by M. K. ROZE
“Please remind me of the dreams you’ve been having.”
I glanced at the statue of a black stallion in the corner, then back at her. I took a deep breath and began telling her about my dreams. I left a lot out and only told her that they kept me up at night.
As I was telling her, she jotted down notes.
After another hour of questions, she finally sent in the same prescription to Walgreens that my aunt had given me in the past. I don’t think she believed my visions were real, and I didn’t expect her to either. I just wanted the pills.
She walked me out. “See you in a month,” she said, smiling at me.
“Thank you,” I replied. I could finally relax again, knowing I had another month’s supply.
I walked back up to the desk and asked for a note to give to my school.
From there, I went straight to the drug store to pick up my pills, then off to school. When I didn’t see Latore, I wanted to text him, telling him I was sick, but then I managed to convince myself I needed to have some fun.
At home, I put on a pink sundress with white sandals and met him downtown at 8:30 like he asked me to.
It wasn’t easy finding a spot in the parking garage near the apartment building he’d mentioned. It was packed with people all dressed up for an evening of fun.
With a few minutes left before he arrived, I rolled down my window and looked in the rearview mirror to fix my hair. Seconds later, something that smelled like a dead skunk came in my car. I shielded my nose and looked to my left. Three young men were sitting in their car in a cloud of smoke with the windows down. I rolled up the window back up and got out.
As I walked away, I coughed, and the three men laughed.
With only a few steps, someone snuck up behind me and grabbed my waist.
I turned ready to defend myself, but it was Latore. “Damn, you scared me,” I said, laughing, smacking him lightly on his arm.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to spook you. You look great, but your perfume smells like a dead rat.”
I giggled. “Some guys next to me were smoking something illegal. I feel funny now. Can I get a contact buzz from smelling that stuff?”
“Yes, especially because you’re tiny. Are you sure you didn’t smoke some with them?”
“Funny. Where’s this party at?”
“Follow me,” he said.
We walked to a door that led to the apartment building. Once inside, I saw an open room with a front desk and crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.
“This is gorgeous! I’m sure it’s expensive to live here.”
“It’s the dean’s son’s party. That should tell you something.”
“Oh, so this is where my parents’ money is going to go when I start college?”
He nodded and pressed the button to the elevator.
As the elevator went up, I flinched at a loud thump above our head. “What the heck was that?”
Latore smiled. “It’s nothing,” he said, moving closer to me and rubbing my back.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, it’s just an old elevator.”
As we continued to climb, Latore’s mood became more subdued.
“Hey, is everything okay?” I asked.
He gave me a smug look. “Everything is just perfect, Doll.”
The blunt way he said this kind of hurt me, but I let it pass.
“All right then, just checking. Oh, and happy Valentine’s Day.”
“You too,” he mumbled, twirling the old gold ring on his finger. It looked like a wedding band, except it was on the opposite hand.
It was weird—he seemed to go from liking me to hating me in the matter of a minute.
When we reached the fourteenth floor, the elevator door opened onto a red-carpeted hallway.
Latore stepped out and gestured for me to follow.
Loud techno music was playing as I followed him. At the door, people were coming and going. As we pushed our way through the sweaty crowd, a few girls grabbed him and begged him to dance.
“Not tonight,” he said and looked back at me.
I smiled, but deep inside I was jealous. I guess they thought he was alone.
We came to an outside patio that overlooked downtown. It was less crowded, and the weather was perfect. Latore walked away, leaving me alone with a big guy staring at me.
I raced after him as he headed to a small bar. “Hey, why did you leave me back there?”
He grabbed a glass of wine off the bar and handed it to me. “Isn’t that the way you like it?”
I could feel my eyes twitch. “What do you mean?”
He chuckled and smirked at me.
“Look, I don’t think this is working out. I’m going to go,” I said and placed the wine glass back on the bar.
He grabbed my arm. “No, please stay.”
I yanked my arm away. “Why are you so cold?”
“Oh, sorry. I have bad circulation.”
“Why should I stay? You’ve been rude ever since the elevator. What’s your deal?”
He turned away, scratching his chin. “My dog died today.”
At that moment I felt like a jerk. “Latore, I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t think you’d care.”
“I’m not like that, and yes, I do care.” I stepped forward and hugged him. “I thought you didn’t like me anymore for some reason.”
His smooth face rubbed against mine. “No, not at all,” he whispered in my ear. “I won’t exist without you.”
I stepped back. “What?”
He clutched my shoulders, lightly massaging them. “It’s a joke. Calm down, Doll.” He retrieved my wine glass and passed it to me. “Drink up. The night is still young.”
After a glass of wine, the room started to spin. I stopped and used him to hold myself up.
“Can we sit somewhere?”
“Sure.” He led me by the hand to a room off the patio side door. “What are you doing?” I said, laughing. “This isn’t your room.”
He picked me up and placed me on the bed. “It is now,” he remarked playfully, and his smooth lips found mine.
Sudden images of Mihnea and Constin appeared in my mind, and I was overcome with guilt. “Stop, I can’t do this.” I tried to push him off, but I was too weak.
