“Are you ok?” Will’s voice breaks through my whirlwind of thoughts.
“Huh?” I say chewing the last bite of burger.
“You look like you’re a million miles away.”
“Oh, I’m just tired, I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“How come?” Lines form in the middle of his forehead giving me the urge to smooth them out. I debate whether or not to tell him. I’m the only one who suffers a chance to lose something. If he’s a Nightmare or another guardian, he’ll already know about everything and the world will be no worse off. With my decision made, I open my mouth to tell him about everything when I see him. His movements like a black streak, Aeryn.
He’s here, standing in his black hoodie and jeans. His hood covers his face, but I know it’s him. Watching over me again. He nods over towards the small shack-like bathrooms and enters the one on the right. What is with this man and small, creepy places? “I need to go the restroom. I’ll be right back.”
“Ok.” His eyes follow me frantically running to the bathroom before popping open the cooler and grabbing a beer. I run over to the restrooms, if you can even call them that, as fast as my legs and the sand would allow. I open the door just enough to slip in and lock the deadbolt. With barely enough room for the two of us to stand around the toilet, I feel his breath on my cheek.
“What were you doing?” He throws back the hood, his jaw set.
“Nothing. We were just having dinner.” Guilt gnaws at my insides.
“No, what were you about to tell him?” The guilt turns into embarrassment. I thought he was upset I was with Will in what looks like a date, but he’s only upset I was about to tell him what I am.
“I wasn’t going to tell him anything.”
His eyebrows lift, and he groans when I remain silent.
“Fine, I was going to tell him, but he won’t tell anybody.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I trust him.”
“I don’t.” His mouth barely moves as he speaks.
“You don’t even know him.”
“I’ve been watching him Nadia, and I don’t like what I’ve seen.”
“You’ve been watching him? Why have you been watching him?”
“I have my reasons.”
“And what would they be?”
“It’s my job.”
“Spying on my friends is part of your job?”
“No, spying on suspicious people.”
“And what exactly makes him so suspicious?”
He pauses for a moment, locks his eyes onto mine, and shrugs in defeat. He has the same worry lines as Will, and I feel the same urge to smooth them out. I can understand why he doesn’t want to trust someone he doesn’t know with such a secret, but I know Will, and I trust him. If Aeryn was honest when he told me he trusts me, then he should trust Will too. “I need to return. Promise me you won’t tell him.”
“You can’t just leave now. You haven’t answered my question.”
“I have to. Will you promise me you won’t tell him?” I silently look around the tiny restroom trying to avoid his eyes. “At least not yet?” He reluctantly adds.
I don’t want to make this promise, I want to confide in Will, but I know Aeryn’s intentions are pure, and I can always tell Will later. Aeryn just needs more time to trust him. “I promise.” The reluctance in my voice is evident.
“And we keep our promises to each other.” It isn’t a question or a threat. It’s a fact. He’s made me countless promises already and kept every single one. “Make me another promise?”
“You’re getting a little greedy now.” His smile returns, and it warms my heart.
“Just promise me you’ll be careful around him?”
“You don’t have to worry.”
“Just promise me. For peace of mind.”
“Ok.”
“Say it.”
“I promise.”
CHAPTER 11
THE TAPPING OF KNUCKLES AGAINST the wooden door triggers a jerking motion that rams my elbow into the back wall. I stifle a scream, rubbing the throbbing joint. “Nadia, are you ok in there?” Will. Aeryn lifts my arm to investigate my elbow then nods toward the door. I open it just enough for me to slip out and close it behind me, leaning my back against it.
“Yeah, sorry. My stomach just isn’t feeling too well.”
He brushes a strand of hair behind my ear. “Let me take you home.”
“Yeah, ok. Thanks.” Going home is probably best. If I stay with Will, I’ll be tempted to confide in him.
“Why don’t you go wait in the truck while I pack up everything?”
“Sure.” I’m hesitant to release my barricade on the door. What if he decides he needs to use the restroom before we leave?
“Do you need a moment to go back in?”
“Oh. No. Sorry.” I shake my head and slowly walk over to his truck. My eyes glance over to him, ensuring he isn’t going back to the stall. I climb into the passenger’s side wondering why he never locks his vehicle. I feel safe in my small town, but not that safe. The bottles clank against each other as he tosses the cooler and towels into the truck bed, and takes his place in the driver’s seat. “Sorry to cut this so short.” I apologize as he starts up the truck with a simple press of a button.
“Don’t worry about it, I just want you to feel better.” He checks his mirrors and makes a small adjustment to the rearview. “I hope it wasn’t the burger that caused this. Do you need any medicine?”
“No, I think I just need some rest.” He nods as he pulls out of the beach parking lot and I lean back in the leather seat.
“Back there you were about to tell me something.”
“Oh, was I? I don’t even remember anymore.” I’m a terrible liar.
