But I’m still skeeved out. I hate those bugs.
I sink back down onto the edge of the mattress on legs that turned to rubber. I shiver again, and I rub my arm, trying to erase the sensation of phantom legs crawling over my skin.
I lie back, pulling the sheets up to my chin, my eyes darting around the room one last time. I reach over and switch off the lamp, plunging the room back into darkness. My heart is still pounding in my chest, but I force my eyes shut, willing myself to go back to sleep. It was just a nightmare. Just a nightmare.
But I can’t shake this feeling that something—someonemaybe—is here watching me, hidden in the darkness.
I squeeze my eyes tighter. It’s all in my head.
The minutes stretch on, the silence in the room growing heavier, pressing down on me like a weight. My breaths are shallow, my pulse erratic.
Then, a new sound slices through the stillness—a low, guttural growl coming from the darkest corner of the room. I gasp, my breath catching in my throat. Terror floods my veins. Oh, my God.Oh, fuck. There is something in here with us.
My eyes snap open, but my body won’t move. It’s like my arms are pinned down, my fingers numb, my hands nonexistent. I want to scream, but no sound comes out. My mouth hangs open, useless. My mind is a blur of panicked thoughts, screaming at me to move, to run,RUN,GET AWAY.But my body refuses to obey.
The snarling grows raspier, more guttural, and then I hear it—a subtle shift in the darkness, something moving, crawling, reaching out as it creeps toward me on its hands and knees. Tears blur my vision as I lie there, paralyzed, helpless. I try to make sense of the shadowy shapes around me, dreading the moment I’ll see it—feel its cold, icy touch against my skin. I struggle to move, to scream, to wake Hayes, but all I can manage is a low wet gurgle that’s caught in the back of my throat.
It’s closer now, like the slow scraping of wet dead leaves along loose gravel. My breathing hitches, my lungs panting, not taking in enough air. Then, I feel it—two slimy, bony hands wrapping around my ankles at the foot of the bed. Another scream catches in my throat, choking me. The hands tighten their grip, their bone-chilling touch shooting waves of dread coursing through my body. I want to kick free, pull away, run, but all that my body does is blur my vision with tears. I can barely blink, my eyelids fluttering as I try to focus on what’s holding me.
I strain my eyes and see it—a faint outline at the end of the bed. I can feel its sharp fingers pressing into my skin, freezing me to the core. I blink again, and there she is—a woman, closer now, hovering over the bed. Her body is parallel to mine, drenched in dark red blood, her eyes cloudy and lifeless. Her skin is ghostly pale, almost translucent, with blue and red veins that spread like a roadmap beneath her flesh. Her mouth is open in a silent scream.
It’s…it’s Liliana.
“WHY WON’T YOU HELP ME?”she wails, her voice a haunting echo that reverberates through the room.
I blink again, and she’s gone.
I bolt upright, gasping for air, my eyes darting frantically around the room. The growling stopped. The woman is gone. But the terror remains, thick and suffocating. I reach out and shake Hayes awake, my hands trembling, desperate to tell him what just happened.
He stirs, eyes barely open. “Bad dream?” he asks, his voice groggy and distant.
I struggle to find the words to explain what I just experienced. “I just?—"
“You were tossing and turning,” Hayes says softly, his hand trailing gently down my arm. He pulls me closer, his warmth grounding me.
“I was asleep?” I ask, lying back down and turning to face him.
“Uh-huh.” His fingers glide over my stomach, tracing the curve of my breast.
“It felt so real,” I whisper, my chest still tight, my breath shaky. “Like I was awake and there was someone...somethingin here.” My ribcage feels battered and bruised. “She…it grabbed my ankles.”
His thumb circles over my nipple. Slow and feathery.
“Maybe we should put on a show for her…it.” His breath is hot on my skin, his fingers firmer in their pressure.
I angle my body closer to him, squinting at his eyes in the dark. “I’m serious. If that was a nightmare?—”
His mouth replaced his fingers. His tongue swirling, flicking. “I’ll just help you forget it.”
I can still see the woman’s face floating above me. Can still feel the impression of the icy touch on my skin.
“Lie back and spread your legs.”
It was just a horrible dream and this is reality. This gorgeous man I’ve known for years, that I’ve wanted for years, one of my oldest friends, wants to help me forget about my nightmare. With his tongue.
Sounds like a great plan.
I shift onto my back and open my legs wide.