He ignored me, and his lips moved to my neck, but with much more force.
“Let me go!” I yelled, but he wouldn’t budge.
I turned toward the balcony, and Mihnea was floating in the air, looking at me with red eyes. I blinked, and he was gone. I didn’t know if I was drugged or what.
“Latore, get off of me!”
He took my hands and placed them over my head. “Ah, we have an audience, do we?” he sneered. “Let him watch.” He blew something in my face.
I choked, trying to spit it out. It tasted like the stuff that Savina blew in my face. “What was that? Get off me, now!”
I didn’t know if I was dreaming or awake at that point. Everything was spinning, and it seemed as if Latore was trying to hurt me. “Mihnea, help me!”
Latore laughed. “Mihnea can’t help you now,” he said and put his hand over my nose and mouth.
I couldn’t breathe, so I kicked and screamed, trying to get away.
Latore licked my neck, and a loud growl from outside made the glass door of the balcony shatter.
Latore took his hand off my face and turned toward the broken window. “Give me what I want!” he bellowed.
I lay frozen, holding my breath in disbelief.
Latore grabbed my neck with both hands like he was ready to snap it.
Another loud growl came from the balcony.
Latore looked into my eyes and smiled. “Time to die, Doll.”
Something flew in the balcony window, grabbed Latore, and flew back out in a blink of an eye.
I screamed, rolled off the bed, and ran out the door. “Someone help me!” I cried.
Most of them laughed, so I cha
rged through them, ran toward the elevator, and pressed the button frantically. When it wouldn’t open, I looked for the exit and took off in that direction, running down the stairs to the front of the building.
Outside, I could hear something banging against the building, followed by hisses. Not wanting to stick around, I ran as quickly as I could toward a crowd of people. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Latore almost a block away. I ran even faster, trying to lose him. The buildings were spinning, and the faces of people I barged into blurred into one as I ran through the crowd.
Still glancing over my shoulder, I smashed into someone who felt as though they were made of steel, and I collapsed to the ground.
“Viata?”
My eyes met his. “Constin!” I said, rushing to my feet. I clung to him tightly. “Wha-what are you doing here? And where the hell have you been?”
“I got into some trouble and was locked up. I’m sorry.”
“What did you do?”
“I don’t want to get into that right now. Why are you shaking?”
“You’re lying to me. Maria told me that you dated her, and she saw you with another woman.”
“That’s absurd. She is a liar, and you must stay away from her at school.”
“How do you know her?”
“Another time?” he said looking past me.
I nodded.
“What happened to you?”
“This guy from my class tried to hurt me. I think. I-I’m not sure.”
He pulled me into him. “Viata, calm down. You’re safe now.”
“Some guys were smoking something next to me. I inhaled a lot of it. Could that make me hallucinate?”
He gulped hard. “Yes. Some people even pass out from it.”
At that moment, I thought that perhaps I didn’t see Latore and I fell asleep, but I was still confused as to how I got to Constin.
“So, you’re cheating on me already?” he asked.
“No, I didn’t like him like that. And even if I did, you’re the one who disappeared.”
He chuckled. “You’re the one who broke it off with me. Over a text nonetheless.”
“You fell off the face of the earth. What was I supposed to do?”
I fell into his arms and held him as though my life depended on it. I wanted to tell him what was going on, but I was sure he wouldn’t believe me, so I tried to act normal.
He kissed my forehead just like in the past. “I’m here now. I’ll never leave you again. Do you want to go somewhere else?”
I nodded and locked my fingers between his. “Did you get my text about Kaylee?”
“No, why. What happened?”
I stopped and sat down at a table in front of a pizza place.
“It wasn’t just Kaylee. It was my aunt that died too.”
He sat across from me and looked down. “I’m sorry, Viata. I didn’t know. How did they pass?”
“Some wild dog mauled Kaylee, and my aunt was killed in front of me by a male nurse.” I looked at the man inside tossing the pizza dough in the air. “They haven’t caught the killer yet.”
I couldn’t help but stumble over my words or avoid the tears that ran down my face. The memories were too recent, too painful.
Constin leaned over the table and wiped away my tears.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“It’s okay. I’m still in shock I guess, still grieving.”
His gorgeous smile and green eyes gazed into mine. “I’ve missed you.”
I got up, stumbled over to him, falling into his lap, and kissed him on his cheek. “I’ve missed you more.”
He chuckled. “Let’s go. You have school tomorrow.”
We walked hand in hand back to my car. I felt safe with him. Constin drove me home in my car because I was feeling funny.
On the way there, I was angrier than usual. The incident I thought I had with Latore gave me the chills, especially the part where I saw Mihnea. Maybe I only imagined it, and it was another vision. I didn’t know what to think and couldn’t tell the difference between dreaming or reality anymore.
As I tried to come to terms with what had happened, Constin placed his hand on my lap. “It will be okay,” he said. “I’m here now.”
Arriving home, Constin opened the door like a gentleman and held out his hand for mine. “You’re safe,” he said. “I’m going to go now.”
