tongue of the serpent ➵ a.b.

Chapter 21: The Temperature of His Bones

I touched all of him. I touched his vessel; it carries his soul. I found my way around his chest and I felt his heart beat softly to the pattering of my warm body humming to the spirits surrounding us. I felt the sheets being tossed and his hands move up my back.

"Why are you here?" a groggy voice sounds. His eyes droop and the TV glares into his eyes, making him blink more often than normal.

I lower my head to his chest and begin to hold back the terror of the incident. "I had a bad dream," I coo softly, slipping my hands around his figure and pulling him close.

Andy's voice slips deeper and deeper into limbo. He is going to fall asleep on my words. "Sleep here...tonight," is all I understand coming from that poor soul's mouth.

I take it as a yes and push my thoughts to the back of my head. Andy's breathing came to a halt as I began to become weightless in my dreamland again. My head soared with the grace of doves but with a fury as evil and tormenting as serpents.

"Lethia..." the monster whispered into my skull. It was a woman. It was a blond woman. "Lethia...Get away from him..." the woman strikes at me.

Suddenly the voice fades and I see a small figure. He is asymmetrical and the color of the night. His head is grossly stretched and his nubby right hand doesn't move. A tube coming from his head reaches high into infinity. It stretches to a place I cannot see. He has no left hand and his eyes are black and dripping. Like if a girl with eyeliner on would cry, it would symbolize the liquid streaming from his eyes. In the white room of my perfect dreamland, I begin to see the figure move closer, as he demands it from me and my control over him. He gains my attention by breathing heavily. His eyes blankly stare at me and his lips part to show no soul inside. Instead of saving me from the blond woman, he shakes his head softly and whispers into my chest:

"You're not perfect."

I screamed at the top of my lungs at Andy bounces up, screaming at the sudden burst of energy. I realize immediately I'm soaked in drool, tears, and sweat. I stand up and immediately feel a hot flash absorb my flesh. I hit the ground and take off my socks and sweat pants. I feel a rush of cool air come upon me.

"Um, Lethia?" Andy stares at me, gawking his eyes.

Oh shit! I grab my pants and throw it over my body. "Sorry. I woke up in sweat and had a heat flash. I just had the worst dream ever..."

Andy pouts and struggles out of bed. "It's 9:30," he coos. Damn! Did that night go fast! He sits on the floor with me and caresses my shoulders softly but surely. "Wanna talk about it?'

I look down at his body and sigh. He wouldn't understand the symbolism. "No," I put it, and close my eyes and lean against his chest. "But I do at the same time."

Andy nods. "What was it about?" He uses his firm hands to hold me in place against his chest.

"It wasn't a certain topic," I say, truthful. "But I kept being told to get away from something," Andy nodded, unknowing of the small detail I left out. "And some weird figure told me I wasn't perfect."

He kisses the top of my head, soothing my headache. "It was just a dream..."

I pick my head up and I push my forehead against his. He's cold compared to me. Our noses touch at the tips and I move his hair out of his face. I kissed him and I loved it. He let everything inside of him melt away. He didn't think once of Juliet - I could tell by the temperature of his bones. He felt stronger and better. He felt like he needed to nurture me - I could tell by the worry in his smirks at the little dimple on his left side. He felt warm by me - I could tell from his hands and how they moved against my girlish frame. He felt at home by me - I could tell from the color of his heart.