Chapter 38 – When We Sleep
Dreamer
I dreamt of my glade. Not the dark and diseased city that inspired my stories the past decade, but the whimsical quagmire that first appeared in my youth. The sprouting cyclones tickled my feet and powdery obsidian speckled the ground.
How I'd missed this first conceived cosmos.
I looked around, hoping to find my charming albeit bald unicorn, but instead, I saw him.
He who had hidden behind the shadows that very first year. He who had visited in random forms—sometimes a grotesque monstrosity, sometimes a winged demon—but always, always hidden in the shadows.
Tonight though, he was not cloaked in gloom. The shadows did not obscure my vision and I could finally see him. He was skeletal yet massive. His four limbs were covered in scales and feathers, his broad girth was armored, but his belly was coated in downy grey. A bony cranium with coal eyes and spiky teeth sat on jagged quills, linking his skull to his body. Green froth dribbled down his chin.
He was... extraordinary and after being absent from my dreams the past decade, I was eager to finally meet him. I ran to him before he could vanish again.
"Hello. You are back," I said, reining in my excitement to not startle my guest. He seemed on edge. Slowly and deliberately, I moved closer to the perfect miscreation, reached for the smooth dome of his skull and kissed him.
I felt him shudder at the touch of my lips. I trailed a finger along his serrated jaw and told him, "There is no need to hide, my beautiful beast."
But then he jumped back, turned around and scampered away from me, urging the dark woods of my universe to shroud him from me.
No!
I pulled at the hem of my skirt that was annoyingly attached to the terrain. Even the miniature twisters tugged my dress, seemingly restraining me from following the beast in the copses.
"Damn it! Let go," I ordered the clingy windstorms as I yanked my skirts. "I have to go. I cannot lose him again. I cannot lose Ice again!"
Ice?
I frowned, wondering what compelled me to say that. Regardless, I was going to find my elusive beast. If both earth and wind would not let go of my garment, I was willing to run after the creature naked.
I had started unhooking the snaps of my tunic, smirking at the idea of outsmarting surreal nature, but just as I was about to step out of my garb, I woke up.
To a heavy dose of apprehension. The sensation was intense and palpable. It was oppressive and I felt it smothering me where I lay.
I quickly got out of my bed and checked my phone. There was a message from Yvonne and three from my boss. I would read them later. There was nothing from Ice. I dialed Francis' number, the one Ice had used to contact me last night, but the phone just kept ringing.
A sense of dread crawled down my spine. And déjà vu. He was not going to disappear again, was he? My head started to hurt and I felt like throwing up. I ran to the bathroom, grateful that the need to hurl stopped, took a quick shower and headed for the Weavers.
Ice was not going to disappear on me again.
I was a few blocks closer to their place since I moved next to the diner. I didn't bother driving and just sprinted to their street. I needed to exhaust some of the anxiety rolling off me in sickening waves. I needed to calm down so I wouldn't act like the crazy girlfriend demanding an explanation why he didn't answer my call. That would've been ridiculous. I didn't think I was officially the girlfriend. I didn't even have his mobile number. So why was I rushing to check if Ice hadn't flown out of the country again?
I still had no answer—at least not one I'd readily admit—by the time I reached the Weavers' front door. I pressed the buzzer and kept pressing it after ten second intervals. I didn't care if I looked pathetic or deranged.
Francis answered after the fifth ring. He looked more disheveled than I'd ever seen him, with his blonde hair sticking out at all sides.
I went ahead with an assumptive approach. "Ice is here, right?"
Francis looked disheveled and constipated when he hesitantly answered, "Yes."
I stepped forward and he said, "No."
I glared at him and, exhaling in defeat, he said, "Yes."
Normally, I'd find Francis' fickleness playful or adorable, but I didn't feel normal since the last moments before I woke up today. I didn't have the patience to deal with inconsistencies. And I wasn't just referring to Francis' responses.
I pushed my way in the house and muttered, "I'm sure he doesn't have any contagious disease, mental or otherwise.
Francis moved in front of me and prattled, "Selene, before you judge my brother, I want you to know this is all my fault. I was depressed over a girl. Inconsolable really. Robyn just wouldn't give me the time of day. No matter what I do, she acts like I don't exist. Me. When everybody else loves me. It hurts. Here," Francis pointed at this chest and continued, "So I begged Ice to accompany me drinking to make the pain go away. We bought a couple of bottles and decided to drink at home so we wouldn't be driving under the influence. I did all the talking and he did all the drinking and..."
