CHAPTER | NINETEEN
I scoffed and ran my thumb over my lower lip. "I'm going crazy."
"Join the club." Belle yawned, rubbing the sleep away from eyes. "I have an empty bed in my room since my roommate thought it was a good idea to stab someone in the eye with a spoon."
I gave her a puzzled look at the last part and she waved her hand, turning fully to face me. "She's one of those nut jobs that think the government is spying people through their eyes."
I snapped my mouth closed and looked around the empty garden. It was one those rare sunny, sixty degrees day in the middle of winter.
I sighed and leaned back. Belle sighed too and patted my knee.
"I'm sure it was only a dream. You met Tristian before you started dating Javon. People say that when you dream of someone you know it's because they were thinking of you. Maybe that's what happened there."
"Maybe, I don't know. It's confusing." I said and crossed my arms. "You know Tristian. What can you tell me about him?"
Belle shifted and cleared her throat. "He's... a nice fella."
I nodded, remembering she told me that before. "What else?"
Belle shrugged after a while. "What do you want to know?"
"Anything..." I trailed off and bit my lower lip. "So it is true he had a brother?"
Belle nodded. "He did, but never liked to talk about him."
"Oh. He mentioned him once, but I never asked and he never told so I figured it was one of those sensitive topics."
Belle chuckled. "Yeah, he has a lot of those topics... Have you seen his face?"
I shook my head. "I just know he has a scar and, uh, brown eyes according to my dreams."
Belle hummed and spotted the nurse heading towards us. "Time's up, dear."
"Yeah." I whispered and stood up. I pulled on my sweater and smiled down at Belle who smiled back.
"Visit soon?"
I nodded. "I will. Thank you for listening to me."
"Ah, don't mention it, my dear. It's nice to know you trust me." Belle smiled and held my hand. She stood up and leaned in close to whisper in my ear. "I've also been told that dreams are bits and pieces of your previous life."
I raised an eyebrow at her and Belle gave me a knowing look before she was ushered away by the nurse.
I sighed and looked around once again before heading towards the gates. I wouldn't be surprised if I found myself here in the next few years.
I nodded at the security guard and headed towards busy streets to look for a cab. My phone buzzed in my pocket and I frowned as I had one unread message.
"Weird..." I said to myself as I tapped on the screen.
No one ever messaged me except Javon and Kris, but since neither one was in my life, a message from an unknown number caught me off guard.
I clicked my tongue when it read that it was time to pay for my phone bill. I tucked my phone in my pocket and looked up in time to dodge out of a man's way, but still bumped into his elbow, causing his coffee to sip over his shoes.
"These are new shoes, prick! Watch—Oh. I-I'm sorry." He said when he looked up from his phone.
I instantly recognized him from the other time I bumped into him on my last visit with Belle. I stepped away and held my hands up before dropping them to my sides.
"No worries." I said with a tight smile. I started to walk away when he called for me.
I paused and looked over my shoulder as he flashed me a smile, but it quickly turned into a frown.
"Are you okay, ma'am?" He asked.
I stared at him confused for a second and looked down at myself. I was only wearing a loose pair of sweatpants with old sneakers. My old white t-shirt had oil and paint stains all over it and my sweater had small holes on the ends of my sleeves.
I looked around and saw everyone all dressed up with suits. I awkwardly cleared my throat and blew a strand of hair out of my face.
"Y-Yes. I'm fine. I just woke up." I joked and the man chuckled.
"Yeah, I can see that." He said and shook his coffee. "Can I treat you to a coffee? I sure could use another one since my coffee is all soaked up with my socks."
I bit my inner cheek and noticed it wasn't noon yet when I spotted Javon coming out of sushi restaurant with a few of his coworkers.
My heart stopped and my adrenaline spiked up. It wasn't going to be long before one of his coworkers noticed me.
I looked over the man and sheepishly smiled. "I'm sorry, but I must go. It was nice seeing you."
I quickly turned away just as one coworker nudged at Javon. I walked down the street and blended in with the crowd. I united my hair from the bun and lifted my hood. I stopped at the corner and impatiently tapped my foot against the pavement. I stuffed my hands in my pocket and casually looked around me.
I glanced behind my shoulder and let my shoulders drop when I didn't spot Javon anywhere. I breathed in and crossed the street. I walked towards the edge of the street and flagged down a taxi.
I gave the driver my address and sat back. I rubbed my hands over my face and looked out the window.
I would've never imagined finding myself scared of Javon. He was everything to me.
He was my best friend in high school. We met when my high school paired us up for a small science project. Though we didn't connect instantly, I found myself falling for him when I hung out with him.
And when he asked me to be his date to a Halloween dance and first kissed me by the lockers, it seemed like he was the one I was going to spend the rest of my life with.
But now? I was running away from him. I was afraid of him. I didn't love him anymore like I did when I was sixteen.
He was just the father of my son and I'm soon to be divorced from him.
