Suddenly, an odd wind swept through the room, taking the steam with it. It was then that he finally saw Foxx. For a few seconds, he sat there, his mind refusing to make sense of what he was seeing. But piece by piece it came together, the image burning itself into his brain. Too late…he was too late. He’d failed…
“Foxx…” he rasped.
The vampire’s eyes were open. A gaze that was usually filled with so much fire was now permanently frozen and filled with fear. His mouth opened in a perpetual scream. Cuts, burns, and bruises littered Foxx’s naked body. A large cross pinned him to the floor, as if marking a grave. And it was. As Foxx was dead.
Harlow sat there staring, his heart beating so fast that it hurt. It hurt…it hurt so badly. He clutched at his chest, eyes never leaving Foxx.
It wasn’t right. None of this was right. “Get up…” he whispered. But the body didn’t move.
“GET UP!” he roared. “FOXX, WAKE UP!”
Harlow’s eyessnapped open on a gasp. He stared at the ceiling, sweat dripping down his face. He’d call it cold sweats, but it was unbelievably hot, which told him the power had come back on.
Wincing, he slowly sat up. His heart was racing, thumping so loudly that it echoed in his ears. It ached… Why did it ache? Was he having a heart attack? Harlow went to feel his chest but froze at the sight of his hand. Shaking…why the fuck was his hand shaking? What in the hell was going on with him?
This was getting fucking ridiculous. He clenched his hand into a fist.
What was with these nightmares?! It wasn’t even the first one he’d had, and they just seemed to be getting worse each time.
Hell, Harlow hadn’t even had a dream before this… He’d gone from nothing for forty-five years to nightmares popping up multiple times in a single month. What the fuck was going on in his head?
Answers… He needed answers…
* * *
Foxx rolled on the bed,frowning when there was no one there next to him to cuddle. Eyes slowly opening, he glared out at the room, at the sight of Harlow bent over, now fully dressed and snagging something off the floor.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“I remembered that I needed to do something at the Guild,” Harlow said as he straightened up.
Foxx pouted. “Now? But I want cuddles. Can’t it wait until morning?”
And in this case, it would actually be morning, considering the hospital had fucked up his sleep schedule.
“Such a brat.” The human chuckled as he walked over, leaned down, and kissed Foxx’s forehead. “I’ll be back soon.”
Foxx tried to ignore the fluttering in his stomach at the man’s action…and then frowned on noting that Harlow sounded off. “Are you alright?”
Harlow blinked. “Yes, why?”
“Your voice sounds off…”
“I’m fine, go back to sleep. I’ll be back before you know it.” Harlow turned to leave but paused and said, “Alastair may be on his way back, and he may or may not try to kill me when he arrives.”
“So, he found out?”
“You weren’t answering his calls.”
“You mean texts? Though, I suppose, he probably tried to call too. I really need to buy a new phone.”
“Yeah those… And yes, you do. Anyway, go back to sleep. I should be back before you wake up, but if I’m not, maybe get a new phone when you do get up.”
Foxx nodded and buried under the covers. “Hurry back. I demand cuddles!”
“Yes, brat,” he grunted, before leaving the room.
More than having cuddles, he just wanted Harlow to hold him. He hated feeling weak, but that's how he felt at the moment. He was also feeling slightly embarrassed about his latest freak… Ugh, he needed to pull it together. Harlow was no doubt sounding so weird because he kept having to deal with Foxx’s slight mental breakdowns.