"Robyn?" I asked. Francis had been pestering Robyn for years. I didn't see why he'd get so upset this time. He went out with other girls. Was he that serious about... wait. I wasn't about to get sidetracked. I raised my hand to stop Francis from rambling again. "Where's his room?"
Francis had just taken a deep breath to start another litany, but he chose to close his mouth and cheerlessly point toward the back of the house.
I walked through a narrow hallway that led to a solitary room at the back of the house. Francis was right behind me. I pushed open the door. The room was extremely dark and I squinted till I saw the outline of drapes along one side of the room. I walked toward the heavy dark curtains and pulled them back. With some light now filtering the room, I glanced around and my eyes landed on Ice who was passed out on the bed, four empty bottles of vodka littered around him.
I bolted to the side of Ice's bed, alarmed. "Did you say he did all the drinking?"
Francis looked at his brother and tentatively replied, "Yes."
"Ice? Ice, wake up," I cried. I kneeled next to the bed and shook him hard, but he wouldn't come around. I wrenched the covers off him, glad that he didn't sleep in his birthday suit, hoping the change in temperature would jolt him awake. He still didn't budge. I yelled his name again, louder this time, but he didn't stir. I checked his pulse. He was alive, but that offered little comfort.
Francis just stood next to the door. Why wasn't he freaking out like I was? "Haven't you ever heard of alcohol poisoning? We should call an ambulance."
Francis had a panicky look on his face, but I wasn't sure it was the same kind of trepidation I was experiencing. My chest hurt. I was palpitating and feeling lightheaded. We should call for help soon before I, too, passed out.
"I don't think that's necessary. I'm sure Ice would wake soon," Francis told me.
"You're sure," I sputtered as I waved at the bottles. "Are you serious? That's four liters of ethanol in one night!"
I scrambled to stand up and make the call myself, but as I got to my feet, someone grabbed my wrist, pulling me to the bed.
"Selene," Ice breathed out as he opened his eyes.
I looked at him, surprised and relieved. He gave me a crooked smile and I didn't understand why at first glimpse, Ice often seemed to have pointy teeth. I leaned closer and stared. His teeth were straight and pearly white.
And his breath didn't stink.
I was confused. He didn't look like he had a hangover. Granted that he had vodka, but with the amount he'd ingested, I expected the scent of alcohol seeping out of his pores.
But now Ice was looking at me like he wanted to devour me. I was grateful he was awake. That he didn't bail out. That he was here. With me. I wanted to kiss him senseless before I kicked the hell out of him for doing something so irresponsible.
Ice sat up, his fingers still around my wrist. "I have to tell you something, but before that... Thanks, Francis. Would you mind giving us some privacy?"
Francis grinned at his brother then left, closing the door behind him.
The moment the door clicked shut, Ice yanked my hand and had me on my back on his bed. I didn't get a second to recover before his lips crushed mine, passionate and demanding. He kept his weight off me even though he had me trapped between his legs. He let go of my hand and cupped my face, kissing me, breathing me in as if he were drowning. I placed a hand against his chest and felt his heart thudding beneath my palm. Ice felt deliciously warm, his lips were soft and hungry, and I didn't mind if he consumed me.
He drew back, allowing me to suck in some air as he traced the side of my face and my lips. I shivered and my breath hitched as he gazed at me, unblinking. His eyes reflected the light from the sun and I was too woozy to wonder how that was possible.
With his eyes fixed on my eyes, his lips mere inches from my lips, Ice uttered, "I love you, Selene. I could not bear to lose you."
I stopped breathing. Did Ice just say what I thought I heard him say?
He nuzzled my neck and touched the pearl he gave me. I brushed my fingers through his short hair, marveling at the soft texture and oddly reminded of my tenuous beast with the soft pelt. Should I ask Ice to lock the door?
"Selene," he murmured as he lifted his head to look at me. "Do you trust me?"
Yes. I love you, too.
But I simply nodded my head.
It was too soon. One night was too soon. Was ten years too soon?
Ice closed his eyes and kissed me again. Like a starving man. Like a man resurrected and greedily taking as much as he could. And I gave him as much as I could.
I felt his thumb push the pearl in the hollow of my throat. My eyes felt heavy and they fluttered closed.
**
A/N: Dedicating this chapter to a loved one who recently suffered alcohol-induced coma. May he and his family get through this battle.
No one drank vodka in this chapter. Francis just used the empty bottles as pretense to stall while Ice found his way back to wakefulness. Hmm... maybe Francis had a few shots.
And since we have Ed Skrein, might as well have dear Emilia :-)