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

by Laura Burton

  Amelia stood on the water’s edge, lost in the grandeur of the scenery before her. The “lake” was more like a vast ocean. The crystal-clear water reflected the Californian sun and sent chasms of colour across the surface. Seagulls honked as they flapped ungracefully across the blue sky, and a strong breeze flurried through the branches of the trees. The ground sloped down, and Amelia noticed tyre tracks disappearing into the water line. The hairs on Amelia’s arms stood on end and her skin prickled against the unforgiving sun. She looked over at Toby and jumped with surprise to see him pulling his shirt over his head. Her eyes scanned his upper body; it looked like it was crafted by an artist sculpting a piece of clay. His defined, tanned muscles sent wonderful shivers down Amelia’s spine and she became giddy. Blushing profusely, she averted her eyes and wondered what to do. He’s just standing there, smiling at me. What am I supposed to do now?

  “Are you coming in?” Toby asked brightly as he pulled his shorts down. Amelia’s heart thumped wildly in her chest as her hand flew to her collarbone. She heaved a sigh of relief to see he was wearing swimming trunks.

  “I’m not prepared for this; I don’t have my costume on!” Amelia said, overwhelmed with embarrassment. Toby shrugged and stretched his arms out as he bent side to side. His obliques flexed as he moved. Amelia was paralysed with fascination. Down the lake’s edge she noticed a small hut with surfboards and a speed boat sitting near the water line. Toby followed her line of sight.

  “Do you want to go on the boat? We can take it out if you want?”

  “Do I have to drive it?” Amelia asked, horrified at the thought. She had never driven a boat before. Toby shook his head with a laugh and dragged his hand through his hair.

  “Nah, I’ll drive. Wait here, and I’ll go and sort it out.” Toby strolled over to the hut with his arms swinging back and forth and his muscles rippled tantalisingly as he walked. Amelia realised her mouth was hanging open and she silently reprimanded herself, her mind back in the same dual argument.

  Amelia, behave yourself. Don’t forget he’s almost a decade younger than you.

  Are you kidding me? You think I’m going to hold back after that kiss in Cheltenham?

  You got carried away, you shouldn’t do that again.

  But he IS an adult. There’s nothing wrong with….

  “Amelia! What are you waiting for? Come over here!” Amelia was ripped from her thoughts and blinked into the sunlight. Toby had the speedboat in the water and stood waving his arm at her. Amelia hurried down the bank and joined him; she slipped her feet out of her shoes and picked them up in her hand as she tip-toed to the boat. She grabbed Toby’s outstretched arm and clung onto it like it was a length of rope. In one sure movement, Toby pulled her up and she flung her legs over the edge of the boat and sat down on the little bench.

  “Wow,” she breathed as she looked around and clutched the seat with her sweaty hands. Toby settled into the driver’s seat at the front of the boat and shouted back, “There’s only a fifty-percent chance we will capsize.”

  Amelia gulped, unsure if he was serious or not as the engine burst to life and the boat vibrated wildly underneath them. Amelia gasped as the boat sped through the water, bumping up and down like waves of the ocean. The wind whipped Amelia’s hair back and served a welcome relief from the scorching heat.

  “This… is… amazing!” she shouted, her body left her seat and bumped back down again as the boat reconnected with the water. Toby’s blonde hair rippled in the wind and sprays of water covered the two of them as he took a sharp left turn. Amelia squealed at the sudden splash of cold water against her burning skin. She caught a glimpse of Toby’s cheeky grin before he turned away to look in front again. Not another soul was in sight. Toby and Amelia had the whole lake to themselves and they laughed gleefully as the boat darted through the water. Amelia’s cheeks were aching again as she grinned. Her senses were having a party; the warmth of the sunlight and the vibrations of the boat sent a rush of happiness throughout her whole being. Wild dark hair billowed out behind her and the water spray left glistening drops on her arms that looked like diamonds in the sunshine. Amelia was free. She arched her back and gripped the bench for dear life as she succumbed to the thrill of their adventure. All of her worries were left behind on the bank and all she knew was that she was happy. Truly happy. Toby slowed the boat and turned to face her; a goofy smile planted on his face. In a moment of exhilaration, Amelia left the bench and dashed over to Toby, not caring that her movements were making the boat wobble.

