Page 33 of In All My Dreams

Deep breath in, Georgie girl.

Forcing my body and my mind to get on the same page, I turn around slowly. To face whatever, or whoever, is going to be standing behind me, waiting to steal me into the shadows for all the sins I’ve committed.

I gasp loudly when I see Ian standing right behind me, only a step away, holding a quilt and a small bag.

“What the fuck, Ian?” I hiss. “You nearly scared me half to death, you asshole!”

He chuckles, making me seriously debate pushing him down the rest of the stairs.

“I was wondering how long it would take you to notice me,” he says with a smug smile.

When we were little, before Irene passed away, we used to play this hide-and-seek game called Black Widow. We would turn all the lights out and essentially play hide and seek in the dark. When it was mine or Irene’s turn to search, Ian would sneak up behind us and follow us through the house until we finally noticed him. Every time the game ended with one of us crying and Ian laughing before the lights were turned on. My father eventually banned the game because he was tired of hearing us scream all night at each other.

I shove him playfully before heading up the stairs to check on Auden. “How long were you standing there?” I ask as we hit the top of the staircase.

“Only a moment. You were already stopped in the middle of the staircase like a weirdo by the time I snuck up on you.”

So it wasn’t Ian that was watching me. My mother, perhaps? Waiting with another warning to protect and not trust someone?

I look over at Ian, worry and unease washing over me as I gaze at him. Then, he flashes that crooked smile of his at me, and those thoughts dissipate in a cloud of smoke between us. Ian is the one person in this house besides Auden that I know wouldn’t betray my trust.

I tip-toe into Auden’s bedroom, leaving Ian in the hall behind me. Auden is curled up on her side, the pink duvet pooled at her feet. One arm is tucked under her pillow, and the other is wrapped around Horton, who is taking his guard-cat duties very seriously tonight as he snoozes right next to her, completely unaware of my presence. I carefully pull the duvet up and cover her little body, placing a soft kiss on her forehead before tip-toeing back into the hallway where Ian waits for me at her door.

“She looks so peaceful when she sleeps,” he muses, a soft smile playing on his lips. “Much unlike her drooling mother who hogs all the blankets,” he teases.

I love this playful side of him. I feel like I haven’t seen enough of it since we’ve been back.

I wonder if he’ll still be this content with my company once I tell him all of my secrets.

“I’ll be right out. I’m just going to grab the diary from my room,” I tell him before rushing across the hall and into the guest bedroom.

The couch is still a mess from our sleepover, and I can’t help but smile as I recall the way we fell asleep together, wrapped into each other's arms.

Safe from the ghosts and secrets of our past.

I quickly grab the blue book from the nightstand and head back out to meet Ian in the hall.

Only, he’s not in the hall anymore.

I start to head toward the stairs when I hear low whispers from Auden’s room.

When I peek my head in, the small lamp on the bedside table is on, and I see Ian sitting on the bed next to Auden, who is very much awake now.

“What if the bad one tries to hurt Mommy again?” Auden asks Ian, her tone worried as she tugs on the duvet.

Ian chuckles and reaches forward and tucks a stray lock of her behind her ear. “Nobody is going to harm you or your mom, not while I’m here to chase all the bad things away.”

Auden chews on her lip, clearly unsatisfied with Ian’s answer. “But what about Papa? The bad one hurt him already, and you were there,” she argues, causing Ian to shake his head in defeat.

“You’re right. I was there. But the bad one that hurt your Papa is inside his body, already making him sick. Your mom isn’t sick,and if something tries to get her, I’ll fight them off. I promise I won’t let anything bad happen to her, or to you.”

Auden holds out her pinky. “Pinky swear?”

Ian wraps his pinky around hers, and they shake on it. “Pinky swear,” he promises her with a smirk. Her answering smile is enough to light up the entire planet. “Now, go to sleep before your mom catches you awake at this hour. She might not let us go get milkshakes at the fair tomorrow if you don’t go to sleep.”

“I love milkshakes!” Auden yells excitedly. “Oops, I’m not supposed to yell. Mama might catch us.” She giggles before tucking herself back into the pink duvet.

Ian turns the lamp off before leaning over and giving her hair a playful pat. “Good night, Auden.”

---