“If you don’t want to tell me what’s going on with you Nadia it’s fine, you don’t have to lie to me.” The look in his eyes shatters my heart.
“I didn’t mean to lie to you. I just don’t feel like myself right now. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, just know you can always tell me anything.”
“I know.” I wish I hadn’t made that promise to Aeryn.
When we make it to the house, he escorts me to the door. “Thanks for bringing me home, I’m sorry I ruined our day at the beach.”
“You didn’t ruin anything. I like hanging out with you, even if I make you sick.”
“Shut up,” I say playfully.
“Why don’t you go get some rest, and I’ll talk to you later.” I give him a hug before he leaves. I’m not home five minutes before a gentle knock taps against the door. Through the peephole, I can see it’s Hanna. She must understand how badly she screwed up if she’s knocking like a sane person. I turn around, pressing my back against the door. My lip screams against the assault from my teeth.
A few more soft raps against the door. “Come on Nadia, I know you’re in there. Just let me explain.”
I push myself off of the door and fling it open. “Explain what? How you lied to me and tricked me into being your friend?”
“It wasn’t like that.”
My pulse drums in my ears. “Then what was it like?”
“Being a guardian is like a family business. My mom made the arrangement with Gideon to have me as your guardian.”
“How is that not lying and tricking me?”
“Let me finish. What my mother told me was that you were in need of friends, like I was. I didn’t have any friends then either Nadia. I needed you just like you needed me. I was 15 when they told me the truth.”
“15? That was six years ago Hanna. You lied to me for six years.”
“They made me promise not to tell you, I’m sorry. I couldn’t.”
“You’re sorry? I was losing my mind, and for six years, you watched me suffer. Knowing that I wasn’t.”
“I couldn’t tell you, Nadia, please, try to understand.” She picks at her cuticles the way I bite my lip.
“I can’t deal w
ith this right now Hanna. Please leave.”
“Ok, I’ll give you some time, but at least take this.” She holds her hand out with a small brown bag.
“What is that?”
“Dream dust. It will make your shell go to sleep so you can return to Dream Haven whenever you want. I was supposed to give it to you when you were enlightened.”
“Enlightened? You mean when everyone decided to stop lying to me?”
“Here, just take it, Nadia.” She holds the bag out towards me. I yank the bag from her grasp, and she leaves without another word. Anxious to find out why Aeryn has been following Will, I open the small bag to find soft gold dust. Is this how Aeryn comes and goes so quickly?
In my rush to force her exit, she wasn’t able to tell me how to use the dust. Do I take it orally or sprinkle some over myself like fairy dust? I grab a small pinch and release the dust on top of my head choosing the safest option first. I brace myself, but nothing happens. Shaking my head, the grains fall littering the carpet like glitter. I take a moment to question what would happen if the powder is poisonous to ingest but decide it’s worth the risk. If it is poisonous, maybe it will only hurt my shell.
I grab another small pinch, dropping it onto my tongue. It feels grainy, similar to the time Hanna accidentally kicked beach sand in my face when she was ‘dancing,’ but it doesn’t have the same dirt taste. Heat floods my body, getting warmer with each passing moment. With a rush of heat that feels like a volcano erupting inside of me, I’m back in Dream Haven, standing on the beautiful beach that appeared to me the last time I was here. Am I causing the change in scenery? My skin immediately starts soaking up the sun and the smell of salt assaults my nose.
My feet slip on the sand as I run towards the forest, hoping I can remember my way back to the cliff. I’ve never understood why so many people like to jog on the beach. The sand makes it awkward and unnecessarily difficult. There has to be an alternate route that will get me to the rock quicker, but I’m counting on my memory, and this is the way Aeryn took me last time.
I make it to the forest faster than I thought I would, but slow my pace while running through it. The path is covered with obstacles, forcing me to jump over fallen twigs and duck under low hanging branches. I try to make the path smooth and clear like he did before, but it isn’t working. My will must not be strong enough. My feet clunk against the hard ground and leaves rustle as I run past. The owls must be keeping a safe distance since the trees are bare. After a couple slips and several scrapes, I make it to the bridge. The waterfall is still as loud and impressive as the last time. For a moment, I consider jumping into the water and floating there all day, but that isn’t what I came here to do.
It takes me almost as long as it did the first time to climb the steep hill, but there he is, sitting on the edge dangling his legs over the side. I wonder if he has a death wish. “Hey.” I keep my breathy voice low, trying not to startle him. He turns around smiling while patting the space beside him. I carefully sit down next to him like before. I take a moment to appreciate the view and almost forget why I was so desperate to come here. Everything here has a way of making your troubles disappear.
“I’m impressed.” He admits, bringing me back to reality.
“With what?”
“Partially because you made it back to Dream Haven on your own and partially because you were able to find your way back here.”
“I only semi made it back here on my own, Hanna gave me some kind of dust.”
“Dream dust.”
“Yeah, that.”
