Lilly rolled over and looked at her alarm clock, 3:29 a.m. “Ugh!” she muttered. It’s always the same time every time she wakes up. She knew she could forget about going back to sleep. So, she got out of bed and walked to the kitchen to get herself a drink of water. As she walked through the living room, she could hear her best friend and roommate Amy, snoring so loudly that she sounded like a buzz saw. “Hmm, must be nice to be able to sleep like that.” Lilly thought to herself as she smiled, “one of these days I am going to record her just so she can hear what she sounds like.”
She made her way into the kitchen and grabbed a glass from the cabinet; she walked over to the faucet and filled it. As she held the glass to her lips she happened to glance out the kitchen window. She gasped; there in front of her, stood a figure cloaked in darkness, standing only feet from her window, staring at her. Lilly dropped the glass and screamed a blood curling scream. Amy woke with a start and ran to the kitchen. “Lilly, what is it? What happened? Are you alright?” She asked with panicked tone in her voice.
She made her way into the kitchen and grabbed a glass from the cabinet; she walked over to the faucet and filled it. As she held the glass to her lips she happened to glance out the kitchen window. She gasped; there in front of her, stood a figure cloaked in darkness, standing only feet from her window, staring at her. Lilly dropped the glass and screamed a blood curling scream. Amy woke with a start and ran to the kitchen. “Lilly, what is it? What happened? Are you alright?” She asked with panicked tone in her voice.
Lilly didn’t want to frighten her friend any more than she already had so she nodded. “Yeah, I’m so sorry Amy I had another nightmare. It’s no big deal. I just came out to get something to drink.”
Amy looked at her suspiciously. “What aren’t you telling me Lilly?”
Lilly knew she couldn’t keep anything from her best friend; they had been through too much together. So, she leaned against the sink to get her bearings.
“Ok, it’s just that I could have sworn that I spotted someone lurking outside in the courtyard. It’s probably nothing. I was most likely still half asleep. I am just so tired.”
Amy walked over to her and touched the back of her t-shirt as she said, “Geez toots it must have been one hell of a dream. Look at your shirt.”
Lilly didn’t know what she was talking about, so she grabbed the back of her shirt and looked. Her shirt was shredded at her shoulder, as if someone grabbed hold of her and pulled. With a strange feeling of trepidation, Lilly realized that it was the same spot that she had been grabbed in her dream.
“I must have caught it on something; I am not sure what happened.”
Amy looked at her suspiciously, but Lilly assured her she was alright. Lilly then quickly cleaned up the broken glass and smiled at her friend. “I’m alright, really. I’m just gonna go back to bed. Everything will be better in the sunlight.”
Lilly had tried to confide in Amy as much as she possibly could without making herself sound like she is completely crazy, but deep down she knew that she just can’t tell her everything, not yet anyway.
Amy was hesitant to leave her friend to return to her own room. She has known about Lilly’s vivid dreams, or rather nightmares. She’d been there to bear witness to Lilly waking up in a sheer panic only to have no recollection about it. She tries not to make a big deal out of it, for fear that she could shatter Lilly’s psyche. So, she figured she would just wait patiently for Lilly to open up on her own.
The two of them have been best friend since before either of them could even remember. Their parents were friends and therefore introductions were not necessary.
Lilly’s parents were killed in a mysteriously set house fire six years earlier, when Lilly was only twelve. Lilly was the sole survivor. They only thing Lilly could ever recall about that horrid night were that angels saved her by carrying her to safety. Amy’s parents were named her legal guardian with the stipulation that when Lilly was old enough she was to be enrolled in the prestigious boarding school, Plymouth Academy for the Arts.
Lilly’s dreams worsened after the fire. She would often dream about the fire itself. In her dreams, she would see creatures lurking around her house, searching for something, or someone. She could hear them speak in tongues, a language she couldn’t make any sense of. In the dreams, she watched her parent’s as the fire consumed them and their flesh burned. To her it felt as though she were watching through someone else’s eyes. She knew it wasn’t really her, but in the dreams she became someone else.
The police concluded that the fire was started with an accelerant, so it was set on purpose. They never did find the party responsible for setting it.
Lilly was forced into therapy twice a week following the fire. Dr.Collins, her therapist believed that he could fix her with Lexapro, an antidepressant for post-traumatic stress disorder. He felt that the dreams were just her minds way of releasing the trauma of her parents’ death and of her being the sole survivor of the ordeal.
