Page 41 of Breakup Games

“I know what I saw,” she presses. “There was someone standing along the fence. And as far as I know, there’s only a camera facing the doors so it wouldn’t have picked anything up.” She shakes her head and we go into the living room, where she sinks down onto the couch, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders. She’s still shaken up. “It could have been a homeless man for all I know.”

“It very well could have been,” I agree.

“I feel kinda silly.” She bites her bottom lip, spacing off into the distance. I haven’t yet seen her without any makeup on, with her hair twisted up in a messy bun on the top of her head. She’s wearing comfy clothes that are loose on her tight body, hiding her figure. And for some reason I find that so fucking hot. “I just…never mind.”

“What?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Wouldn’t be nothing if you were going to say something.”

She presses her lips together and brings her legs up underneath her. “I hate using this term, but I got a little triggered and it freaked me out.”

“Triggered by what?” I ask gently.

“A memory of Cory,” she says and closes her eyes. “I used to get sleep paralysis all the time. I’d wake up and see just the dark outline of a man standing over my bed. For years, I was completely convinced it was a demon.” She lets out a smalllaugh. “I even had a sleep study done, because my doctor said it was not a typical form of sleep paralysis.”

I sit next to her and Violet jumps up between us, leaning on me as she wags her tail. I run my hands over her fur and her tail thumps against the side of the couch even harder. “Sleep paralysis is usually explained to be your brain not fully waking in all parts. You still see your dreams.”

“I know. But it was always the same thing. I’m stuck in bed and this man comes closer and closer. I could never see his face but he had the most oppressive aura to him. He’d say I had to let him in, and he’d try all sorts of tricks, shifting to another person or even taking the form of a cat I had a few years ago.” She pulls her arms in. “It sounds crazy, I know.”

“It sounds terrifying.”

“It was.” She looks out at the room again, taking a few seconds before going on. “The final night before I left, Cory woke me up to ‘talk’. He stood there jabbing me with his fingers until I woke up. And then I realized it was him all along. The dark, shadow man who tormented me in my sleep. It was him.” Her head tips to the side. “My mind knew and was trying to tell me what I didn’t want to admit. It was my own Bent Neck Lady, if you’re aHill Housefan.”

“Have you seen the shadow man since?”

“No. I haven’t had sleep paralysis once since I left.”

“Damn. That’s insane, and I don’t mean it in a I-don’t-believe-you way. It’s insane because our subconscious knows things we don’t want to admit.”

“Right? I will make a fascinating case study.” She leans back. “Seeing that person…it was like the shadow man all over again and as much as I’ve tried to heal and get over it, so to speak, sometimes it takes me right back to feeling like a helpless little girl who thinks she really does deserve to be treated like shit.”

“PTSD doesn’t just go away. You know that.”

“Yeah. I do. It doesn’t help that Cory and his crazy mother won’t leave me alone. Want to know some tea? His sister, Anna, used to tell me how worried she was about me because she knew Cory was abusive and controlling. She still thinks the whole thing is insane and told me when I ran into her at my niece’s dance recital that she’s embarrassed by their mother’s two year long obsession.”

“Ohhh, a real girl’s girl.”

“Hey, look at you.” Mira smiles. “Using modern terms.”

“I might have watched a few of your recent reels,” I admit. “So I can psychoanalyze you, of course.”

“And how crazy am I, agent?”

I laugh. “You’re up there, but it’s kinda cute.”

“Oh, well, at least it’s cute.” Silence falls between us and when she reaches out to pet her dog, our hands touch. “You’re warm.”

“And your hands are freezing.” I use it as an excuse to take her fingers between mine. She turns her head up, eyes locking with mine. I rub my thumb up and down her index finger and she leans in a bit, lips parting.

My heart speeds up and my dick jumps, wanting so fucking bad to pull her into my lap. Her green eyes widen and she lets out a slow breath. She wants it to.

I shouldn’t. We have a working relationship. It could complicate things. But fuck, this woman is a force of nature and the more time I’ve spend with Mira, the more I want to be around her. She’s irritatingly stubborn at times and very independent. Her past has made it hard to trust and for some unknown reason, I want to prove her wrong and be the person she can depend on.

It’s a feeling I’ve never had for anyone before and it’s like every basic male instinct I have to protect and provide is elevated when I’m around her.

Mira’s phone dings with a text and she jumps, pulling her hand back.

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