“No,” I pleaded. “Please stay here. “Plus, you don’t have your car. How would you get home?”
He looked at the sky. “Okay, but just for a little bit.”
Inside, Liam was sitting on the couch.
“How was your date?” he asked.
“Horrible.” I cleared my throat and looked at Constin.
He looked away.
Liam sat up and rolled his eyes. “It couldn’t have been that bad if you brought him home,” he muttered.
“Chill out. This is Constin, not Latore.”
Liam got up from the couch, his eyes on Constin.
At the mention of Latore’s name, I saw Constin grinding his teeth.
Liam got right up into Constin’s face.
“Are you the dick who vandalized my car the night Viata slept in my bed?”
“Liam, what the hell is wrong with you? You know that was a wild dog, not him.”
He turned to me and shrugged then looked back at Constin, with his nostrils flaring.
Constin balled his fist. “I didn’t touch your car, but if you keep up this attitude, you’ll have much more than that to worry about.”
Liam’s veins bulged in his neck. He went to punch Constin, but Constin grabbed his fist before he hit him and forced him down on one knee.
“Stop it! Constin, let him go.”
Liam got up cradling his hand. “Are you on freaking steroids?”
Constin stepped back with a smug look and shrugged. “Something like that,” he said, in a harsh tone.
“Stop acting like children. The last thing I need is more drama.”
Liam walked off to his room, muttering something under his breath. I couldn’t make it out, but he seemed to be intimidated by Constin.
As soon as Liam slammed the bedroom door, I turned to Constin. “Why did you grab him like that?”
His eyes widened. “Did you not hear the way he spoke to me?”
“Yes, I did, but you didn’t need to hurt him.”
He turned away. “I’ll go and leave you two be.”
I stood on my tippy-toes and grabbed his face. “Liam is only a childhood friend who happens to be my roommate. Nothing more.”
Ignoring what I just said, he held his hand out for mine. “You need to eat something.”
“No, I’m not hungry.”
“Viata, you need something, anything. It will help you sleep.”
“Fine,” I groaned and pulled him into the kitchen.
I went into the refrigerator and took out some leftover chicken and dumplings mom had made for me. “Would you like some? It’s good?”
“No, you eat it.”
As I was eating, Constin walked to the back door and looked out the window. He jumped back, falling into me.
I helped him up and noticed I couldn’t breathe anymore. I was choking on the food.
Constin placed me on the floor, sucked the piece of chicken out of my throat and all the air I had.
I gasped and sat up, breathing heavily. “Thank you.” I coughed a few times. “That’s not how you do the Heimlich.”
He didn’t look well. He opened the back door and rushed outside.
I got up and ran after him.
He disappeared into the dark and came back out after a minute. “Sorry, your food went into my mouth, and I got sick.”
“Ew, are you okay?”
“Yes, are you?”
“Yes, I feel better now. Thank you. I guess I’m going to have to teach you how to do the Heimlich properly.”
He put his arm around my waste. “Sounds good. Come on. Let me ge
t you to bed.”
“I have an extra toothbrush you can have.”
He chuckled. “Thanks.”
After he brushed his teeth, I took a shower. When I came out of the bathroom, Constin was already in bed, asleep. I curled up to him, took his arm and placed it on me.
When he didn’t move, I watched his long eyelashes flutter, and I couldn’t resist kissing him on his lips.
I woke up, disturbed by something growling somewhere in the distance. In the pitch black, I felt around the bed for Constin, but as usual, he had skipped out on me. “Catch them stupid animals already,” I said as I squinted at my phone. It was 3:30 in the morning. I groaned, pulled the blanket over my head and passed back out.
CHAPTER TWENTY
OVERBOARD
My phone woke me up. I saw that it was Mom and turned off the ringer. “Liam,” I called out.
Moments later, the door opened, and he peeked in. “What do you want?” he said.
“My head is pounding. Will you please get me Tylenol?”
He moaned. “I’m still pissed about what happened with that steroid man last night.”
I exhaled. “Come on, Liam, please don’t do this now. While you were hiding in your room last night, I choked on my food, and Constin saved me.”
“For real?”
I nodded.
“My earbuds were in. Are you okay now?”
I nodded.
“I’ll be right back,” he said and hurried down the hall.
After a few minutes of head-throbbing pain, he came back in and handed me a few pills with a glass of water.
“Thanks.” I took the pills, downed the water and burped.
He reached for the glass and chuckled. “You’re something else. So, where’s Latore. And how old is he anyway?”
“Constin, I corrected. And he’s twenty-two.”
“Yeah, whatever. He’s kind of old for you, don’t ya think?”
“Nope.”
Liam walked over to the doorway and leaned against it. “So, what happened to your first date?”
I got up slowly, walked over to the door, and grabbed my robe. “He tried to kill me, I think.” I shook my head. “I don’t know what’s real anymore.”
“Say what?”
“Maybe it was another stupid vision again.”
“Damn,” he said, concerned. “Are you still taking your pills?”