Lilly never took the pills though; she knew that the dreams meant more than just being dreams. So, after five years of being in therapy, Lilly continues to see Dr. Collins once a month for follow up. She learned along the way to no longer tell him about her dreams and how they have progressed over the years. She doesn’t want him to treat her as though she’s crazy or still traumatized. She knew it was something she’d have to deal with on her own.
Her parents’ case grew cold. There were no leads, no connections, and no other crimes in the area that fit the circumstances.
Yet, she was still forced once a month to her appointments. She’d just listen to Dr. Collins drones on and on about how she has to continue on with her life, and not be kept trapped in the past. “Blah, blah, blah” is pretty much all that she hears when she’s in his office. Lilly learned that it was easier to keep a smile plastered on her face, and pretend that everything is nifty until the fifty minute session was up, and she’d leave the office feeling no better than when she started.
The dreams aren’t always horrible. Sometimes, she dreams of another place and time where she can feel and smell everything going on around her. The scenery always feels so familiar to her. It leaves her with a hollow ache inside when she wakes up, as if she didn’t really belong where she was.
Then, there is “him.” She doesn’t know who he is, but she feels as though she’s known him for an eternity. His piercing sapphire eyes haunt her very soul. Lilly’s heart races every time she looks into those eyes. She finds herself lost and longing to be near him. The dreams suddenly take a turn to darkness and fire. She hears screaming that haunts her. A strange symbols flashes before her eyes, but she doesn’t understand what it is. There is then a whisper in the background, “Remember Lilly. Remember who you are.” That’s when she wakes up feeling lost and lonely, like there is something missing in her life.
§
Amy gave Lilly a hug. “Try to get some sleep Lilly, we have a few more days before spring break, and trust me when I tell you that you need your beauty sleep.” Lilly cracked up laughing at her friend’s blatant way of telling her that she looks like hell. “Thank you Amy, I can always count on you to tell it like it is.”
“That’s what I’m here for sweetie.”
Lilly shook her head as she dropped the contents of the dustpan into the trash. She once again looked out the window into the darkness. She no longer saw anyone or anything standing outside. She grabbed the trash bag out of the barrel and tied it up. She opened the door leading out into the courtyard and stepped out into the darkness. She stood there rubbing her hand up and down her arms, hesitating.
“Come on Lilly, all you have to do is cross the courtyard and get to the dumpster. You’ve done this a million times.” She tried to reassure herself.
She passed over the place she thought she had seen someone standing, watching her. She slowed her pace as something caught her eye. She bent over and picked up a cigarette butt that was still smoldering. She tossed it back down and stomped on it. Now, she knew she wasn’t hallucinating. There had been someone out here. She ran the rest of the way to the dumpster and tossed the bag inside.
She heard a growling sound from behind her. She slowly turned around and was met by the snarling growl of a wolf. Lilly slowly took a step backwards and bumped into the dumpster. She stepped on a discarded water bottle and it made a loud sound, that only made the wolf growl even louder. She knew that this beast was going to attack her, and she was trapped. She considered her options. She could run for it, but she knew that the wolf could run five times faster than she could. She could scream, but the beast would probably only lunge at her. She slowly looked at the dumpster behind her. “Oh god, I don’t even want to think about it.” she thought to herself.
The wolf stepped closer to her. She knew she had to jump into the dumpster. It was her only option. She slowly filled her lungs with the cold March air, and before she had a chance to think her way out of it, she jumped and pulled herself into the dumpster. The wolf lunged and nearly caught her foot as she pulled the lid down on top of her. She could hear the beast growling and scratching at the side of her metal prison. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She sat still hoping the creature would now move on. She sat and waited.
Everything fell silent. She could no longer hear the wind outside. Just silence. Then there was the sound of a deep, chilling laughter. The hair on her arms stood on edge. The laughter faded and she was left in a dark silence. She didn’t want to move. She wanted to be sure whatever was out there, was gone. After what felt like an eternity, she cracked the top of the dumpster open and listened. There was nothing. Whatever had been there was gone now. She quickly crawled out of the dumpster and ran back across the courtyard as fast as her legs would take her. She threw open the door and slammed it shut behind her, and locked it. She stood with her back to the door, willing her heart to slow down. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She didn’t know how she would explain what she had just experienced outside. When she felt calmer she walked to her room and grabbed clean pajamas and hurried to her bathroom. She took a quick, hot shower, to wash off the debris from her dumpster dive.
