A shadow slides across the stairs and Chelsea jumps. Her hand brushes mine, sending a jolt straight to my heart. When she pulls away, too quickly, she takes warmth with her, leaving my hand cold. I flex it to dissolve the tingle, but it lingers.
“Sorry for the shadows. They’re harmless.”
She side-eyes me. “I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
“It’s just one of the many differences between our worlds.”
“So am I supposed to look them in the eye, too? If that’s the case, you’ll have to tell me where their eyes are.”
I huff a laugh, and Nightmare coos,She is funny. Will she run her fingers through our hair? Ask her.
“They’re figments of dreams. They come and go as they please. You’ll see them outside sometimes. They’re harmless.”
Her eyes tighten, and a stabbing pain hits me in the heart.
You’ve scared her.
I wasn’t trying to. I was being honest.
Maybe you should be honest in bed.
What are you talking about, Nightmare?
You know, when you get a fortune cookie, you’re supposed to add the phrase, ‘in bed,’ to the end of it. That’s what I just did.
There are no fortune cookies here.
Yet,it reminds me.
“Here’s your door,” I say too soon.
We’re already going to let her loose? But she just got here!
We have planning to do.
But I want to brush her hair!
You’ll get over it.
But Nightmare is right. Her hair looks as soft as fine silk. Just as I’m looking at it, Chelsea turns to me and catches me staring. I jerk my eyes away and clear my throat.
“I thought you had something in your hair.”
She touches it with her delicate fingers. “Do I?”
“No, not anymore. Or, you didn’t. It’s fine, I mean.”
You really jacked that up.
Thank you, peanut gallery.
I gesture to the door. “Would you like to do the honors?”
She stares at it a moment and shakes her head. “No, you can.”
Her hesitation makes my heart pound. What does she expect to find inside? Nightmares slithering around? Darkness and a cold, sterile room?
Us naked on her bed with a rose between our teeth?
