Roman grazed the rumpled sheets beside him. The comforter on the other half of the bed had been pulled back completely. The pillows were propped up against the headboard instead of lying flat. Soft fabric was cold to the touch, meaning the spot had been vacant for quite some time.
A quick peek over the edge didn't reveal a sliver of light beneath the doorway. The hallway appeared dark. Feet shuffles couldn't be heard. Neither could the television in the living room. There weren't any noises coming from the bathroom either.
It was entirely possible Jensen decided to relax outside to not disturb anyone else by making noise.
Roman still shivered at the knowledge of him being alone.
He'd only just startled awake from a terrible nightmare.
In it, he was walking through an endless field of vibrant grass stalks. He distinctly remembered how the grass brushed against his bare legs, along with the warmth of a half-hidden sun surrounded by a pink and purple sky.
He couldn't say how long he'd walked for.
After some time, though, Roman found Jensen in the field, facing the sun. Roman attempted to continue forward, only to have his arms seized from behind. He found himself restrained by Rachel, Jack, and Audrey. Dorian stood a few feet behind them, his face conflicted, making no move to help or stop them.
The trio holding onto Roman tried to pull him back in their direction. He fought their gestures with all his might. They began to whisper how Roman was where he belonged; how he was with the people he deserved to be around; how he was making a mistake by trying to leave them behind.
Roman tore his arms free. He struggled through the field as the ground beneath him became thick with mud. It tried to swallow him up to either slow or halt his steps.
Roman continued to fight. He clawed his way through the mud until he was able to grab Jensen's wrist.
And as soon as their bodies made contact, Jensen disappeared.
Being grabbed again and jolted backward was harrowing enough for Roman to wake up, his body darting upward in bed.
Grogginess still lingered. Even so, he had a solid enough grip on reality to know his nightmare had only been a culmination of the stress he'd been trying to ignore. Roman's mind tended to get pretty loud before he fell asleep. It wasn't surprising his subconscious came up with such a distressing scene when his thoughts strayed to dark places while his guard was down.
Roman felt... empty on the inside. Cold. Like he'd crashed into a wall of ice and had been blanketed by its freezing clutches.
The overall silence around him was nice.
Residing in a tranquil environment helped to drive away some of the panic he was experiencing.
A faint vibration came from his phone lying face down on the nightstand. He glanced at the time, frowning at the late hour. His eyes squinted at the device's bright screen.
A pang of disappointment swarmed his chest in response to a string of messages.
Dorian
You don't have to answer me but I really do need you to know that I'm sorry
I didn't mean what I said to you
Should've never said it in the first place
I know I can't take it back but I hope you believe me
I know I have to do a lot of thinking on my part
I do care a lot about Audrey and my feelings for her are really strong. But I care about you too. So it's been really hard to figure out who I'm supposed to believe. That's no one else's thing to worry about though. I need to sory through things on my own
YOU ARE READING
A Path That's Right for Me
Romance"I've had to second guess myself a lot over the years. I've had to put up walls. I've had to run away and push things down in order to keep others from hurting me. But...this, right now, is something I've never been more certain of." ~~~ Following a...
