Page 30 of Shadows of You

He laughed again, but the sound was darker this time. “I don’t know… Where’s Mommy, Lucy? Where is the traitorous whore?”

The fury broke free then, forcing him straighter in the chair. The moonlight caught on his crisp white shirt. But it wasn’t just white. There were red smears and splotches.

John slowly pushed to his feet. The moonlight illuminated his face. Red spattered what I could see of it.

Blood.

Bile surged into my throat.

“They’re mine.” His hand twitched.

A gleam of silver.

A knife.

Coated in a deep red.

John took one step and then another. “You think you can take them from me? I’ll send you all to hell first.”

And then he lunged.

I shot up in bed, face beaded with sweat, a scream lodged in my throat. My fingers fisted in the blankets as I struggled to breathe.

“Just a dream.” I murmured the words over and over. John wasn’t here. He was thousands of miles away, locked up tight.

My nightlight cast a sea of stars across the ceiling. I hadn’t been able to handle the dark after that night.

I threw back the covers. The sheets and my pajamas were damp. I wrinkled my nose, glancing at the clock. Five-thirty in the morning. Too early to start the wash, but I could at least strip the bed and get cleaned up.

Chauncey looked up from his dog bed in the corner.

“It’s okay. Go back to sleep.”

My muscles trembled as I stood, and I took a moment to get my bearings. I pulled the sheets off the bed and left them in a pile, putting fresh ones on. Then I tiptoed across the hallway to my bathroom.

Cady always slept deeply. It took a wrecking ball to wake her up most days. But that didn’t stop me from worrying about disturbing her.

Stripping out of my sleep clothes, I turned on the water and waited for it to warm. The old pipes in this house took forever, but it was finally habitable. I took my time washing away the residue of my nightmare. Only it wasn’t a nightmare. It was a memory.

My stomach roiled, and I had to fight back the bile that surged up my throat. I shoved my head under the spray, breathing slowly and deeply. Eventually, the shakes and nausea subsided.

My fingers played across the scar that curved over my collarbone and down my side. It had faded over the past five years, but it would always be there. A reminder of hell on Earth. But also that I had survived.

I shut off the water and stepped out of the shower-tub combo. I took my time drying off and getting ready for the day. My eyes burned from lack of sleep. Not only had my nightmare woken me early, but I’d also had a hell of a time falling asleep. Images of Roan’s panicked expression as he fled last night played in my head. Something had him on edge; I just had no idea what.

Taking the hairdryer into my bedroom, I finished preparations for the day. I went out to give the animals breakfast and Dory her medicine before coming back inside and making breakfast for my chick.

Maybe it was because I had extra time today, or perhaps because of my dream, but I made the meal extra special. As I placed the last berry on the plate, I grinned at my creation. There was something about forcibly turning around a day that started rough that helped me feel more in control.

I headed down the hallway and slowly opened Cady’s door. A smile instantly curved my lips. My girl slept wildly: red hair everywhere, arms thrown wide, legs like a starfish. Her glittery pink nightlight made the room sparkle.

Crossing to her bed, I knelt and brushed the hair out of her face. “Morning, Katydid.”

“Mmm,” she mumbled, smacking her lips.

“It’s time to wake up.”

“Nuh-uh,” she argued, still half-asleep.

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