It took me a moment to soak it in and the memories I had with him felt unreal. If I had known he was going to change, I would have never moved back to my hometown.
But then... I would have never seen Tristian again. I wouldn't lie and say that I forgot all about my first encounter with him.
Though I never told a soul about him, I found myself staying up past three at night to look out my window. I wanted to see if maybe I could catch a glimpse of him just to prove myself that I really did meet the masked man in the woods, and there were at times I imagined him standing by the trees or sitting on a branch. But when I blinked, he was gone so I shrugged it off and finally lay down.
I rubbed my eyes and saw we were driving down the driveway. I paid the driver and paused by my front door.
I quickly glanced around and taking in the empty streets for a moment. I put my keys back in my pocket and sat down on the steps.
I sighed loudly and almost smiled when I remembered I used to sit here during the summers with my papa every Sunday night.
We would sit side by side, a beer in his hand and a tube of bubbles on mine. I would blow them and watch as the bubbles floated away and popped.
My papa was my best friend, the one I could always count on for he was always there unlike my mama.
"You just gotta give her some time, Varia. Your ma... she's going through a rough patch." He would say every time I asked why my mama would push me away when she was drinking or why she was passed out in the hallway.
I would sigh in respond and leave, knowing I couldn't understand her addiction.
I took a deep breath in and stood up. I unlocked the door and kicked it closed behind me. I went straight to the living room and right when I was about to sit, I heard three small knocks on the back door.
My spirits were lifted and I walked slowly to the kitchen, but it seemed like my legs had a mind of its own and I was standing next to the counter where I halted.
Tristian wasn't on the other side of the door.
I felt like my face paled and my heart stopped. I started to pant and the thing from which haunted me a year ago smiled its creepy smile.
The shadow man waved its hand at me, its fingers long and pointy towards the end. From here, I could hear the bone cracking and my heart pounded loud in my ears as it seemed to go right through the door.
Before I could make a move, I was lifted from the ground. My body unfroze seemed and I screamed as I tried to get down, but an unknown force was picking me up until I was up to the ceiling.
I twisted and turned, but nothing worked to get me down. A second later, I was flying through the doorway, up the stairs and thrown into my old bedroom.
My back hit the floor painfully and I arched my back. I moaned and tried to move, but my arms and legs were pinned down.
I sobbed and screamed loud for help.
This wasn't happening. No. I was dreaming. This was all a dream. It had to be. I hadn't dreamt of the shadow man since last year and I had finally conceived myself that it was a form of hallucination, but yet I was seeing the shadow man slowly appear from the floor.
"Help! Someone help me!" I yelled when it fully appeared and stood by my legs, looking down at me.
I panted hard, my chest moving up and down and my heart racing. Beads of sweat ran down my face and to the floor. My vision clouded with tears and I felt my wrists and ankles burned the more I struggled to free myself.
I cringed when I heard its bone-cracking and its two white eyes appeared. It bent down until its face was so close to mine that I felt its cold, misty breath on my lips.
My hands formed into fists and I wanted to close my eyes. I didn't want to stare at those two white dots anymore, but I couldn't shut my eyes. I couldn't look away because I knew if I did, something worse would happen.
I felt like we were staring at each other for hours until I weakly muttered a "please". Bone started to crack again and a sob escaped pass my lips.
Its canine teeth formed a smile and I felt something slowly climb up my legs and creepy up my chest. The shadow man leaned back, standing tall and straight as it still held its smile.
Black smoke started to curl and swirl above me like a storm forming. The wind picked up and old papers and books that laid on the floor started flying around. The windows rattled and the door banged against the wall hard.
My hair blew around my face, blocking my view of the shadow man. I almost turned away when at the center of the "storm", flashed images.
My attention was caught and I couldn't look away as my eyes grew wide.
I didn't notice the unknown force had let me go or that the shadow man was gathering me in its arms.
I was so awed by the images that seemed to blur together, making it difficult to make out what was happening in the pictures. But oh how the colors looked so beautiful and bright. It seemed like I was getting closer to the bright colors and a smile grew on my face.
There was something exciting about the colors. There were so many colors of different shades and I swore I heard whispers.
I raised my hand to touch it when a voice sliced through the air. It wasn't clear at first until I heard it again and again.
I woke up with a gasp and my vision seemed blurred as I coughed harshly. My face was red and I cleared my dry throat.
I glanced at Tristian, who sat me on his lap as he rubbed my back. He cupped my cheeks, pushing my hair away.
"Varia? Are you okay?" He asked, worried laced with his tone.
I frowned and felt like the room was spinning. I couldn't hear everything he was saying and vision started to blur again. I blinked and fell back. Tristian held my jaw, shaking my head as he kept asking me something.
I mumbled something under my breath and my eyes suddenly felt heavy. I tried to keep them open, more when Tristian suddenly removed his mask.
I wanted to blink the blurriness away, but the more I blinked, the heavier my eyes grew until I finally gave in.