It took a second for my mind to register that no dogs were whining in the dark, there were no sounds of people stumbling into things, and no one was discussing how long the lights would be off. My stomach sank when I realized that the entire building was eerily silent.
I still walked forward, toward the only light. “Rory?” Isaid softly as I came around the corner into the lobby. The windows were bright but almost too much so. I couldn’t see outside clearly. There was no reply, and when I stepped into the room I found it completely empty. I glanced back into the hallway to see if I could see anyone, but I heard the hinges squeak as the basement door opened.Where the fuck was Rory and the two clients who were waiting when I’d gone into the basement only a couple of minutes earlier?
I’d had a lot of weird stuff happen to me, but I was pretty sure today was going to take the cake. I rushed over to the front door and tried it, but just like I’d feared in the basement, the door didn’t budge. “Wake up, wake up, wake up,” I muttered, turning back toward the hallway in time to see a shadow darker than the rest hovering there. It was too bright in the room I was in to make out a shape; all I could see was a dark blob.
“Elijah.” I wasn’t sure if there was actually a whisper or if I was hearing it in my mind. I recognized it immediately as whatever had been speaking to me in my dreams, whatever was warning or threatening that I wouldn’t survive.
I couldn’t tell how much danger I was facing. I wished anyone else was here, even Enyo, even if they couldn’t see it. It couldn’t be real, I had to be losing it, yet I couldn’t escape. I backed toward the corner of the lobby, away from the hallway. “What?” I said simply, getting tired of the head games this thing seemed to be playing.
“He can’t protect you. There are two. They are coming. They are here. Listen for them.” I had no idea what the words meant, or iftheywere good or bad. I was pretty sure there had been at least three perps in my vision at Brandon’s, but I wasn’t even sure that had been real either. My brain felt scrambled and I was even more confused.
“Elijah? Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” I was standing in the breakroom, all the lights on, and Rory was staring at me like she was contemplating calling an ambulance.
How the fuck I’d ended up here was beyond me. I was no longer holding the paperwork, so that part must have gottendone. “Yeah,” I said, even though my voice sounded shaky. “Uh, did the lights go out up here?”
She shook her head. “No, why?”
“Uh, they flickered and went out in the basement. It freaked me out because I couldn’t see to get to the stairs. I tripped. I’m okay, though.” She opened the door and peered inside, where the lights were on and everything was business as usual. “I’m going to go clean the exam room so we can get the last few appointments done.”
She eyed me suspiciously, but said, “Yeah, okay.” Then she thankfully headed back up front without further questioning. I wanted to finish the day and get the hell back to my house, even though it didn’t quite feel like my safe spot anymore.
???
Rory and I walked outside together, and she waited as I locked the door behind us. She looked out at the parking lot then back to me with a little grin. “Your bodyguard is here,” she said with a giggle. We’d had a talk about Mason at lunch. I didn’t go into full detail, but I did let her know Mason had more than proven himself, and he was fully in my good graces again. I looked up to see him leaning on his hood where he’d parked next to my car.
“Hey,” he said as we approached, giving us both a nod.
He watched Rory warily, but she just said, “Hey, Mason. How’s it going?”
“Rory,” he said, sounding a little surprised that she’d spoken to him. “How have you been?”
She paused and leaned on her car door. “I’ve been good. And I know that we’re all aware you havenotalways been good, butI’maware that you’ve been inside my best friend, so I guess if he’s willing to give you another chance, I am too. Just take care of him, yeah?”
Mason managed not to choke over her blunt mouth, composed himself, and smiled at her. “Yeah. I promise I will.”
“You better,” she said, narrowing her eyes, then she turned to me and smiled as she got in her car. “Love you, bestie.”
I returned the sentiment, turning to Mason as she pulled away. “I didn’t know you were going to meet me here.” It probably seemed a little overprotective to Rory, but she also didn’t know the extent of what was going on. I hadn’t told her about my dreams, because she knew that shit came true as well as I did. I hadn’t mentioned any of the spooky stuff either, at the risk of either freaking her out or her thinking I was losing it.
“I didn’t want you driving home all alone,” Mason said with a shrug. “I’m going to stay with you for a little while, okay? I grabbed some stuff from my parents’ house, and I’m keeping my dad’s gun. It doesn’t feel safe for you to be out there all alone right now. I also told my mom about us, because she practically asked me anyway. She’s thrilled that we’re together.” He gave me a happy little smile.
I couldn’t stop the chuckle. Mason’s mom had always been nice to me when we were kids. She was like a second mother to me, because she knew mine couldn’t always be there. My mom had known she was there for me too, and it had helped her when she had to be at work. When Mason and I had drifted apart, it had affected more relationships than just our own. “She’s thrilled, huh?”
“Yeah. She said she’d been waiting for it to happen since we were kids, but she thought I blew it in high school.”
“Well, she wasn’t wrong.”
“No, but then I blew you and now we’re almost okay again?” He laughed but the bravado had cracked and he was looking at me hopefully.
I snickered. “Well, that’s not why. But yeah. We’re okay again.”
I’d omitted the “almost,” and he definitely caught it. The relieved look on his face actually surprised me. It was as though he’d been holding a breath since senior year and was finally able to let it out. He left every bit of cockiness behind and moved to grab me in a hug. “You don’t know how much it means to hearyou say that,” he whispered, but he was wrong. I did know. I could see it and feel it. I hugged him back and he went on. “But blowing you helped, right?”
I laughed out loud as I straightened and gave him a little smack on the arm. With a grin I said, “Well, it didn’t hurt.”
He grinned and said, “Come on. I’ll follow you home.”
We made dinner together, and I tried not to get used to it. I wasn’t sure what we’d be by the time he went back to Chicago, but I knew I couldn’t go with him. It was never my dream. I hadn’t even realized it washisdream until he left. Back then I didn’t care, though. At least, I’d told myself I didn’t.
