Page 70 of Plaything

Her feet moved quickly as she climbed into my bed. I turned the light off before sliding in next to her. I didn’t allow her any space as I pulled her back flush against my front, spooning her.

“Goodnight,” she said softly.

I pulled her tighter to me, letting my eyes close.

The bed shifted, and my arm fell to the bed as she slid out from under me. “Odette?” I mumbled, sleep still heavy in my voice.

My room was pitch black, only allowing me to see her silhouette in the moonlight. It was late; what was she doing? She didn’t respond to my call as she wandered to my door.

I sat up, confused as to why she was leaving. Had I done something wrong? Was the manly body wash bothering her? It was the wrinkles in the sheets—it had to be. “Odette, what’s wrong?” I questioned, getting up to stop her.

She wandered down the hall, completely ignoring me as I followed her. She didn’t react to anything I was saying; she was just walking. Her movements were sluggish and slow, and her eyes looked dull.

“Odette, did I do something?” I asked again, now beginning to worry. Did I misjudge the mood earlier? Did I scare her? Was I too rough?

She wandered downstairs, where I could hear my three friends talking. It was probably around midnight, and they were grading papers in the living room. Being a teacher meant a lot of late-night grading.

Aiden was the first to notice her, “Odette?” He questioned. He looked at me, and I could only shrug. I felt like a damn fool, not knowing how to explain to them that I’d somehow made her upset.

“Is everything okay?” Wyatt asked, a deep look of concern on his face. She wasn’t okay; that much was clear. Her expression was entirely void, and I could only think of one thing that would cause it.

I called myself Daddy, and she wasn’t ready for that. It was a stupid fuck up, said out of impulse. I knew better than to scare her off right off the bat.

“What happened?” Niko pushed his eyebrows together, moving to stand.

“Odette, stop,” I said firmly. I fucked up, but that didn’t give her an excuse to ignore any of us. We could talk this through.

Aiden stood up and approached us, “What happened?” He asked me.

I ran my hand through my hair, “Everything was fine, then she woke up and left my room—”

Aiden turned away from me and looked at her as she walked—or wandered. She was moving slowly; it was a miracle she hadn’t stumbled down the stairs. “Did she wake up?” he asked himself.

Tiredly, I gestured to her. She was up, walking, eyes open.

“She’s asleep,” Aiden said confidently, following behind her.

“She’s sleepwalking?” Niko seemed intrigued as his eyes followed her.

“I don’t know if sleepwalking is the right term. This looks more like a night terror. Her eyes are open, but she’s not in the same reality as us,” he explained.

“She said this hasn’t happened for years,” Wyatt added.

She stopped walking by the front door. I recalled Aiden’s previous explanation for her strange sleeping habits. He said that she was trying to get away from something—or someone—that was why she’d always wake up in other places besides her house.

Her hand reached for the doorknob, and I tensed. Did she not feel safe here? Perhaps in her sleep, we’d see something she didn’t want to admit to us. It was possible we were moving too fast, or this was too much for her.

Aiden looked especially worried when her hand touched the knob, like he was thinking the same as me.

But she didn’t open the door. She locked it. The lock was long broken and wouldn’t engage, but she locked it. She wasn’t trying to get away anymore. She was trying to keep something out.

Chapter Eleven

Odette

“Hey!” Reesia gave me a chipper smile as I entered the kitchen. She was sitting at the kitchen counter, talking with Niko. I wasn’t sure when she arrived, but I was glad she didn’t seem upset about waiting on me. In my defense, it was early on a Saturday. After last night with Dominic, I should get credit for being alive and functioning.

“Good morning,” I greeted, returning her smile. I was dressed in a tight, short black dress with a cardigan over it and heels. Since I was going clothes shopping, I figured I’d wear something easily removable.

---