Dream Catcher

Chapter 19

"It's going to be okay, alright?"

After speeding across town, Jax was sitting next to a hyperventilating Dani on her worn out green couch. He looked around and took in the bare walls with the exception of a few tacked on sketches. She didn't own a television unless it was in her bedroom and the furniture was second-hand if he had to take a guess by its 80's print. "Just breathe," he repeated as he rubbed her back in circles.

It felt strange to comfort a woman other than Vivian in the middle of the night. Screw around with them, sure that was one thing. Caring for them? That felt foreign. Vivian had been his fiancée. What he had with her counted. Dani wasn't Vivian. He quickly pulled his hand back and scooted a foot away from her.

Dani looked over at him with watery eyes, "I'm sorry...you were probably sleeping."

Jax shrugged, "No way...you know me. I was up. Wide awake."

Dani knew he was lying as he tried covering up a yawn. She wasn't sure why she had called him. Probably because he was the only one that knew about her secret.

"Yeah I know. You only came because you were already up," Dani said.

"Exactly."

"Watching porn," Dani continued, causing Jax to cough in embarrassment.

"No way! Have you seen this?" he asked gesturing towards his body. "I'd make them before I'd watch them."

For a moment, Dani forgot about her dream and was actually able to laugh, "You have some kind of complex, you know that?"

"Do you want to tell me about your dream?" Jax asked.

She sniffled and wiped her nose with the back of her hand before telling him the gist of what she saw.

"It felt so real. I've never been in one of these nightmares before. He's going to kill me. I just know it."

As she began to shake again, Jax reached out and grabbed her hands.

"Hey, calm down. He's not going to get you."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I won't let him."

Dani snorted, "Those are brave words, Apple Jax."

Jax grinned, "They're also true." He looked away and chuckled. "So this is what it feels like."

"What do you mean? Feels like what?"

Jax just shook his head, "To fall down the rabbit hole. Dani, I know you said before that you have no way of controlling or really understanding your dreams but there's got to be a way. Are you sure there's no one you can ask for help?"

Dani sighed, "There is one lady...but she hates me."

"Hates you? Why?"

"I've seen her nightmares before. She was pissed because she figured she would be exempt. Now she thinks my ability is much too good for me."

"So she's jealous?"

"I don't know. She's a fortune teller so it's not like she needs to be jealous."

"Well who is this woman? Where do we find her?"

"She's in the next town. Her name is Madame Cordelia. She owns her own shop. Maybe I should try and visit her tomorrow."

Jax stood up, "Let's go now. I'll drive you."

"Now? It's three in the morning!"

"You had a dream of the Maestro killing you. Not anyone else but you. The sooner we can figure out how your dreams work, the sooner we can find the Maestro and keep you safe. You said she was a fortune teller, right? So she's probably expecting us."

Jax was wrong. Madam Cordelia wasn't expecting them.

She was a short woman with caramel colored skin and light hazel eyes. A pink and yellow do-rag covered her head which matched her yellow house dress. Her arms were crossed as she leaned against the door frame of her shop, "You know what time it is, don't you?"

"I'm sorry Cordelia, but it's an emergency," Dani explained.

"Bad dream?" Cordelia cackled. "I'll make an exception since your boyfriend here is cute."

Jax didn't correct her. Instead he followed Dani into the small shop that smelled like incense and Marijuana. The back wall was lined with old books and dusty knickknacks. Crystal beads hung from the ceiling and a collection of dream catchers of various colors and sizes were displayed in the corner.

"Take a seat," Madam Cordelia pointed to two wooden chairs behind a velvet covered table. She switched on a lamp to light the dark room. "I know what you want."

"You do?" Dani asked.

"You want me to help you with those dreams of yours but I told you before, I cannot."

"Is there anyone else that can?" Jax asked. "She just needs to know how to figure out whose dreams she's seeing."

Madam Cordelia tapped her fingers on the table between them, "You came here and asked the wrong questions. Very well. In order for you to understand your dreams, you must understand why you have this ability to begin with."

"Because I'm unlucky?" Dani answered.

"I'm not the first in my family to have the ability to tell the future just as you probably aren't the first in your family to steal people's nightmares."

"Steal? I wish I didn't see these dreams. Why would I steal them?"

"Dreams are powerful. They can inspire, mislead, and reveal."

"Reveal?" Jax asked. "Reveal what?"

Madam Cordelia smirked, "Weakness. If you knew someone's greatest fear, what would you do with that tidy bit of information?"

"I couldn't do anything if I didn't know whose weakness it belonged to," Jax answered.

Dani sighed, "I don't even know who I'm supposed to talk to. It's not as though I can turn back time and ask my parents."

Frustrated, Jax stood up, "Let's go Dani. This was a waste of time."

Dani walked ahead towards the exit but Madam Cordelia pulled Jax's arm and leaned in close, "I know your secrets. Wearing a badge won't erase the past."

"What did you say?" Jax asked.

"The darkness around you is very strong."

Jax wanted to keep talking but Dani called for him at the door, "Hurry up, Jax. Let's go."

Without a word, he followed Dani out the door and into his car. He was surprised when she asked him, "What did Cordelia say to you?"

Jax cleared his throat before turning the key in the ignition, "Nothing. Nothing at all."