  “Thank you!” she exclaimed as she grabbed Toby’s face with her hands and pressed her lips against his forehead. Toby’s strong arms reached up and pulled Amelia down in a quick swoop and he held her in his lap. The two of them got lost in a wild exploration of each other. Amelia was unsure where she ended and Toby began. Their mouths were joined, moving in perfect unison raising the delicious tension of their thrilling exchange. They broke apart and Amelia blinked into Toby’s bright eyes as he stared back at her unabashed and hungry for more.

  “I can’t breathe,” Amelia whispered, her heart was pounding in her chest.

  “Does that mean I take your breath away?” Toby asked lightly as he rubbed his palms up and down her back soothingly. Amelia took a deep breath and slowly exhaled as she climbed off Toby’s lap and backed away. Toby grabbed her hand, with a hint of a frown.

  “Where are you going?”

  “We need to cool down,” she said, pressing her hand against the thumping in her chest.

  “Why?” Toby looked at Amelia with concern as he reached out to her. “Come on, sit down, you don’t look so good,” he said gently. Amelia stumbled and fell to the floor as the boat rocked to the side, sending Amelia’s head spinning. “We need to get you back, deep breaths,” Toby said firmly as he started the ignition again. The roaring of the engine echoed within Amelia’s head and she took shallow breaths.

  “Here, lay down under the cover. I’ll get you back to the car in no time, okay?” Toby shouted over the roaring engine. The speedboat bounced across the water as they sped across the lake. Before Amelia could reply, her vision grew blurry and heaviness spread across her chest, making breathing near-impossible.

  “I don’t feel so good,” she mumbled and then she passed out.

  Amelia woke up with her face pressed against the car window. She sensed the rumbling of the engine as she sat up and looked around, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. She pushed her hair away from her face and looked at Toby who was still driving the car and glanced over at her to give her a smile.

  “Hey, sleepyhead, you were out for a while there, you had me worried,” he said.

  “You carried me back to the car?” Amelia asked as she rubbed her temples with her thumbs. Toby nodded.

  “You’re not used to this heat… Here, take some water.” He handed her a bottle from the backpack. Amelia gulped the water down quickly.

  “How are you feeling now?” Toby asked softly.

  “I have a headache.” She pressed her hand against her forehead and shut her eyes against the throbbing sensation, wincing.

  “Hmm, okay, you just keep drinking that water. Looks like you’ve got a bit of heatstroke.”

  Amelia looked out at the scenery; they were driving through what appeared to be the desert. Rolling hills of sand stretched as far as the eye could see and the sparsity of foliage had Amelia wondering if Toby had secretly flown her to Arabia.

  “Where are we?” she wondered aloud.

  “Don’t worry, we’re still in California. These dunes are awesome to take a quad bike out on. I used to come here with my friends.”

  “Oh, so you do have friends!”

  “Ha Ha! Yes, I have friends, well… I did.” Toby’s smile faded and he looked out at the sandy road with a serious look.

  “Why do you say that?” Amelia asked quickly, sensing there was a story there. Toby shrugged.

  “Don’t worry about it. Hey, do you want to get out and check this pla
ce out?” he said quickly, changing the subject. Amelia glanced nervously out at the sandy dunes again and shook her head warily.

  “There’s nothing out here,” she said blankly. Toby shrugged again.

  “Okay, probably shouldn’t let you out in the sun for a while anyway.” He settled into silence again as he drove. Toby glanced over at Amelia furtively.

  “Stop looking at me like that, I’m fine,” she shot at him defensively. Toby muttered something indiscernible under his breath.

  “What did you say?” Amelia tilted her head as she eyed him closely.

  “Well, I’ve lost count of the times you’ve passed out since we’ve met.” He rubbed the back of his neck as he kept his eyes fixed on the road.

  “It’s been a bit of a dramatic time, though, maybe I’m in shock from all the times your weird guardians have turned up!” The colour from Toby’s face drained.

