Dream Haunter

by Shayna Corinne

  Chapter Three

   Melody’s legs go wobbly with nerves as her feet pound down the cement staircase of her apartment. Even though she is the one that lives right next door to the pun-fully named café “Drink it Black”, which is nestled in between her red brick apartment and a book store called The Book Mark, where she works, she’s the one ten minutes late.

  The cold Wisconsin air whips around her as she checks her thick red hair one last time before venturing into the vinyl record covered walls of the café. The smell of coffee and cupcakes fall on her like a warm blanket, making Melody de-thaw some, so she shrugs her light brown leather jacket off her shoulders as she makes her way to where Sam sits nestled in the far corner of the room with his nose in another one of his thick mystery novels.

  She stops for a moment, standing behind a wooden bookshelf as she looks at Sam, who is still engrossed by his book. Her feet tingle inside her black and white Converse as she watches him, taking in his diamond shaped face and ash brown hair. He chews on his bottom lip, his finger already under the worn page, ready to turn it to see if the murderer really is the butler, and if so the book would be totally cliché and he would tell her not to read it. Melody leans away from the shelf for a moment, taking a few deep breaths before spinning on her heels and walking to Sam’s table, some new indie band starting to pound through the speakers; she can feel the beat in her chest.

  “You look like a truck hit you!” Sam jokes as Melody sits down across from him in one of the multicolored, oversized, arm chairs at the coffee shop.

  The smell of strong coffee and ink float over the black and white checkered tiles of the round table to fill Melody’s nose. Sam sits his book aside, leaning over the table to kiss her; nothing spectacular but safe and familiar. She forces a smile, the feeling that she’s been dishonest to him rolls in her stomach, but she pushes it down just enough to keep it from showing on her face.

  She hopes.

  “I just didn't get much sleep last night.” Melody says as she looks away from him, fiddling with the tattered hem of her favorite Beatles t-shirt; just the feeling of his eyes on her make her want to cry.

  Sam’s lush, green eyes chase her face; his smile vanishing away as he tenderly picks her chin up with his index finger. “Melody is there something wrong?”

  She chews on her bottom lip, the words want to jump up from her lungs and climb its way through her trachea before making their escape through her larynx, letting everyone in this quaint coffee shop know that when it comes to this relationship, she’s the one that can’t stay faithful.

  “No, just tired.”  She says, and it isn’t really a lie considering she’s been doing more dreaming than sleeping.

   Sam smiles and locks his fingers with her from across the table, squeezing her hand tight, feeling that at any moment Melody could float away from him.

  “It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve talked with you, what's new?” his soft lips speak, but she can’t hear him over her subconscious, which is screaming inside of her head.

  “Tell him! Tell him now or else I’ll make you feel like hell!” It screams.

   Melody brushes her inner voice away, thinking that the best thing to do was to be quiet and not hurt Sam.

  “Nothing really, just the same-o-same-o.” she forces the words past her lips before flashing a quick nonchalant smile, building a thicker facade on the front of her face as her innards shake from guilt.

  Sam smiles, the smile he has when something big happens. Melody’s heart slows, bringing the blood in her veins back to its relaxed pace; Sam’s completely oblivious to the way her eyes have suddenly become dilated and her skin twitches every time he asks her what she’s been doing while he was gone.

  He leans forward, looking in her sapphire blue eyes as his flicker back and forth with excitement. “Well, I got an audition with a record label this week.” 

  Sam loves his guitar almost as much as he loves Melody; his dream of making it big has rubbed off on her after all these years. A wide, teeth-y, smile spreads across her face. “That’s amazing! Oh my gosh, this could be it for you!” she exclaims.

  His brown hair swishes back and forth as his head nods with exhilaration; his cheek muscles burning from his spacious smile. “That’s what I hope.” he takes her hand, hypnotically rubbing circles on it with his thumb, “I’ve missed you.”

  She blushes, watching his green eyes go from excitement to a calm yet joyful state as they bounce around her face. Sam holds up an index finger, Melody’s eyes stare at the calluses on its tip, as he pulls a small box out of his coat pocket. He gently places it in her palm as he bites the inside of his cheek. It’s a little white box with silky red ribbon wrapped around it into a bow. Melody looks up at Sam, her eyes in shock. “Oh Sam! You didn’t have to get me anything…”

  Sam’s cheeks redden as he flashes a crooked smile. “It’s my pleasure, Melody. Now open it!”

  She pulls the ribbon, it makes a soft whooshing noise as it unties and falls at the sides of the box. She slides the finger nail of her thumb underneath the small crease in the back, the hinges making a creaking sound as it opens. Melody reaches into the soft grey fabric that lines the inside of the box, her thumb and index finger plucking out a golden heart with a music note cut into the center while the matching gold chain hangs from it. She pulls it out, the pendent catching the sun light, showing the silver words around the edges of the heart that reads: I love you most. S&C.

