed her eyes as she gulped it down greedily. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and looked at Toby again.

  “You do?” The dream was so intense and vivid.

  “I have insomnia because of it. I hate going to sleep,” Toby admitted. He stood up and walked over to the light switch by the door. As he flicked it on, the room flooded with amber light, eliminating the darkness.

  “There, that’s better.” He strode over to the window and pulled the purple curtains across to block out the dark night. Amelia noticed his polo shirt was creased where she had been laying on him. She watched him shift his weight on the spot and look awkwardly around the room, before tucking his hair behind an ear. He looked like he was contemplating his next move, or what to do with his hands. Amelia smiled at the sight.

  “The last time I remember having a nightmare was when I was five years old and had my tonsils removed. The doctors said it was a common side effect from the anaesthesia, but it was horrid,” she said.

  Toby walked back over to Amelia and sat down b
y her side. “You’re not having a good day, are you?” he said gently. His nose hovered a millimetre away from hers and his breath tickled Amelia’s lips. She sat perfectly still, transfixed and wondering whether to run her hands through his hair or capture his mouth with hers, or turn her head… because he is nineteen, Amelia!

  “I’m so sorry.” She pushed herself back against the couch. Her cheeks burned as she continued to reprimand herself for letting her mind wander down forbidden paths.

  “This has been the weirdest day ever. You must think I’m mad,” she said as she stood up. Toby followed suit and studied her expression. “I think it’s best you leave, and I go to bed. I’m probably coming down with the flu or something.” She motioned to the door and Toby hesitantly walked over to it.

  “That’s, umm… a good idea.” He pushed his hands into his pockets. “When can I see you again?”

  Amelia opened her mouth in shock and closed it again. She shrugged. How could he be interested in seeing her again after the madness of the day they just shared?

  “We can try again when you’re feeling better, right?” Amelia simply nodded and stared at him blankly.

  “Great. Feel better soon, okay?” he said as he opened the door. “Bye, Amelia.” He offered a wave and closed the door behind him.

  Amelia turned around and looked at her empty apartment. “I don’t feel very well,” she announced to the room and decided to get ready for bed, thinking that perhaps, after a long sleep, she would be back to normal.

  Chapter Six

  A Curious Time

  Amelia sat at the little wooden desk in the corner of her living room and stirred her mug of hot chocolate absent-mindedly while staring out the window. The sea rolled over itself in waves and rushed in towards the edge of the beach to a steady rhythm. The rumbling of the steady traffic rushing behind her apartment complex merged with the sound of the waves crashing in front of her was hypnotic and oddly relaxing. The sky was clear and bright blue, not a cloud in sight. Amelia’s eyes followed a flock of birds darting through the sky and she watched a seagull swoop down towards the window. She jumped back and gasped as the seagull collided with the glass and a resounding thud jolted Amelia out of her trance. She leapt up and peered through the window to see what happened to the bird, but she could not see it on the grassy floor below. Then the doorbell rang, and she jumped again.