When she stepped out of the shower, she grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her. She was about to wipe the condensation off of the mirror when an image appeared on the foggy mirror. It appeared to look like a lightning bolt. Lilly quickly wiped the mirror clean and grabbed her stuff and ran to her room.
She closed her door and sat on the side of her bed. She felt like she was going insane. Things had been strange for her lately. She had been hearing and seeing things that no one else appeared to. Her dreams seemed to linger over into her waking hours. She quickly threw on her clean pajamas and tried to just put it all behind her.
Lilly decided to turn on her laptop. She Googled “lightning bolt” to see if she could figure out what the symbol meant. She scrolled through many websites until she came across the exact symbol she’d seen on her mirror. “Hmm, danger associated with power and energy. Great, what is that supposed to mean, look out for power lines?”
She switched screens and logged onto Facebook to check for messages since she knew that sleep was out of the equation. An instant message popped up on her screen. It was from her boyfriend Keith. She and Keith have been dating for almost a year. To Lilly it was nothing too serious. Up until she had met Keith, she had no interest in dating anyone. Keith had been persistent until Lilly finally caved in and accepted a date with him. Now, almost a year later, they were joined at the hip and she didn’t think she’d ever make a class on time if it weren’t for Keith. Keith was on a football scholarship at Plymouth Academy. At 6’3, with his shaggy blond hair and green eyes, he fit the image of the typical Californian surf god. Lilly had to admit he was definitely hot, but she couldn’t quite explain it, he just didn’t give her butterflies when they were together. There was just something missing that she couldn’t put her finger on.
The message read: Can’t sleep either huh?Lilly stared at her keyboard and began to type. Yeah! she replied. She didn’t want to scare him about seeing someone lurking around outside. He would be at her door within five minutes, and she didn’t want that.
He typed again. Well I can come over and keep you company….”
She smiled despite her mood. As tempting as that sounds, I think I am just going to try to force myself to try to go to sleep. Besides it’s after curfew and you’ll get in trouble if you get caught.
There was a pause with his response. Ah shucks! Ok! I’ll come over in the morning before class and bring caffeine. I love you.
Lilly stared at the screen for a moment and then signed off without responding. She hated not saying it back to him. She really did care for him, and she’d be lost without him always getting her butt in gear every day, but she just couldn’t get herself to say those words unless she was absolutely sure she meant it. She turned off the monitor and her bedroom fell into complete darkness, accept for the rays of moonbeams shining through her window. She hopped back into bed and watched the moon for a while. She felt strange, almost jittery. She had a feeling of apprehension that she couldn’t quite explain. She pulled the duvet cover up over her head and forced myself to fall back asleep…..
THIS BOOK IS COMING SOON! RELEASE DATE: 9/22/2012. Check back later for links where to buy this book.
Amy looked at her suspiciously. “What aren’t you telling me Lilly?”
Lilly knew she couldn’t keep anything from her best friend; they had been through too much together. So, she leaned against the sink to get her bearings.
“Ok, it’s just that I could have sworn that I spotted someone lurking outside in the courtyard. It’s probably nothing. I was most likely still half asleep. I am just so tired.”
Amy walked over to her and touched the back of her t-shirt as she said, “Geez toots it must have been one hell of a dream. Look at your shirt.”
Lilly didn’t know what she was talking about, so she grabbed the back of her shirt and looked. Her shirt was shredded at her shoulder, as if someone grabbed hold of her and pulled. With a strange feeling of trepidation, Lilly realized that it was the same spot that she had been grabbed in her dream.
“I must have caught it on something; I am not sure what happened.”
Amy looked at her suspiciously, but Lilly assured her she was alright. Lilly then quickly cleaned up the broken glass and smiled at her friend. “I’m alright, really. I’m just gonna go back to bed. Everything will be better in the sunlight.”
Lilly had tried to confide in Amy as much as she possibly could without making herself sound like she is completely crazy, but deep down she knew that she just can’t tell her everything, not yet anyway.