  “Speaking of which,” Amelia continued, her voice now bossy. “I think it’s incredibly weird that these bodyguard people are so invested in keeping you from seeing me.”

  “I know how it looks, but—”

  “—but what? You’re an adult, Toby, can’t you make your own decisions?”

  “Yes, I can. They’re just trying to scare you off, but they can’t really do anything.” Amelia made a noise of contempt as she considered the thought and studied her neatly-trimmed nails, when suddenly the car lurched forward and came to an abrupt stop. Amelia looked up at Toby who had both hands on the wheel and his arms outstretched. He was staring in front of him with a look of dread.

  “Speak of the devil,” she murmured as she glimpsed one of Toby’s “guardians,” who was standing in the middle of the road with his hands clasped together. He wore an inky black suit in the sunlight, and looked out of place in the desert-like setting.

  “This is getting ridiculous,” Amelia whispered. Toby held up a finger and she fell silent. Her eyes darted from the man standing in the road to Toby, and by the look of their faces, Amelia could have sworn the two of them were communicating telepathically. The man stepped aside, and Toby started the car again and allowed it to crawl forward. Amelia’s stomach tightened and she was nauseous as they passed the strange man. Once by, Toby accelerated the car and they continued the journey like nothing untoward had happened.

  “Why was he there, Toby? How did he know we would come this way?” Amelia asked, more questions entered her head as soon as she finished asking one. Toby shrugged and offered a nervous smile in response.

  “Toby, what’s the plan here? How are we supposed to live a normal life? You know, go to work or pick up food at the store if we’re always looking over our shoulders for them to turn up.” Amelia nervously braided her hair as she spoke rapidly. She played with her hair when she felt powerless.

  “A normal life? Together?” Toby urged as he gave her a side glance, a smile on his face.

  “I… well… um,” Amelia stammered. She swallowed and recovered herself. “Well, how can we even date under these circumstances?” she asked hotly. Toby remained quiet, apparently deep in thought. His silence unnerved her even more.

  “We’ll never outrun these guys, will we?” She turned away from Toby, putting her hand under her chin, sagging her shoulders. “I still don’t understand why they don’t agree with us being together. I mean, what’s the big problem? I know I’ve been giving you stick for being younger than me but….”

  Toby reached out and placed a hand on her knee.

  “They’re hot on rules. Protocol. That sort of thing. We just need to get away from them.”

  “But they even followed you to England, Toby. There’s no getting away, is there?” Amelia didn’t mean to argue, but the realisation of their actions was beginning to sink in.

  “I’m going to take you to the beach before we go any further,” Toby said in a tone of finality. He took the car off-road and the Audi was wobbling along the sandy banks towards the sunny horizon. Amelia gripped the edge of her leather seat as she stared with wide eyes at the sand dunes around them.

  “How is this going to work?” she shrieked as the car bumped and she hit her head on the roof.

  “Don’t worry, it’s a four-wheel drive,” Toby said reassuringly, though Amelia was far from reassured.

  “Toby, look!” she cried out as her eyes caught the figure of a man on a dirt bike driving close by. The driver on the bike was wearing a black suit and although he had a black helmet on, Amelia needed only one guess to correctly identify who the mysterious biker might be.

  “I see him.” Toby revved the car as they scaled another dune. The dirt bike weaved across their path with ease and kicked up sand onto their windscreen.

  “Toby!” Amelia shrieked in horror as she watched the biker level up with them on her side of the car, as Toby cleared the screen with the wipers.

  “Just think of this as a great action movie, and you’re the star,” Toby said breathlessly as he focussed on driving.

  The car jolted as they bumped down the bottom of another dune and Amelia swallowed the lump in her throat and gasped.

  “I guess this is a bad time to say that I’m a bigger fan of comedies.” She attempting to smile as Toby yanked the steering wheel and drove in an S-shape along the sandy floor. Palm trees came into view and Amelia thought she could spy the ocean on the horizon.

  “We’re nearly there,” Toby said. “Hold onto something.” He pulled hard on the wheel to the left and the car suddenly collided with the biker on Amelia’s side of the car. She looked in the rearview mirror to see the biker tumble to the ground in a heap on the floor and stared at Toby with horror.

