Nothing To Lose

22- Nightmares and Snow

After I got off work, I hurried home and packed my bag which was hard because I didn’t know how long we would be in Utah. I managed to finish just as the doorbell rang. I answered it and let Damon inside. He smiled at me. “Hey, where’s your bag?”

“I’ve got it,” I said, gesturing to my suitcase.

He ignored me and grabbed it. Noticing that I hadn’t said goodbye to my sister, he replied, “I’ll see you in a minute.” I nodded and he closed the front door behind him.

"I'll be home soon," I promised Riley, avoiding looking at her. I focused my gaze on my boots and the tiled floor so I wouldn't look up and betray any of my emotions.

She sighed softly, barely loud enough for me to hear. "I know; I'm just worried. I swear if Elise tries anything, I want you to do whatever you can to defend yourself."

"Of course," I promised, looking back up. She wrapped me in a hug that I quickly returned. "I should go..."

"Okay, bye," she pulled away and I gave her a smile and a wave before turning and leaving. I wanted to stay and talk with her, but that would make us miss our flight. So I hurried outside to the car where Alia, Elise and Damon were waiting. Alia was in the driver's seat (it was her car) and Elise was next to her. Damon was waiting for me in the back.

I joined him and he gave me a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "How did it go?"

"Okay," I hedged, not wanting to say anything more in front of Elise. Maybe she was currently being civil, but she could change her mind at any time and suddenly decide to kill us all. I didn’t really want her to know everything about me if that were to happen.

"Good..." He trailed, catching on. Alia started the car and then we were off, heading towards Utah.

Once we were all seated on the plane, I let my head drop onto Damon's shoulder as a yawn slipped through my mouth, betraying how exhausted I was. I'd had too much going on in my life to worry about sleep.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Damon murmured, wrapping his arm around me while pushing up the armrest between our seats with his other hand. I scooted closer to him.

"Yeah, I'm just tired. Everything has been so crazy since I moved in with Riley. I mean, I was never exactly normal, but I definitely didn’t expect to end up in this kind of a situation." I admitted as my eyes fluttered closed.

He chuckled and I felt him rest his head on top of mine. "I know what you mean... Go to sleep, I'll wake you up when we're getting ready to land." He didn't need to tell me twice... I was asleep before he finished his sentence.

"Tally?" An eerie voice called from somewhere to my left. I forced my eyes open and saw that I was standing in the middle of an abandoned warehouse. Well, almost abandoned. There was a girl standing next to the window- Erin.

I gasped and stumbled backwards. "You're supposed to be dead!"

"Oh yeah, thanks to your stupid sister," she sneered. She started towards me and I tried to move back, but my feet felt super-glued to the floor, restraining me no matter how much I struggled.

My breaths started coming faster as I began to panic. "What do you want? And how are you even here?"

"Anything is possible in the world of dreams." She replied mysteriously, yet answering most of my questions. It made me feel better to realize that I was only dreaming.

I nodded. "Okay, so this is all just my imagination. I can handle that." I'd never had a dream in which I knew it was a dream, but there was a first time for everything.