Amy was hesitant to leave her friend to return to her own room. She has known about Lilly’s vivid dreams, or rather nightmares. She’d been there to bear witness to Lilly waking up in a sheer panic only to have no recollection about it. She tries not to make a big deal out of it, for fear that she could shatter Lilly’s psyche. So, she figured she would just wait patiently for Lilly to open up on her own.
The two of them have been best friend since before either of them could even remember. Their parents were friends and therefore introductions were not necessary.
Lilly’s parents were killed in a mysteriously set house fire six years earlier, when Lilly was only twelve. Lilly was the sole survivor. They only thing Lilly could ever recall about that horrid night were that angels saved her by carrying her to safety. Amy’s parents were named her legal guardian with the stipulation that when Lilly was old enough she was to be enrolled in the prestigious boarding school, Plymouth Academy for the Arts.
Lilly’s dreams worsened after the fire. She would often dream about the fire itself. In her dreams, she would see creatures lurking around her house, searching for something, or someone. She could hear them speak in tongues, a language she couldn’t make any sense of. In the dreams, she watched her parent’s as the fire consumed them and their flesh burned. To her it felt as though she were watching through someone else’s eyes. She knew it wasn’t really her, but in the dreams she became someone else.
The police concluded that the fire was started with an accelerant, so it was set on purpose. They never did find the party responsible for setting it.
Lilly was forced into therapy twice a week following the fire. Dr.Collins, her therapist believed that he could fix her with Lexapro, an antidepressant for post-traumatic stress disorder. He felt that the dreams were just her minds way of releasing the trauma of her parents’ death and of her being the sole survivor of the ordeal.
Lilly never took the pills though; she knew that the dreams meant more than just being dreams. So, after five years of being in therapy, Lilly continues to see Dr. Collins once a month for follow up. She learned along the way to no longer tell him about her dreams and how they have progressed over the years. She doesn’t want him to treat her as though she’s crazy or still traumatized. She knew it was something she’d have to deal with on her own.
Her parents’ case grew cold. There were no leads, no connections, and no other crimes in the area that fit the circumstances.
Yet, she was still forced once a month to her appointments. She’d just listen to Dr. Collins drones on and on about how she has to continue on with her life, and not be kept trapped in the past. “Blah, blah, blah” is pretty much all that she hears when she’s in his office. Lilly learned that it was easier to keep a smile plastered on her face, and pretend that everything is nifty until the fifty minute session was up, and she’d leave the office feeling no better than when she started.
The dreams aren’t always horrible. Sometimes, she dreams of another place and time where she can feel and smell everything going on around her. The scenery always feels so familiar to her. It leaves her with a hollow ache inside when she wakes up, as if she didn’t really belong where she was.
Then, there is “him.” She doesn’t know who he is, but she feels as though she’s known him for an eternity. His piercing sapphire eyes haunt her very soul. Lilly’s heart races every time she looks into those eyes. She finds herself lost and longing to be near him. The dreams suddenly take a turn to darkness and fire. She hears screaming that haunts her. A strange symbols flashes before her eyes, but she doesn’t understand what it is. There is then a whisper in the background, “Remember Lilly. Remember who you are.” That’s when she wakes up feeling lost and lonely, like there is something missing in her life.
§
Amy gave Lilly a hug. “Try to get some sleep Lilly, we have a few more days before spring break, and trust me when I tell you that you need your beauty sleep.” Lilly cracked up laughing at her friend’s blatant way of telling her that she looks like hell. “Thank you Amy, I can always count on you to tell it like it is.”
“That’s what I’m here for sweetie.”
Lilly shook her head as she dropped the contents of the dustpan into the trash. She once again looked out the window into the darkness. She no longer saw anyone or anything standing outside. She grabbed the trash bag out of the barrel and tied it up. She opened the door leading out into the courtyard and stepped out into the darkness. She stood there rubbing her hand up and down her arms, hesitating.
“Come on Lilly, all you have to do is cross the courtyard and get to the dumpster. You’ve done this a million times.” She tried to reassure herself.
She passed over the place she thought she had seen someone standing, watching her. She slowed her pace as something caught her eye. She bent over and picked up a cigarette butt that was still smoldering. She tossed it back down and stomped on it. Now, she knew she wasn’t hallucinating. There had been someone out here. She ran the rest of the way to the dumpster and tossed the bag inside.
