“What?” she rolled away from me.
“Shannon, get up.”
She sat up, rubbing her eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“I heard noises.”
“What kind of noises,” she asked through a deep yawn.
“Whispers.”
“You were probably dreaming. You know you have colorful dreams. Go back to sleep.” She waved me off.
“Come with me to check out the house,” I insisted.
I heard her annoyance in her breathing. “Jake, Ves heard noises. Can you check the house please?”
“Sure.” He sat up on the edge of the bed and rubbed his eyes before stumbling his way out.
My sister was already snoring again. I didn’t move an inch while Jake was gone. I was too frightened.
After a few minutes, he walked through the threshold of the bedroom. “I checked everywhere and looked out the windows. No sign of anyone. Vessi, you have an alarm. The alarm isn’t going off and everything is locked. We’re safe.” He fell back into the bed.
“I guess you’re right. Thanks.” I headed back to my room, but I didn’t feel safe. Someone was there. I knew the voices weren’t a dream. It couldn’t have been just a dream. I felt it in my soul. I crawled back into my bed and pulled the blanket over my head. Before long, my eyes felt heavy and my body was numb, leading into a deep slumber.
“You were here earlier, weren’t you?” I looked Demien in his black, cold eyes waiting for his answer.
He didn’t answer me.
My arms were crossed over my chest, and I tapped my left foot on the wood of my bedroom floor. I waited in silence for a reply.
“I have to figure this out,” he mumbled. His voice was so low that I don’t think he meant for me to hear him. He scratched his eyebrow with his thumbnail.
“Figure what out?” I was not being patient at all. I really wanted to understand what was going on. He was putting out so many conflicting signals. I didn’t understand my feelings for him, either. I didn’t appreciate the fact that he was picking on me. I didn’t understand him at all. I audibly huffed to my internal rambling over this man at my window.
“Zanj…” He slammed me with a look which all but said don’t ask. “May I come in?”
I responded back with an icy glare that all but said are you kidding. I was too confused and livid to say anything at the moment.
“This ledge isn’t exactly comfortable,” he urged in a seductive tone, greatly contributing to my current internal meltdown.
I was mad. I could always feel when he was near. I knew he had been outside the door. I shut the window and used what strength I had left to turn my back to him. Tears began to trickle down my cheek.
After a restless night, I rolled over and heard a crinkle noise. Jumping up, I clicked my lamp on. I noticed a note on purple stationary, my purple stationary, sitting on the extra pillow next to me.
It simply read:
Please forgive me Zanj.
After staring at it for a few minutes, I placed the note in the top drawer of my nightstand under a stack of bills in the back corner. I didn’t want easy access to the note. I would have been too tempted to take it out and torture myself with the fantasies of the man I loathed. I audibly exhaled and moaned under my breath. Loathe is a harsh word for the man who made my world whole. I must have been crazy to even consider anything good with him. Rolling over, feeling mentally beaten, I found the back of my eyelids once more.
Demien stood on the far end of the field from me. He appeared desperate but more than that… angry.
“What’s wrong?” I yelled across to him.
His eyes were glued to mine for a few intense moments as I struggled to decipher his expression. His eyes expressed sorrow; his eyebrows were furrowed, yet his smile was ruefully.
“Please give me a sign. I am more and more confused.” He directed his eyes skyward as if he were talking to the heavens.
“I don’t understand. What signs are you looking for?” I desperately wanted a free pass to gain access to his mind.
He repeated the same words while looking up. It was as if he couldn’t see me. I yelled to him over and over again to notice me. But he didn’t.
I woke up feeling exhausted. I reached in my nightstand drawer and pulled out the note. I couldn’t help but read it one more time. After a long sigh, I pushed it back into the far corner and locked my drawer. At least I had one answer… he had been there. The details were fuzzy. What was a dream and what was real? Did I sleep through his visit? Was it his voice that I heard through my door? That left the other unrecognized voice still in question. Did I dream up the entire scenario? What were the dreams from tonight telling me? The dreams were getting more and more conflicting. I couldn’t figure any of this out. Of course, I considered the possibilities that they are just dreams and nothing more and that I was acting crazy. Dreams were only dreams. They were to help my mind work things out. I knew this, yet I desperately wanted them to be real. They felt real. I let out a deep breath and pushed all of those thoughts out of mind.
I had the day off but didn’t want to hang out at home. I pushed myself out of bed and realized my foot wasn’t hurting. I sat back on my bed and examined my