  Melody looks up; Sam’s face is white with angst, his eyes pulsating with questions. He squints, trying to read her expression.

  “You don’t like it do you? I should have listened to Chester about it being too corny.” he utters, his tone disappointed.

   “I love it.” Melody announces, grinning from ear to ear, “Don’t ever take romance advice from Chester.” The gesture hit her right in guilt bone, hard.

  She leans over the table, quietly kissing him, the taste of coffee and chocolate frosting rub off of Sam’s lips on to hers. She pulls away, smiling as she squishes into the arm chair next to Sam, sitting half on him and half on the purple cushion while she sips the rest of his caramel latte.

  Sam runs his fingers through her hair as she thinks to herself, “Who am I kidding? I love Sam! I need to stop these dreams tonight.”

                                      ………………………………….

  Sam and Melody spend the rest of the day together, talking about his music and how horrible a bus full of guys can smell after four months. So when Melody gets home she has no other choice but to flop down, fully dressed, on her unmade bed with exhaustion.

  Her heart sinks as she watches the brightly colored walls of her bedroom spin into a white blur. Her stomach jolts as she watches the pictures on her walls get sucked into the white hole that pulls her into its dream world.

  “Hey… you’re early.” Adam greets, peeking his head around the corner of the hall at her.

  The white blur has faded away, her vision is clear enough to see the red walls and black and white tiles of Adam’s kitchen.

  Her skin prickles with goose bumps as she feels Adam’s presence come closer and closer to her soul. Her heart pounds with ecstasy as the feeling comes back, not the guilty feeling of being unfaithful to Sam, but the throbbing hunger for Adam’s undying attention and affection. The smell of aftershave and sports deodorant fall from Adam’s flesh like leaves; leaving small traces of sweet decaying gold and red leaves in the air around him. Melody’s heart plays a sad and sweet melody in her head as Adam walks behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist; her thoughts from earlier slip away into a low fog around them.

  Sam who?

  Adam nestles his chin on her shoulder, his minty breath tickles her ear. “I love you. I really do.” Adam whispers before he kisses her; his lips burn as they brand her slender neck with his name.

   Melody’s eyes flicker shut, mistaking pain for pleasure,
as she leans back into him. Her fingers go to reach for the back of Adam’s head, but instead they come upon the gold chain around her neck.

  Her skin twitches as something inside of her whispers, “Sam.”

  Adam’s burning lips work their way up her cheek and to her temple; they have traveled such a path more times than Melody can fathom.

  “Sam.”

  The name strikes a chord with her tongue as she tries the name out on her own lips, “Sam…”

  Adam, lost in his rhythmic breaths and touches, doesn’t seem to even account for what she says. But Melody hears herself, hears her voice repeat the name that cuts deep into her soul like a newly sharpened knife.

  “Sam.” She gasps; her heart plummets into her stomach, tearing out her insides as it drops.

  She slips from Adams soft hands, her flesh crying out for one last touch from the tall young man who she has never said no to before. Adam’s coal colored irises cautiously look her over, lingering on the slight V cut at the collar of her Beatles t-shirt before letting themselves lock into Melody’s eyes.

  “Is something wrong?” he asks as his sharp blue eyes twinkle.

  Her fingers touch the spot on her neck where Adam had been kissing her, still warm and tingling, before letting her eyes fall down to the heart dangling heavily from the golden chain around her neck.

  “I love Sam, but Adam’s here and it feels so right.” she thinks to herself, her skin pleading with her to get closer to Adam.

  Her mind spins. For as long as she can remember she has never been able to tell people what she really thinks, in fear that she might hurt them.

  “No.” she finally answers.

  The corner of Adam’s lips curls into half a smile as he slinks his way back over to her, his arm wrap themselves around her waist before he tips her head up to his lips. Her heart quickens, life seems to stop as soon as their lips touch. Adam grips her hair in his fist, pulling her away just enough so he can look her directly in the eye.

  “You love me?” he breaths.

  Melody nods, her black painted fingernail outline his lips. “Yes, Adam, I love you.”

  He smirks, dropping his hand from her hair to her waist, playfully nudging her neck with his nose. She locks her fingers in his hair as the room starts to spin, sending her stomach into a whirlwind of emotion as the white blur comes to take her back home.

  Melody wakes up in her own bed, shaking and her head throbbing.

  “I can’t do it, I can’t tell either of them about this.” she cries, rubs her eyes, shoving them in their sockets, pushing the stress away as she lies back down upon her bed.

  The tears break way of her eyelids before running down her freckled cheek and into her hair