and loss.
“Just bear with me a bit longer. I’m having a bit of an argument with Miss Scully here.”
She nodded at Karen.
Dream was startled by the Asian girl’s tear-soaked countenance. A fresh stab of shame made her wince inwardly. Christ, how could a person get so lost in fantasy that she’d miss a friend’s emotional meltdown? The grotesque inappropriateness of her thoughts made her want to cry.
But… Jesus … the thoughts weren’t going away.
She made herself say, “What are you arguing about?”
Alicia scowled. “You are really out of it.” She sighed, glanced again at Karen before continuing. “We’re arguing about… the way Shane died.”
Karen whimpered, a sound that tugged at Dream’s battered heart.
“What about it?”
Alicia’s expression grew more solemn. “She’s still insisting he was killed by a monster. She’s been telling Edward here about what she believes she saw in the woods, a vivid description, granted, but obviously a product of hysteria and stress. I say she didn’t clearly see Shane’s killer, so her mind supplied her with images gleaned from movies and books. Delusions-“
Karen turned on her. “I saw what I fucking saw, Alicia!” She scooted to the far end of the sofa, away from Alicia. “I’m not fucking crazy, I’m not on drugs, and I don’t hallucinate monsters. My mind’s not so goddamn brittle. You don’t have to believe me, fine, shit, I don’t care, but please stop insulting me.”
Alicia closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. Her lips moved, and Dream knew she was counting to ten. She was trying to find a calm center within herself, the place she always tapped to drain away excess hostility. Dream had seen her do it a million times.
Her eyes fluttered open. She turned an unblinking gaze on Karen. “I’m sorry if you feel insulted, Karen. It wasn’t my intention to insult you. We’re all under a lot of stress, and I think we’ll all feel a lot better as soon as we can get a ride to the nearest hotel.” Her gaze shifted to Dream. “Right, Dream?”
Dream’s breath caught in her throat. She was uncomfortably aware of how closely the sound resembled a gasp. A disappointed sound. She couldn’t help the quick glance she shot King’s way. “Um … yeah, sure.”
But she didn’t like that, acquiescing to Alicia’s unflinching drive to steer them in the right direction. She didn’t like being cajoled. And she didn’t want to kill herself in a fucking hotel. She wanted to spend her possibly last night on earth under King’s roof.
In his bed.
She sighed.
A frustrated-little-girl sound. She didn’t like making that sound. It embarrassed her, made her feel childish, but she couldn’t help it.
She didn’t want to go.
She wouldn’t go.
Fuck it. Fuck them. Fuck everything.
A look of exasperation creased Alicia’s face. “Oh, what, Dream?” She shrugged her shoulders in an exaggerated way. “Please don’t get weird on me. I’ve seen you making googly eyes at studly here. Cool, fine, I understand lust. What I don’t understand is this lack of grace under pressure.
This is the wrong goddamn time for hanky-panky. I’m counting on you, girl. Help me get us out of this.”
Dream seethed.
Alicia’s famous bluntness was intact, but it had been a long time-since shortly after the escapade with the razor-since Dream had felt the brunt of it.
So she lashed out.
“You’re not my fucking nanny”
But Dream was instantly appalled by the utterance.
“I’m sorry, Alicia.” She sobbed. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry”
Alicia came to her without words, took her into an embrace, and wiped her tears away. She held Dream close, cradling her face against her neck. Dream snuggled into the crook of her friend’s neck. Sobs continued to shake her body. Her friend’s strong arms around her were a reassuring statement of strength. It was what she liked best about Alicia. She was stolid. Dependable. Implacable. She would absolutely never, ever crack under pressure.
As always when Alicia comforted her, she quickly began to feel better. She breathed a shuddery sigh and broke the embrace. “I’m okay now.”
Alicia looked at her with concern. “You sure, hon?”
Dream wiped her eyes. “Yes.” She managed a fragile smile. “Sorry about that.”
Alicia rolled her eyes. “Oh, hell, don’t apologize for being human.”
King loudly cleared his throat.
They all turned their heads toward him. He sat in his chair with one leg propped over another, his big hands clasped over a knee. A look of bemusement played across his handsome features. Dream found herself unsettled by the expression. There was a disturbing quality to it, something she couldn’t quite pinpoint, something … And then she had it. The realization struck her like a sack of rocks.
He’d found the tearful exchange … amusing.
Entertaining.
What a sick motherfucker!
Dream felt a surge of anger.
But—
She frowned and chewed her lower lip.
Maybe she was misreading him.
She wanted that to be the case.
King’s expression changed, became solemn. “I’m afraid there’s no question of where you’ll be staying tonight. Our phones are out.” He shrugged in apology. “I don’t know what the problem is, but I assume the phone company is working to correct it. You are, of course, welcome to spend the night here.”
He smiled. “It’s really for the best. All will seem better …” He paused, glanced at Karen, and appeared to reconsider his words.”… or at least more manageable in the morning. A good night’s rest can do wonders for the disposition.”
Alicia grunted. “Look, what we’d really like is a ride into town.”
Dream frowned, chewed her lips.
Was that what she really wanted?
She jiggled her foot and tried not to look at King.
Alicia, oblivious, went on. “No offense, but I’d really feel a lot better about everything if we could let the police know what’s going on.”
“Chad’s still out there,” Karen chimed in. “They ought to be looking for him. He could be in danger.” She grunted, glanced with deliberation at each of her friends. “Don’t forget what it was like out there.” Her voice dropped in pitch. “Strange. Like the motherfucking Twilight Zone.”
“He’s in danger,” Alicia said. “No doubt about it.”
Karen’s red-rimmed eyes flicked toward Dream. “We should never have left the goddamn interstate.”
Dream flinched.
Alicia sighed. “Yeah.”
Dream didn’t want to think about that.
Not anymore.
King sighed. “I’m sorry, ladies. I hesitate to send my employees down the mountain at night even under the best of circumstances. This place is not this ‘twilight zone’ you speak of, although I understand tremendous stress of the sort you’ve endured can cause some misperceptions. I live in a remote area. The going is treacherous at best, as I’m sure you’ve discovered. And the threat of inclement weather erases any possibility of such a trek, I’m afraid.” He smiled thinly. “Your missing friend should be fine as long as he sticks to the road. I suspect he’ll show up here at some point.”
There was another uncomfortable silence.
