It was her mother.
Adria shook her head. She didn’t understand.
Turning the knob, she opened the door.
Bright light flashed into her vision and she squinted into it.
When her eyes adjusted, Adria looked on in horror.
Jonathan’s body was tied to a chair, his skin cut to shreds.
His mouth was open in a silent scream. Blood poured from his open wounds and Adria stumbled back.
As she reached out to catch herself, she saw a crimson-soaked knife in her hand.
The floor around her was covered in blood.
“Honey, can I make you some breakfast?” her mother called from the kitchen. Smoke billowed from the forgotten pan on the stove.
Adria tried to call out to her, but the blood on the floor started rising, licking at her legs.
She tried to run away, but the current came fast and before she knew it, the bright red, warm liquid was at her waist and she could feel herself sinking.
“Mom!”
“Adria, I brought you some breakfast,” Seth said, just as the knife flew past his head and lodged itself in the wall beside him.
She had grabbed the weapon from her nightstand and thrown it in an instant. Adria sat bolt upright, hand still outstretched from the throw. Frozen in shock.
Time seemed to stretch longer than her nightmare, but suddenly the panic cleared and Adria realized what she had done.
“Fuck, Seth, I’m sorry,” she said, scrambling to him.
His stunned face softened, and he caught her outstretched hands.
“Adria, Adria, look at me,” he said.
She tried to move past him, wanting to take the knife down. To erase what had just happened.
He pulled her into him, lifting her chin, and she brought her gaze to meet his.
“Bad dream?” he said.
She felt herself nodding.
He brought her to the bed and set the plate down on the end table.
“Kay and I woke up early and went looking for some food. We didn’t want to wake you,” he said, moving towards the wall.
Seth worked the dagger up and down before pulling it loose. He came to sit where she was; bringing his hand back, he threw the dagger with a curl of his wrist.
The blade hit the exact spot as her throw.
Adria raised an eyebrow at him.
He smiled. “We all have our talents. I could show you some tricks. So, you don’t miss next time.”
“I could have killed you,” she whispered.
