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CHAPTER FIVE
Faith
Ijust said that.
Out loud.
What kind of fresh new hell was I walking into with idiotic confessions like that falling from my mouth?
Now I have to watch you walk away again.
Jesus.
Thank God for a pitch-black room and no way for him to see me red and cringing. It was probably good that I couldn’t see him either, stretched out with an arm over his head, filling out a t-shirt better than should be legal.
“Just kidding,” I said, fairly sure I didn’t pull off the cavalier tone. “I wouldn’t watch your ass strut away if it was the nicest one left on earth.”
I heard a low chuckle. “You saying I have an ugly ass?”
“I have no clue about your ass anymore, Mr. Bishop,” I said as I rolled away from him and then thought better of it as pain sliced through my side. God, I’d be so happy to sleep on my side again. I huffed out a breath as I landed again on my back, and Lance decided jumping down to curl up on my discarded clothes was a safer choice. “It’s not on my priority list.”
I clapped a hand over my face in the dark.
Not on my priority list?I was two for two so far.
“Noted,” he said, the sound of a grin tugging at the deep tones. “Good night, Faith.”
“Night,” I said. Hoping—praying—it would be a good one.
It was. Untilit wasn’t.
Listening to Adam’s even breathing across the room, I fell into a deep dreamless sleep born of stress and not enough rest. My body needed this. But my brain said otherwise as it pulled me into places I’d rather not be.
There we were, Adam and I, in the random scatteredness of dream life, eating macaroni at a desk of some corporate office, riding an elevator down the side of a building, laughing as we boarded something resembling a roller coaster to cross a river to our next stop. Lance was there, wagging his tail in the seat next to us, barking at the water as we were suddenly riding on it. Like a river ride at an amusement park. The water felt almost solid then, filled with something like too many Cheerios in a bowl of milk. No... like ice shards in the water, scraping against the boat. I turned to ask Adam what that was, but both he and the dog were gone. It was just me. And there was no ice out there.
It was dark, I couldn’t see past the front of the boat, but I knew it wasn’t ice; it was more like rocks in the water. Tiny rocks. Gravel so thick in the water that I was barely moving. The sound was deafening as the gravel chewed at the boat, chipping pieces away. And the smell—the dreadful sickly-sweet smell I knew instinctively—that I tried to push away from my nose, but something held my hands down. The thick aroma of fear mixed with it as I realized I couldn’t move. I couldn’t scream. My mouth couldn’t open. Something dark was next to me. Close. Sinister. Pressing—squeezing—chewing the very gravel in the water, but right in my ear. Its breath spewing the toxic sweetness as pain sliced through me. Again and again. I tried to fight, to kick, to claw, but—
“Chica...”
A gargled noise escaped my throat, a choking cry of pain so fierce it yanked me from the boat, hurtling me through darkness. My arms were free and I struck out, fighting against the hands that still wanted to restrain me. My breath came hard, like there wasn’t enough air. White-hot pain shot through my midsection, but I had to get away this time. Had to—
“Faith!”
It knew my name.
Run.
Hurt it. Kill it. And run.
“Faith!” The voice was louder now.
I bent my right arm and elbowed it with all I had, meeting hard bone. The pain shot up my arm, but I scrambled up and ran. Sucked in air. Had to keep going.
“Get away from me!” I shoved out, the words thick like molasses. Strong arms wrapped around me, but I wouldn’t be trapped again. “No!”
I pushed the darkness down as it cursed, pinning it with my body. Straddling it as it grabbed my hands again.
“Faith, it’s Adam!” it said.
