~~Young~~

Chapter Fourteen

   As disturbing as that all was it was what came next that had truly surprised her.

   Letting her darkness have control usually meant hours of mental pacing as she waited for it to have its fill or for it to grow bored and let her have control again. Her body would collapse physically spent somewhere and Sera would be forced to wait out its recovery. And even then her darkness wouldn’t give up without a fight. But this time it relinquished its command over her body to her without a second thought…because it finally found its own bliss in the form of a bullet in her back.

   It fit didn’t it, that her darkness found joy in her suffering.

   But she had known that would come eventually, not her darkness’s happiness but the death that awaited her. She knew eventually someone would be coming after her and had taken precautions for just a thing, Mama. She had tried to call her, but couldn’t be sure she had been able to hit send before her lungs filled to capacity and shut out all her brain function.

   Someone must have found her though. Either that or she really had died because she didn’t think the Venetian plaster ceiling she was staring at belonged to the bouncer of the bar who had threatened to lock her up.

   Honestly though, she couldn’t be sure, for all she knew she was still dreaming. The room did seem vaguely familiar from somewhere. It wasn’t her parent’s hotel she knew that but it had the same generic feel to it. High class generic, but the standard cream, tan and gold palate nevertheless. She hadn’t even tried to move to investigate any further afraid to aggravate the gaping wound that should be in her side. Should be. Should be and wasn’t leading her to question once more if she had really found consciousness or not.

   She had been shot, that much she was sure of. There was no denying that burning agony as her skin tore open, no denying the panic she felt as she gasped for breath only to find her lungs wouldn’t work. No, that wasn’t a dream. Yet when she reached a hand carefully under the cool cotton sheets not only did she find herself to be clean and completely naked, but absolutely no sign of injury.

   So then that was it wasn’t it, this was the dream, but…why? Had she fallen asleep after taking back control? She couldn’t remember it, couldn’t remember making her way back to her hotel. Either of them.

   She remembered that dream though…or this dream, the earlier parts.

   Twice she remembered flying. The first time it wasn’t alone though, she thought…was Gage carrying her? It was so hard to tell things were so fuzzy...and wet? Now that didn’t make sense…

    She didn’t doubt he was there though, she had seen a lot of familiar faces so far. Gage, Mama, her Uncle’s lapdog of a PA…then one she didn’t know, a woman. She was beautiful Sera could give her that, and she seemed really kind to her, concerned about her. Ah see, okay now she knew she dreamt her when she remembered those strangely comforting pink eyes. Or how about the fact that her Uncle’s PA, Drew, was in just a tizzy over Sera as that woman was. The man never gave a shit about her before, and up until the train station she had never even seen his gaze directed her way. And she was sure that’s how he made his way into her subconscious in the first place, that fear she felt when she saw him got him stuck in there.

   The next time she had felt like she was flying was very different then the first. It was…lighter, more freeing, almost as if the action itself was a…relief. But information was harder to come by after that. She had left somewhere that much she knew but not the exact location. Then that woman had come up to her out of nowhere with an ‘oh there you are’ and a smile, said it was time to get Sera back. But then and there Sera couldn’t remember leaving anywhere, not until the woman announced that the two of them were back. That’s when she knew she was supposed to be somewhere, just…not there.