Page 62 of Make You Mine

“Just take the garbage and get back inside. No one is here. You are safe.” Nodding to myself, I take a second to inhale deeply, letting out each breath slowly to help calm my nerves. Five times I do this, and it’s on the last one that I begin to feel a bit of ease seep through.

My heart loses its galloping beat; the harsh thumping slows as my shaking limbs cease to twitch. Freaking out while Elijah isn’t here won’t help me or this situation, and I repeat that thought along with my mantra enough that I’m able to follow through with the simple task of dumping the garbage.

Sure, I rush to do it, but I focus on the positive: that I did it.

It takes me longer to clear my head than to do the task, and within minutes, I’m back inside. The soft thud of the door closing is a welcomed noise, and more so is the click of the lock that follows. There are two of them that I turn before setting the alarm and walking toward his living room.

On the way there, I make a quick pit stop inside his kitchen and grab a can of Olipop. I haven’t had dinner, and eating something right now isn’t going to happen with my nerves being shot, so drinking something with a hint of sweetness is the next best thing.

And it’s while I’m in the kitchen that the house phone rings.

My first thought is that it has to be Elijah, and I rush to grab the cordless device from its place inside his office. The room is dark, and I pause near the entrance. That’s not how I left it.

Before taking a shower, I made sure that every room had one light on.

“What the fuck?” I whisper, my heart racing as I reach for the small switch on the wall to my left. Finding it isn’t an issue, and within seconds, I flip it. Nothing happens, though, and I do it again. Off and on. Off and on. “Lightbulb must’ve gone out.”

It’s the only plausible explanation, and I step further inside to reach the still-ringing phone. I’m just a few steps away when it stops, only to start again within seconds.

Grabbing it off the corner of his desk, I hit the talk button. “Hello?”

“Ava.” Elijah’s voice comes through the line like a soothing balm. At once, my body calms, and my breathing begins to settle. Just hearing him—knowing he’s okay—gives me back the calm he took with him when he walked out the door. “You okay, sweetheart?”

“I’m...I’ve?—”

“Everything is okay.”Christ,how I needed to hear those words. “I just wanted to let you know that I’ll be back a bit later than anticipated, but it’ll be tonight. Don’t wait for me to eat.”

“And you promise all is good?” Taking the phone with me, I walk out of the darkness and head straight for the couch in the living room. The early evening sky is gorgeous this time of day, and I sit, looking out as we talk. “There’s no reason for me to worry?”

What I want to ask is if they have Jason. If my nightmare is over.

“None. I swear.” Voices are coming closer, and then a few doors close, like that of a vehicle. My suspicions are confirmed when the engine of a loud car starts, and then a siren follows. “I’ll call you as soon as we get back. Stay inside and wait for me,” he yells out, and I nod as if he could see me. “Did you hear me?”

“Yes. I’ll stay in. Just come back safe.”

“I’ll always come back.” That’s the last thing he says before the click, signaling the end of our call. His words reassure me,and I listen. Truly let them sink into my heart and mind as I grab the remote and turn the TV on, flipping through a few channels until I find one of my favorite shows playing on a marathon. Dr. Pol is the bomb, and I let his amazingness take me away and distract me with the cuteness of a state fair and the kids with their pets.

I make it through four episodes before my eyes become heavy. Each tick of the clock is a struggle to stay awake, and as the intro to another episode begins, I give in.

Sleep takes me, but it’s restless. Uncomfortable.

I’m dreaming, floating through an abyss of nothing as a giant screen in front of me plays out a movie reel of that night. I can hear his laugh. His promise to come back for me.

No one will save you. You’re mine, Ava. Always have been.

There’s a sensation over my right arm. I can’t quite make out what it is, but it feels wrong. Makes my stomach turn as the invisible grip tightens. It’s painful, and I whimper out, tears running down my cheek as the helplessness settles in. Even in my dreams, I can’t escape him.

Feels so real. Even his breath on my skin is the same—produces the same taste of bile in the back of my throat.

You’ll pay for your betrayal, pet. Bathing in his blood will be your penance.

Images flip through my subconscious, each more grotesque than the last, and as one of a dead Elijah takes the forefront, I awake, sweaty, panting, aware that something isn’t right.

Throwing my legs over the side of the couch, I begin to stand. “It’s just a dream,” I say, my voice low and shaky. My eyes shift over to the sliding glass doors, and I take in just how dark it is already.I must’ve been asleep for a while.

Still, there’s an unsettling feeling that runs down my spine, and I shiver. And it’s in my mild panic that I notice that the lights that were on are now off. Nothing except for the televisionremains on, and I need to remind myself all over again of Elijah’s words.

“I’m safe here.”

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