Cowboys & Nightmares

Chapter Eleven

I'm falling. Everything hurts, like I've been twisted into a corkscrew, but there's nothing for me to touch. I just keep falling, the pain constant. When I hit the ground, it stays. It's probably from work.

I'm surrounded by them all. Some have dark brown hair, some lighter brown; there are brown eyes, blue eyes, even a pair of gray ones. But then he steps through the circle, his bleach blonde hair and icy blue eyes stark contrasts to everyone else around him. "Well, well, well," Seth comments, jerking me off the ground. "What do you think, boys?"

"I say we have at Doll Face." Light brown hair, blue eyes. The rock star.

"Yeah, she seems a little tense." Dark brown hair, brown eyes. The health nut.

"Wild ones are always fun." Gray eyes. The basketball player.

And countless other comments as they begin to hold me down, all eight of them until I can't move. Seth stands overtop of me, and he begins to unbuckle his belt. "Hold on, Rylie," he smirks. "You're in for a wonderful ride."

As he speaks, one of the hands on my shoulder begins shaking me. The intensity of the movement seems to start a chain reaction, and slowly, everything fades out.

With a gasp I woke up, sweat pouring down my face with my tears. Dune was sitting on the bed next to me, his hand resting gently on my shoulder. I tried to move away; every touch felt like they were still holding me down. But instead, Dune pulled me into his lap. I punched him, weakly, then just wadded his shirt front in my fists as I sobbed. I wanted to give up. Ever since I'd started, I'd been getting less and less sleep, and it was only a matter of time before I would completely shut down. Not to mention Ronnie, who just couldn't take a hint, and was a mountain lion in hiding, stalking his prey until they were too weak to go on. The thought only made me cry harder.

It felt like an eon had passed before my tears began to ebb. Dune continued to rub my back, cradling me in his gentle arms. I tried to take a few deep breaths, willing myself to calm down. I felt his weight shift a little as he craned his head to look down at me. His lashes framed the two shards of sky, which looked stormy in the moonlight.

I took a deep breath. "I'm okay now," I murmured. Red in my peripheral vision caught my eyes, and I glanced at the clock. Quarter to five. I scrambled out of his lap, holding my hands in front of me apologetically as I began blubbering. "I'm sorry I woke you up, I wouldn't have cried out if I knew. I wish I could control this so I wouldn't have disturbed-"

His warm finger on my lips silenced me. A light smile touched his lips, and the corners of his eyes were crinkled, as if waking up at odd hours of the night for the past few months didn't bother him. He removed his hand as he stood, on his feet in moments before walking out of my room. He glanced over his shoulder when I just stood there, then waved for me to follow.

It had almost become routine for us to move to the sitting room this early, and this morning was no different. While Dune always had coffee, I more often opted for hot chocolate, knowing how easily it would be for me to become dependent on caffeine. However, as Dune held up the two canisters, I felt the exhaustion beginning to catch up to me, and smiled. "Coffee, please," I murmured. I turned to gaze at the painting again, entranced by the careful brush strokes.

"Cream and sugar?"

His voice was like caramel, rich and deep, like no other voice I knew. My head snapped around, and we locked eyes. I'm sure I would have caught a few flies with how wide open my mouth was. "You...you just talked."

His dimple flashed. "That doesn't really answer my question..."

"Yes, cream and sugar, please." I shook my head in bewilderment. "But you just talked."