I turned my head toward Anthony, who was now held helplessly by Zed. He had both Anthony’s
hands behind him, like a cop holding his criminal.
“Anthony!”
I tried calling him but Zed was holding him firmly, with Anthony’s back against me. Carl started
leading me away from them. I struggled, but his hold was just solid.
I felt tears starting to form in my eyes. I know my life was in danger, but it’s the first time I
actually was in danger, and I couldn’t help but feel afraid. Terribly afraid.
“Anthony! Anthony!”
I didn’t know whether he heard me for Zed was leading him away too, facing the opposite
direction.
“Anthony!”
Stil , all I saw was Zed’s back, leading Anthony away.
If only I could break free… If only I could escape from his hold. If only…
“HELP!”
“Drei!” I heard someone shout back, shaking my shoulders violently.
I opened my eyes, surprised to see Anthony peering at me concernedly. “You were having a
nightmare.”
Blinking while taking in his words, I realized that it was already morning and I was still in
Carley’s guest room. The sun’s rays were greeting me good morning through the windows.
I sat up, trying to steady myself.
“You were crying,” Anthony assisted me as I straightened myself in the bed.
Out of reflex, my hand fled to my cheek, proving Anthony’s word true. I had been crying. I wiped
my eyes.
“Can you share it to me?” His voice was thick with concern.
I sniffed, trying to calm myself. What a horrible dream. Carley and Zed taking us captive? That
was insane. But with what’s happening to me lately, is there even one sane event left?
“I---“
“It’s okay now. You were shouting at the top of your lungs. You kept calling me,” he gazed at
me.
Why did he have to be so attractive? Sometimes it’s distracting.
“I dreamt about Carley and Zed,” I was not surprised at how shaky my voice sounded.
He cocked an eyebrow. “What happened?”
“They---“
“Good morning lovebirds!” Carley burst through the door, Zed trailing behind her.
Her voice gave me a start. I wiped my eyes nervously. I didn’t want them to know I’d been
crying.
“Carley,” Anthony mumbled standing up from the bed.
“Did we interrupt something?”
“Not real y,” Anthony replied, sounding unsure. Maybe he was having the same thought as I
was. I didn’t want to share my nightmare to Carley. It’d be so awkward. After all the good she
did for us, I didn’t have the heart to ruin her jolly disposition.
Zed leaned on the wall like he did last night. It has sort of become a habit for him. He looked like he was posing for a magazine cover. “Breakfast’s ready. You can have yours now, the guests
are slowly vacating,” he smiled.
“Be ready in a few minutes okay?” Carley chirped.
I nodded, Anthony mumbled yes.
With that, the beautiful couple went out of the room.
“Are you okay now?” Anthony turned to me again.
Again, I nodded.
“Why don’t you go take a shower now? You’l feel a lot better.”
“Okay. Wait, are you done with yours?”
He smiled sheepishly and nodded.
It was my turn to return the smile. “So I guess I overslept.”
“No problem,” he smiled and turned to leave the room just like last night. He real y did not want
to be in the room while I shower. Just as he was about to reach for the knob, he turned. “By the
way, what was your dream?”
I hesitated, thinking if it would be okay to share it to him. Deciding that it was just a trivial dream, I shrugged. “Nothing important.”
He studied my face for a moment, before finally turning to open the door. Before I could blink,
he disappeared behind it.
Normally, it would take me half an hour to take a shower but since I didn’t want to make
Anthony wait, I made it in ten minutes. I made a mental note to practice quick showering when
we got back to our normal lives. I winced. Normal lives.
I went out of the room and saw Anthony reading a book at a nearby bench. I didn’t remember
that bench from my little tour last night. Maybe they put it there while I was still sleeping.
“Let’s?” I disturbed Anthony’s reading.
He looked up, and smiled before closing his book. I turned to head for the dining room when
realization dawned on me. I was able to take three steps when I turned again to face Anthony
who was smiling at me meaningfully.
“I---“
“Don’t know where the kitchen is,” he chuckled, shaking his head. “This way,” he cocked his
head to the opposite direction I was taking.
~
The dining room was like the rest of the house, glamorous. The table was made of dark wood,
and looked like it could accommodate twelve people. It was filled with delectable dishes that I
almost forgot it was just breakfast. I thought this was a party of some sort.
Anthony gestured toward a seat and I obliged. He took the seat beside me. We were halfway in
our meal when the beautiful couple arrived again.
“Eat to your heart’s delight,” Zed urged, smiling.
I just nodded sheepishly.
“And oh, I wanted to ask a little favor from you, Drei.”
I stared at her. Wait why does that seem familiar? Déjà vu?
Before I could ask, Anthony spoke up. “What would that be? Maybe I could do it.”
An alarm somewhere inside me suddenly went off. Something isn’t feeling right here.
“No, it’s okay,” I lied. “What is it Carley?”
She stuck her tongue out playfully at Anthony like a little girl. “Could you come with me to the
mall?”
This is really déjà vu.
“Sure,” I heard myself say. I didn’t know what got into me but I agreed.
“I’m coming too!” Anthony insisted.
Carley didn’t respond immediately, and I could tell she hesitated. Then she final y nodded okay.
With that, the pair left us again.
~
As we approached Carley’s car, I was relieved to see that it wasn’t the one in my dream. It was
a white ford. And I found it ironic since she was a girl. But I froze when I saw another car parked inside the garage. A red chevy.
I didn’t notice I stopped walking until Anthony stepped on my heel.
“Oops, sorry.”
I stared at the car.
“Drei?”
I
