Page 22 of Precipitous Nightmare's Valentine Dream

The words caught in her throat.

Relationship? They barely had a fuckbuddy arrangement.

How foolish had she been to start actually liking the man?

“Please, Lumi,” he said, stepping forward, but she held up a palm and shook her head, so he stopped.

“It doesn’t matter.” Her bottom lip wouldn’t stop trembling, and her voice threatened to crack. Visions of her inevitable future tumbled through the tumbleweed-strewn ground of her mind. “I’ve failed my mission anyway and will be sent to work the worst menial jobs in the Dream Realm. Locked away forever from visiting the Real World.”

That thought set Luminous sobbing again, even as she tried to convince herself it made no sense to be upset.

Why should she care about getting locked away in the Dream Realm? She’d wanted to be a Crafter anyway. That job would have kept her home more often than not. It shouldn’t matter if the King of Dreams restricted her from the Real.

But she’d have still had the opportunity to come back, her traitorous heart pointed out. She would have been able to see him again. Even if only for a few days between each of their busy schedules. They could have at least tried to find a way to make this work.

If he’d actually wanted that.

If she hadn’t simply been a means to an end for him.

“What?” Precipitous’ confusion should have made her angry, but it only made her sad. “Melanie and Gary were working. You’ve been making progress. They made plans for a date tomorrow. Valentine’s Day was going to be perfect for them. For you. For… What happened?”

The tears threatened to overflow again, and Luminous could barely get the explanation out.

“They’ve broken up. Gary took a job across the country and Melanie is mad he didn’t make her the priority in his life. He yelled at her for not admitting her feelings before he took the job. Now he’s packing to leave town and she’s out trolling bars trying to get laid so she can forget him. I’m a dismal failure at everything.”

The final part of her little speech came out in a rush, and Luminous wished Preci would step forward, would hold her and make everything better.

But a Nightmare couldn’t fix a Dream and they both knew it.

“I…” he began, his fingers twitching at his sides. “I am sorry, Luminous.”

There was something raw and truthful in his words. And when she met his eyes, they were as full of tears as her own.

“You should go,” she whispered. Hoping he would insist on staying. Hoping he’d leave her to her misery. Hoping some miracle would happen and they could be together. There was no hope in the ruins of a shattered dream, though. “I can’t see you anymore. I have to plan for the mess I’ve made of my future.”

He gestured toward the dresser, and she noticed for the first time what he’d brought.

A smoothie. Bright red and bursting with the scents of tongue-tingling fruit and a tangy fragrance that would have drawn her from across the room if she’d been paying attention.

“It’s pomegranate and wild cherry,” he said as he stepped back into the Shadow Paths. “I noticed you like the tart flavors.”

Luminous glanced up, wanting to say something. Completely unsure whay to say. But then he was gone, and she realized she had no idea how to find him.

She put the song on repeat and drowned her sorrows in the best smoothie she’d ever tasted, letting the sweet tang mingle with the salt of her tears.

Chapter 18

Dreams of Heartbreak and Loss

Precipitous Nightmare

Precipitous Nightmare knew little of love.

He knew nothing of grand gestures. Of dramatic proclamations. Of beautiful moments spent in the sunlight of a lover’s gaze.

He’d barely begun to touch on the joys of mutual admiration and playful exploration. Of caring about someone else’s well being more than one’s own.

And he knew not nearly enough of what it meant to share a dream.

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