  “You hit him! What if he’s dead? Toby! What if you killed him?” She stared in the rearview mirror and could just make out the shape moving on the ground. She breathed a sigh of relief but shrieked again as the car tyres made contact with the normal road. Amelia craned her neck to look back for a sign of anyone in pursuit.

  “We’ve lost them.” Her hands were trembling. Toby raced down the quiet road and pulled up on the beach. Amelia stepped out of the car and bent over, retching. Her vision blurred. Toby climbed out of the car and dashed over to her with a look of worry.

  “Are you okay?” he asked softly as he rubbed her back in small circular motions. Amelia nodded faintly and straightened up again.

  “Just shaken up,” she said weakly, blinking hard as her vision returned. Toby looped his arm around hers and guided her along the sandy beach to the seafront.

  “Here, come and get some fresh air,” he said softly.

  Amelia pulled off her shoes and stood barefoot on the edge of the sea. The white sand was hard beneath her feet and the blazing sunshine obscured her vision of the horizon ahead. She closed her eyes and basked in the heat of the sun and enjoyed the steady movement of the tide as the water washed back and forth over her legs. The cool sea breeze was powerful but no match against the California heat. Toby was right, the beach she had grown up with was no beach. As she stood at the water’s edge and soaked in the sensation, a smile crept across her face and once again, she was free. Her mind took her to her grandma who loved to take Amelia to the seafront. There were donkeys on the beach in Weston-Super-Mare and for fifty pence Amelia was allowed to ride them for as long as she wanted. Clive, the owner of the donkeys, was an old friend of her grandma. Clive and Grandma would walk alongside the donkeys and natter about local news and events as little Amelia looked out at the sea as she rode the donkeys. Lost in the hypnotic movements of the waves, her mind raced with stories of pirates and mermaids. A twinge of sadness shattered Amelia’s peaceful state as she thought about her grandma and how much she longed to see her again. Her memory took her back to the day she was in the solicitor’s office.

  The gentleman had opened the door to his little office and held it open for her as she walked through and took a small chair. The gentleman closed the door and strolled over to the wooden desk and took a seat in his large recliner chair, clasping his hands together, his s
tubby fingers interlocking as he cleared his throat.

  “Thank you for coming in today, Miss Smart,” he said in a gruff voice. He straightened his black tie and looked at the computer monitor sitting next to him. Amelia wondered if he was reading a script.

  “The probate for Irene has been completed, and I can now hand over the deeds to her property—an apartment on the seafront—to you as the new owner. In her will, she has bequeathed a sum of eighteen-hundred pounds to be given to the Blind Dogs Trust and the remainder of her possessions to be solely given to you. Her only living relative.”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t understand. Eighteen-hundred pounds?” Amelia spluttered. Her grandma had little to no money. Was she expected to sell the apartment?

  “Ah, there is one item she has requested to be sold,” the man said as he scrolled through the information on his screen.

  “Yes, a portrait by Bonja Evergreen called The Peacock. I do believe that is an expensive painting,” he continued and turned to look at her for the first time since they entered the room. Amelia swallowed the lump in her throat. She knew the painting; it had been hanging over the fireplace for as long as she could remember. Why would her grandma want to sell it?

  “As the solicitor responsible for Irene’s affairs and therefore duty-bound to ensure her requests are carried out, I took the liberty to find an auction house which will offer the best price for the painting. After several phone calls and written correspondence, I found a bidder in Birmingham who has offered a sum of one hundred and fifty thousand pounds for the painting.” Amelia’s mouth dropped open and she stared in shock at the gentleman, who smiled back undeterred.

  “Quite a surprise, I am guessing?” he asked. Amelia could only nod. All those years they struggled to survive, the charity shop clothes, kitchen cupboards never full and all that time an expensive painting hung on the wall? A painting that creeped Amelia out, no less. Yet her grandma insisted it was a family heirloom and should be kept. Why sell it now? As if the solicitor could read Amelia’s thoughts, he pulled out a file and cleared his throat again.