Once Ethan was sure he had transcribed each important detail, he set the pen on the pad and stood. He grabbed the selenite wand and set it on the nightstand before dropping facedown on the sheets.
“Mom?”
“My sweet boy, I’m incredibly proud of you!”
“Am I dreaming?” he asked, looking around and seeing his prone form. “Holy crap! Am I dead?”
When she cupped his face, he gasped. Pressing his hand to hers, he held her in place. She felt warm and soft, the opposite of what he would have expected. Ethan did not know what was happening, but seeing his body on his bed was startling to say the least.
“Listen, we don’t have a lot of time. In order to secure your future, you must protect her. I couldn’t have picked a better soul for you, my sweet boy. Heed the words the goddess spoke through you. Deception and danger are near. We will see you at the wedding…” she said, her voice trailing.
Ethan shot up in bed. A cool sweat covered his skin as he looked around his room. Sunlight was beginning to seep in through the blinds, but his eyes were not focused there. No, they looked up at where he had watched himself sleep.
“What in the actual fuck was that?” he muttered and dropped onto his back.
His mother’s words ran circles through his mind until he rolled off the bed in search of the notepad he’d used the night before. He wrote not only his mother’s words but each touch and feeling in addition to the strange experience of floating above his sleeping form.
Chapter 16
Ethan: Good morning, beautiful.
Serena stared at the text, her heart doing a pitter-patter at the words. She was far too old to be this excited over a man’s text. Not to mention, she did not need anyone’s validation on her looks, man or woman.
“Shut up and accept the compliment,” she scolded herself.
She snapped a picture of the trash bag by her door and sent it to Ethan.
Serena: Morning? I’m not sure I even went to bed.
Ethan: I see you’ve been busy. Leave it there and I’ll take it out when I come by later.
“He’s coming by? Great… Now I’m talking to myself.” She rolled her eyes before tapping out another reply.
Serena: Don’t have to tell me twice.
She stared at the phone long enough for the screen to go black. Shaking her head, she padded to her bedroom and grabbed fresh clothes. After a long night of cleaning, she needed to wash off the dust and dirt.
When the phone in her hand rang, Serena jumped and clutched her chest. Exhaling a long breath, she shook her head before answering without looking at the caller ID.
“Hello?”
“I didn’t wake you, did I?” Brandy asked.
“Nope,” she said, her gaze flicking to her untouched bed.
“Okay, great!” Brandy said before covering the phone. “See, I didn’t wake her!”
Serena chuckled. “How can I help you this fine morning?”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. I just wanted to call and apologize again about Junior. The big dope really didn’t mean any disrespect, and he doesn’t—”
“Brandy!” Serena called, in order to be heard over her rambling. “It’s fine. I told you all this.”
Brandy sighed. “Okay, good, because I couldn’t sleep, worrying he’d screwed up everything.”
“Screwed what up?”
A nervous laugh flitted through the phone but only silence followed. After a minute, there was a shuffle and an exasperated exhale. “Serena? Sorry about that. I told her not to worry.”
