CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
sierra
PRESENT DAY
Stop it! Don’t touch her!” a frantic voice warned the dark figure in front of me, but I couldn’t pinpoint where the sound was coming from.
Was it me?
Was that my voice or someone else’s?
Glass shattered around me, and I covered my head, shrinking my body to avoid the spray of broken shards raining down. A spark of pain jolted through me, and my hand shot to my face, warm liquid trickling down my cheeks.
Was I crying?
I closed my eyes, thinking if I sat here silently for long enough, this would all be a bad dream. I’d wake up any moment.
Footsteps disappeared around the corner, and I held my breath as I squeezed my eyes, my cheeks completely wet and stained now.
I didn’t know how long I’d been sitting here. Ten or fifteen minutes?
Careful not to press my palms into the glass, I hauled myself to my feet.
A figure lay on the ground near the dining room table, but I stepped over it, determined to reach my intended target.
I reached for the phone, but before I could grab it, a heavy hand fell on my shoulder.
My head whipped around to look over my shoulder, but it was too late. In a swift movement, the dark figure standing behind me thrust a broken piece of glass into my back, and then I was falling…
Falling.
Falling.
Falling…until…
Sweat dripped down the side of my face as I jolted awake, my hand clutching my racing heart. Pancho whined as he paced in circles at the foot of the bed.
I took a deep breath, counting to four as I inhaled. Releasing the breath on another four beats, I repeated the box breathing exercise to calm myself.
“Just a dream, bud. Sorry to scare you.” I patted the comforter, trying to calm Pancho down. Unfortunately, just like Lucky, he could pick up on my energy. When I was anxious, he mimicked my emotions, except he was ten times worse.
Instead of settling, Pancho barked, a high-pitched yip that echoed off the walls of my bedroom.
“Shh. I know. It’s okay, I’m okay. See?”
Speaking in a soothing voice didn’t seem to work, so I got out of bed, tiptoeing over to the door. It creaked as I opened it, and I winced at the sound, like I was fourteen again and sneaking out.
“Do you need to go outside?” I whispered. “Outside” was one of Pancho’s buzzwords, so it got his attention rightaway, and he wagged his tail like he’d completely forgotten about my nightmare.
I walked out to the living room as quietly as I could, but the dog didn’t seem to get the memo, practically sprinting down the hallway, his paws making loud thumps against the hardwood floor. I opened the front door, and he bounded out, disappearing around the corner to do his thing. He wouldn’t go far, so I left the door slightly ajar and headed into the kitchen to get a glass of water.
Fumbling for a light switch in the kitchen, I accidentally hit the garbage disposal instead of the light above the sink, wincing at the awful grinding sound it made.
“Fuck,” I groaned as I hit the correct switch and warm light slowly illuminated the kitchen.
I was in the middle of pouring myself a glass of water when footsteps approached from the hallway. I spun around, glass in hand, to find Hayden leaning against the island counter.
He lifted up a hand in greeting. “Hey. What time is it?” His voice, a bit groggy and raspy from sleep, caught in his throat.