“You talked to Hanna?”
The knife in my back plunges deeper. “Yeah, she told me everything, at least I think it was everything, about how she’s my guardian.”
“And you’re upset with her?” His voice pitches at the end and the skin above his nose wrinkles.
“Wouldn’t you be? She lied to me for six years. I never would have done that to her. I wouldn’t have been able to watch her suffer that way knowing I could do something about it.”
“It’s not always that easy. She made a promise Nadia, she wanted to tell you, she even pleaded with Gideon, but he said you weren’t ready. She genuinely did want to tell you.”
“And let me guess, you too had made a promise not to tell me she was my guardian?”
He nods. “I’ve already bent too many promises for you.”
“Would one more really have made a difference?” I don’t want to hear him defending her, even if what he’s saying is logical.
He looks over at me without answering, waiting for me to ask the question he knows is coming. “Why have you been following Will?”
He pushes his gaze to the mountains before speaking. “Have you ever wondered why Will just showed up into your life?” Even an idiot would realize what he’s implying.
“Will is not a Nightmare.”
“Are you completely sure about that?”
“Yes. What makes you so sure that he is?”
He smirks. “Are you asking because you’re curious or because you think it’s possible you’re just in denial about it?” The irrational part of me wants to push him over the edge, but I just stare at him blankly waiting for an answer. “He has a notebook, with pictures of you. I haven’t been able to get close enough to see what he’s writing in there, but I’ve seen him pull a couple pictures out.” I have to admit, that’s a little weird, maybe borderline creepy, but it doesn’t mean he’s a Nightmare.
“So?” I ask, and his eyebrows arch. “I know he has feelings for me, maybe that’s why he has the pictures.”
“Where did he get the pictures, Nadia?”
“I don’t know, I think we took a few on his phone.”
“The ones I saw weren’t selfies. They were candid shots. You running in the park and at the coffee shop.”
“Ok so that’s a little weird, but...” I trail off mid-sentence.
“What is it?”
“You said he had a picture of me running at the park?”
“Yeah. What’s wrong?”
“When I ran into Will at the park, he told me he didn’t know I ran there.” Aeryn gives me an I told you so look. “That doesn’t mean he’s a nightmare. Guys do stupid things when they like a girl.” Will can’t be a Nightmare, he just can’t.
“I can testify to that, but it doesn’t prove he isn’t a Nightmare either.” I want to ask him about the stupid things he’s done for a girl and more importantly who that girl is, but this isn’t the time.
“Ok, but if he were a Nightmare, he would have already gotten rid of me. He had plenty of chances this past year.”
“You may be right, but I’m still going to be following him. Especially when you’re there.”
“How would you like it if someone were to follow you?”
“I have nothing to hide so it wouldn’t bother me.”
“Do you guys not care about privacy at all?”
“You guys?”
“You know, Dreamcatchers or Nightstalkers. Are you just open about everything?”
He laughs. “We like our privacy as much as anyone else, but again, I have nothing to hide. If someone needs to watch me to make sure of that, then so be it.”
“Well then maybe I should start following you. How do I know you’re not a Nightmare?”
He smirks. “You are more than welcome to follow me around. Actually, I encourage you to. But you already have proof I’m not a Nightmare.”
“What proof?”
“I’m here. Nightmares are unable to enter Dream Haven.”
“Even if they get their hands on some Dream Dust?”
“Even if they get their hands on Dream Dust. It wouldn’t work on them.”
“Fine. I guess you’re off the hook.”
He smiles. “But please, go ahead and start following me around like a little puppy.”
“I never said like a puppy.”
“But you meant it.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Oka
y, but I’m going to need you to anyway. We have more training to do.”
…
He’s pushing me harder today, moving faster, punching harder, throwing in different combos I’ve never seen. I’m almost positive I’ve spent more time lying on the ground rather than standing. My back is screaming for a break, and I can feel more bruises forming as he knocks the wind out of me again. “Can we take a break?”
He opens his mouth to protest but must notice how pathetic I look. “Sure.”
I only intend to sit on the ground, but my body has another idea. With the weight of the world pushing on my shoulders, my eyes close, and my body quickly sprawls out on the ground. I hear rustling next to me and open my eyes to see Aeryn lying beside me. The hair on my arm stands when it makes contact with his sending a fire raging up my arm. His hand flexes and I wonder if he felt the fire too. “Hanna wasn’t the only person I spoke to when I went back. I also talked to my father.”
He fidgets at the mention of my father. “How did that go?”
“Why do you say it like that?
“Like what?”
“Like you have a problem with him.”
“Because I do have a problem with him. I don’t know if I can ever forgive him for abandoning you three years ago.”
“Why does everyone keep saying that? He didn’t abandon me.” It still feels weird to be defending my father, but I’m obviously the only one who will.
The Other Side of Dreams (Nighstalker Novels Book 1) Page 11
