Page 38 of Always Red (Chasing Red 2)

“You’ve been a bad girl. Do you know what happens to bad girls?”

I stared at him, frozen with terror. I wanted to run, but my body wouldn’t move.

“Dom! Leave her alone!”

It was Mommy. The monster shoved me away and lunged at her. I watched helplessly as he dragged her to the kitchen by her hair.

“Please don’t!” Mommy cried out.

With a quick swipe of his arm, he sent the vase flying off the table, and it shattered on the floor. The flowers that Mommy and I had picked from our garden were broken now.

The monster was still holding Mommy by the hair as he opened cupboards, grabbing everything that Mommy and I had carefully arranged and throwing it everywhere.

“Where the fuck is it? I told you not to buy it. Simple rules, Tanya, but you can’t even do them right, can you? You useless piece of shit.”

“How could you talk about rules? I saw you with your woman yesterday.”

That made the monster angrier, and it threw Mommy on the floor. Right where the broken glass was. Mommy cried out in pain. And then she looked at me with frightened eyes and mouthed, Hide!

I ran to the laundry room, hiding under the sink and pushing my palms against my ears so I didn’t hear anything.

But I heard Mommy screaming, and inside my head, I was doing the same.

No, no, no. Please don’t. I won’t ever eat peanut butter again. I won’t ever…

And then Mommy stopped screaming.

I won’t eat it again. I promise. Don’t hurt Mommy.

My eyes were wide with terror as I watched the cupboard door open. The monster’s face was wild with madness as it grinned at me. “There you are.”

* * *

“Veronica! Wake up!”

I opened my eyes, panting. Kara knelt beside me, her face pinched with worry as she shook me awake.

“Jesus. What were you dreaming about?”

Bile rose in my throat, and I scrambled up and ran to the bathroom. I knelt in front of the toilet and threw up. I shut my eyes.

No. I don’t want to remember. I can’t remember…

I went to the sink and washed my mouth and face, willing myself to forget it. The nightmare was already fading away.

“If I didn’t know you guys haven’t had sex, I’d say you’re preggers.”

I sent Kara a grateful look as she tried to lighten the mood. Her eyes lingered on my face, searching. I turned my gaze from hers, hoping she wouldn’t probe for answers I wasn’t ready to give.

“I wasn’t sure if you were coming home tonight, so I picked up chow mein and veggie spring rolls. There’s enough to share,” she said. I could still feel her eyes on me. “I’ll be in the kitchen.”

I nodded. I waited until she was gone before I closed the bathroom door. I leaned my back against the door and slid to the floor, pulling my knees to my chest and burrowing my face in my hands.

The nightmares were back.

I didn’t want to be the scared, helpless little girl who was afraid of the dark. I wasn’t that girl anymore.

I let myself relax, taking deep breaths. I knew the scene I’d witnessed on campus today triggered the nightmare. The scene where Caleb let violence consume him. It had scared me to see him beat Justin that savagely. I had seen Caleb fight before, with Damon, but it was nothing like the rage he’d released when he had Justin by the throat…

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