Nightmares | ✓

Chapter 01

Her dream had felt so real she couldn't tell if it had actually happened or not. At this point, she was just assuming that it was a dream. But the more she lacked sleep, the more vivid they got and the harder it was to tell what was real or not.

The reason her wrists were sore was a mystery to her, but the images of the handcuffs from last night were still strong on her mind. Had she gotten arrested before she went to bed? Was she really in the back of a police car? They wouldn't have just let her go home, would they? What crime had she committed to be put in that place?

After ordering her drink, she waited for her coffee to be delivered to her at the seat she would take every single morning. At this point, they might as well put a sign out with her name on it.

Before Vanessa could even get her laptop opened to her emails, someone gently placed the coffee on the table in front of her. The quickness of the barista was startling to her. Did they know what her drink was ahead of time? It hadn't even been a few minutes since she had sat down. She smiled, muttered a thank you anyway, but never moved her eyes. Only when the hand sat there for longer than she expected did she turn to look at the person smiling back at her.

It was a young man, with a chiseled jaw that came to a point, thin mostly flat lips, and messy brown hair that looked as if he hadn't brushed it in a few days. It was hard to tell what color his eyes were behind the black frames surrounding them, but Vanessa didn't have the time to notice.

"Here's your coffee ma'am." His sweet voice echoed through the air, leaving her startled that someone had spoken to her this morning. Normally, the only pleasantries she had to share on her way to work were handing the money over to the cashier after she ordered her drink.

This man looked familiar though and she couldn't place where she had seen him before. Was he the one who took her order? She shook her head, her long black hair falling in messy waves around her face. Her hair wasn't something she had spent hours working on to perfect, her waves came more naturally, and were a mess from tossing and turning all night long. It was a natural look for her, while others would spend hours trying to get the same style. Vanessa spent her time doing other things.

"Uh.. thank you..." Vanessa stuttered back, still startled by someone talking to her. Sit up straight, smile, and try to look like you are running on more than three hours of sleep, she would remind herself. The comments never helped, and they would frustrate her more than anything else.

"Anytime ma'am." The barista smiled at her, showing his perfect white teeth. It was a gentle smile that pulled Vanessa in. She wanted to see it again. He stood there awkwardly, staring as if he wanted to say something else to her. Did he want to say something else?

"You are in here every single morning, aren't you?" The question was rather bold, but the way he said it seemed like the most casual small talk in the world. This allowed Vanessa to relax her shoulders a bit, and to take a less defensive response with him.

Vanessa didn't know how he had done it, considering the last time she let anyone into her life was when she was doing job interviews for her current position. She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall and realized she was now over fifteen minutes late to work. She hadn't meant to sit down, but following the motions that she would do every single morning had left her not realizing the time.

"Um, yes, I am actually," Vanessa muttered. Her words were quiet, and a little hard to hear, but the man leaned forward and did the best with what he could do. She jumped up from her seat and very quickly started gathering all of her work supplies into a pile.

"No, I didn't want to startle you away. I'm sorry, you just looked familiar." The barista took a few steps back to give her space. She collected all of her things, throwing them into her work bag with no sense of organization.