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Dark shadows surround me, pressing against every inch of my skin and crowding around the bleeding body at my feet that I’m desperately trying to save.
“No! You can’t do this.” I beat helplessly at the bloody chest below me. “You can’t die, you fucker! Don’t you dare leave me!” Tears stream down my face as I beg everything – from The Gods to the stars to the devil – to save the boy I love. One of the boys that I love. “I can’t lose a piece of my soul.”
Warm arms envelope me and a gentle kiss brushes my temple.
“Shush, babygirl, I’m here, I’m here.” I curl into the voice's chest and sob uncontrollably. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
“You died again!” I cry.
“It was a dream, babygirl. I’ve got you. Sleep now.”
Another kiss and everything goes dark.
“Fuck!” I cry as I roll over and receive a sharp jab to the stomach. My sleepy eyes fly open, the remains of my nightmare vanishing in an instant as fear of the present floods my senses instead.
There’s a body in bed with me.
“What the actual fuck?!” I screech. I’ve probably woken my entire dorm up, but I don’t give a damn. My hand frantically searches under my pillow for the flick knife I keep there for reasons just like this and the second I curl my fingers around it, an ounce of control and calm returns to me.
I open the blade with a soft hiss and press it to my intruder’s throat.
“Fuck, babe, you know that shit gets me hard.”
“Kaiden! Get the hell out of my room!”
“Morning gorgeous.” The Spirit grins up at me from his prone position stretched out on my duvet. Oh thank god, he has clothes on and is lying on top of the covers.
“What are you doing here?” I squeak, pulling the covers up to my chin in a desperate attempt to hide. The knife tumbles onto the bed between us and Kaiden reaches for it to move it to safety.
“Oh relax,” he scoffs. “I know you’re not naked under there, so chill out.”
I shoot a fierce glare at him and repeat my question.
“Well, you were making quite a racket having a dream or something, so I came in to comfort you. You don’t remember? You spoke to me.”
“How did you get in?” I squirm, uncomfortable.
“You still leave your window on the latch,” he replies, frowning at me. “You know that’s really not safe, babe.”
My shoulders bob in a shrug. Old habits die hard and all that. Besides, he knows as well as anyone why I need the window open at night. For the same reason I’ll bet he still sleeps with his unlatched. Escape routes were always a necessity during his childhood.
Kaiden surprises me by turning on his side to face me suddenly. Reaching out, he tucks a lock of my long brown hair behind my ear, resting his palm against my cheek when he’s done.
“I missed you, babygirl,” he whispers. “You look good.”
I blink at him, unsure how to respond. I’m biting my bottom lip, staring at him when he abruptly sits up. He climbs off the bed and stares down at me.
“It might be best if you don’t mention to...anyone...that I was here.” For a moment he looks kind of sheepish.
“Why not?” My brows draw together.
“You know Axel won’t like it, babe.”
“I don’t give a fuck what Axel likes,” I spit vehemently. Kaiden gives me a wide smile, like he approves of my feisty attitude. I give him a brief smile in return before my face falls. Rescuing me from my demons last night does not make everything from the past okay. I reach up to absentmindedly rub my hand over my new tattoo. “You should go,” I say flatly.
He doesn’t reply, but does as I asked. I feel oddly deflated when he’s gone. It’s like, without his presence to reassure me, the shadows of my nightmares begin to press down on me again. Breathing deeply, I shake the darkness off and head to the shower to wash away the cloying shadows of the past and get ready to face a new day.
Pulling on my uniform, I pause. Normally, I wouldn’t think twice about listening to Axel’s bullshit, but today I feel really drained and I just can’t face fighting him. That said, the university insists that we wear a uniform, so how the hell am I meant to keep the damn doe tattoo on show?