She heard a growling sound from behind her. She slowly turned around and was met by the snarling growl of a wolf. Lilly slowly took a step backwards and bumped into the dumpster. She stepped on a discarded water bottle and it made a loud sound, that only made the wolf growl even louder. She knew that this beast was going to attack her, and she was trapped. She considered her options. She could run for it, but she knew that the wolf could run five times faster than she could. She could scream, but the beast would probably only lunge at her. She slowly looked at the dumpster behind her. “Oh god, I don’t even want to think about it.” she thought to herself.
The wolf stepped closer to her. She knew she had to jump into the dumpster. It was her only option. She slowly filled her lungs with the cold March air, and before she had a chance to think her way out of it, she jumped and pulled herself into the dumpster. The wolf lunged and nearly caught her foot as she pulled the lid down on top of her. She could hear the beast growling and scratching at the side of her metal prison. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She sat still hoping the creature would now move on. She sat and waited.
Everything fell silent. She could no longer hear the wind outside. Just silence. Then there was the sound of a deep, chilling laughter. The hair on her arms stood on edge. The laughter faded and she was left in a dark silence. She didn’t want to move. She wanted to be sure whatever was out there, was gone. After what felt like an eternity, she cracked the top of the dumpster open and listened. There was nothing. Whatever had been there was gone now. She quickly crawled out of the dumpster and ran back across the courtyard as fast as her legs would take her. She threw open the door and slammed it shut behind her, and locked it. She stood with her back to the door, willing her heart to slow down. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She didn’t know how she would explain what she had just experienced outside. When she felt calmer she walked to her room and grabbed clean pajamas and hurried to her bathroom. She took a quick, hot shower, to wash off the debris from her dumpster dive.
When she stepped out of the shower, she grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her. She was about to wipe the condensation off of the mirror when an image appeared on the foggy mirror. It appeared to look like a lightning bolt. Lilly quickly wiped the mirror clean and grabbed her stuff and ran to her room.
She closed her door and sat on the side of her bed. She felt like she was going insane. Things had been strange for her lately. She had been hearing and seeing things that no one else appeared to. Her dreams seemed to linger over into her waking hours. She quickly threw on her clean pajamas and tried to just put it all behind her.
Lilly decided to turn on her laptop. She Googled “lightning bolt” to see if she could figure out what the symbol meant. She scrolled through many websites until she came across the exact symbol she’d seen on her mirror. “Hmm, danger associated with power and energy. Great, what is that supposed to mean, look out for power lines?”
She switched screens and logged onto Facebook to check for messages since she knew that sleep was out of the equation. An instant message popped up on her screen. It was from her boyfriend Keith. She and Keith have been dating for almost a year. To Lilly it was nothing too serious. Up until she had met Keith, she had no interest in dating anyone. Keith had been persistent until Lilly finally caved in and accepted a date with him. Now, almost a year later, they were joined at the hip and she didn’t think she’d ever make a class on time if it weren’t for Keith. Keith was on a football scholarship at Plymouth Academy. At 6’3, with his shaggy blond hair and green eyes, he fit the image of the typical Californian surf god. Lilly had to admit he was definitely hot, but she couldn’t quite explain it, he just didn’t give her butterflies when they were together. There was just something missing that she couldn’t put her finger on.
The message read: Can’t sleep either huh?Lilly stared at her keyboard and began to type. Yeah! she replied. She didn’t want to scare him about seeing someone lurking around outside. He would be at her door within five minutes, and she didn’t want that.
He typed again. Well I can come over and keep you company….”
She smiled despite her mood. As tempting as that sounds, I think I am just going to try to force myself to try to go to sleep. Besides it’s after curfew and you’ll get in trouble if you get caught.
There was a pause with his response. Ah shucks! Ok! I’ll come over in the morning before class and bring caffeine. I love you.
Lilly stared at the screen for a moment and then signed off without responding. She hated not saying it back to him. She really did care for him, and she’d be lost without him always getting her butt in gear every day, but she just couldn’t get herself to say those words unless she was absolutely sure she meant it. She turned off the monitor and her bedroom fell into complete darkness, accept for the rays of moonbeams shining through her window. She hopped back into bed and watched the moon for a while. She felt strange, almost jittery. She had a feeling of apprehension that she couldn’t quite explain. She pulled the duvet cover up over her head and forced myself to fall back asleep…..
THIS BOOK IS COMING SOON! RELEASE DATE: 9/22/2012. Check back later for links where to buy this book.
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