Drained
Chapt. 4
My hand was trembling by the time I finished my whole three pages for last night's dream. I didn't want to go to school, I didn't want to see Eric, and slightly, I didn't want to be breathing right now. I throw my dream journal across the room and pout, waiting for my aunt to storm into the room and start screaming.
After a few minutes of waiting, I peek out of my bedroom and glance up and down the hall. It was vacant, an eerie silence that spread throughout the whole house, making my stomach wiggle in my body. I walk down the hall, glancing into the bathroom only to find a pearly toilet, shining in the dim blue, night light. I frown and proceed walking, the ktichen was around the corner. The light was on and the aroma of bacon fills the air.
"Willow!" calls the sweet melody of a familiar and soft voice.
My breath catches in my throat and I stumble around the corner.
"Will!" the woman exclaims happily, and turns to face me.
My heart lurches, the sting of tears surround my eyelids. Everything faded away into obvlion except me and this beautiful person. "M-mom," I whisper, stepping forward. If this was a sick joke, I promise.....
"Hello, Willow," she smiles as if we talked on a day to day basis, as if the accident was just a memory that had happened long ago and had been forgotten. However, I feel different about this connection. My heart feels like exploding in my chest and the sore weakness of a heavy weight is lifted away. My tears disapear and I smile.
"Hi," I say.
"I haven't talked to you in a long time, my daughter," she says, stepping toward me, clicking off the stove as she did.
"I know."
"I'm so sorry your father isn't here."
I blink, raising an eyebrow, "why isn't he?"
"The Shadowers got him," she shakes her head, dabbing the corners of her eyes with a neatly folded cloth, "I was there, he saved my life."
My heart freezes as I'm become glued to where I'm standing, "what do you mean?"
"You don't know what Shadowers are?" She blinks and slips her cloth back into her pocket.
I shake my heart, staring at her with wide eyes.
She smiles softly, opening the lid to the pan on the stove, revealing four healthy slices of bacon, "I'll put together your breakfast and I'll tell you."
***
She'd cooked me eggs and bacon, exactly how she always had. The bacon, almost grease free, had wiggly sides but a flavorful middle and my eggs, full of cheese, were scrambling into tiny clusters, sending a sweet aroma throughout the kitchen.
A glass of orange juice plops down beside me as I watch as my mother sits down next to me. "There we go," she says, brushing her hands onto her apron. She looks like she always has, with her gorgeous long red hair, just like mine. Her soft brown eyes were full of love as always and her creamy olive skin makes me jealous. "I see you've grown out your bangs," she smiles, brushing her gentle fingertips over my hair like a piano.
I nod, scooping up a bite of egg and swallowing, "so tell me 'bout Shadowers."
She sips her tea and nods, "Shadowers is the name of a cult, created long ago in the 1870s. They're people who.......capture others. Such as your father and I; we passed on and became Dreamers and slugged around the world for about two months. For Dreamers to escape away into paradise they must find a Warlord, known as a grim reaper."
My heart stops and I wince.
She continues, "I escaped from the Shadowers but Kenny didn't," she sniffs, dark tears glittery in her eyes. They're tinted purple.
I bit my lip and slowly bring a piece of bacon to my lips, "mom, are you real?"
She looks at me, her eyes dark and she grins, "no, darling, I am not."
A sharp pain strikes through my body as I'm thrown back. I slam into the wall and tumble to the floor, resting and regaining my strength on my hands and knees.
"Willow," she whispers, throwing the table out from in front of her as if it were paper, "stay with me."
I gap at her as I shake my head. My mom reaches behind her back and withdraws a long, red tattooed dagger and points it at me. "I'll love you," she says, stepping closer. Blood slowly drips from her mouth, ears, and eyes and she gives me a red smile, "I'll take care of you. I won't let him harm you."
"N-no!" I cry and stagger to my feet and dash out of the kitchen. I spot the staircase and spiral down it, tumbling to the basement. A cold chill slips down my spine as I run for the back door and jerk at the handle. It was as if the door was just another part of the wall, stuck and sealed. I pull my hands away and scream when blood is painted over them.
"Will!" My mom calls from up the stairs, "Will, I've missed you! Hug me, Willow." She crows and thundering steps echoe through my ears as she exceeds down the staircase.
Her whole body is covered with dark, black blood and her crazy red smile becomes wider. "Will," she says, slowly extending her hand towards me. A long black amulet hangs from it, daggling in my direction, "take this. Your father wanted you to have it."
"He wasn't captured by Shadowers, you were,” I whisper, pressing back harder against the wall with wide eyes.
She sighs and nods, “yes, the Shadowers got me but he escaped and I became one of them; I love it so damn much! Unfortunately, I had to kill Kenny. He died in my arms, bleeding; I cried so much,” she shakes her head and a flash of anger and sadness swirled in her eyes. Almost immediately, the mark is gone and her eyes return to pure terror, “you’re a Dreamer, Will. Deny it or not, but you are. You may not be dead, but there are many different ways to become one.”
I gap at her, clawing at the glass door as my heart pounds louder.
“You’ll die in my arms, Willow,” she whispers, shaking her head and stalking forward, “I love you, Will, but it’s my job.”
Its my job, Eric words repeat in my mind.
She stands before me now, my hands tremble and I glance into her black eyes. She raises the blade and a red spark glimmers onto it as she drives it home.
***
“Willow! Willow! Damnit, wake up!” The person screaming in my ear terrifies me and I swing my first blindly to push them away.
A soft hand wraps around my wrist and a kiss is pressed against my palm. My eyes snap open and a cloaked figure stands over me. I scream and kick, pushing and pulling at the sheets to get away from the thing.
“Will! Calm down! It’s me,” a pale hand plops on top of the cloak and pulls the hood down. Icy blue eyes meet mine as I’m astonished to meet the eyes of the Warlord that loves me.
I gap at him momentarily before I swing my arms around his neck and pull his face close me. “Eric!” I cry, squeezing him.
“Will,” he murmurs softly against my neck and wraps his arms around my waist. I smile softly and pull away to meet his eyes.
“What are you doing here?”
“I check on you during the night,” he says, brushing his fingertips against my cheek, “I’m glad I did, if your mom had killed you you would’ve stayed dead.”
Sitting up, a gasp fills my mouth as he slips his hands into mine, “you saw my dream?”
He nods, “you’re mother is a Shadower, Willow, she’s dangerous.”
“Are you a Warlord?” I ask and squeeze his hands.
He nods again, grinning, “I adore my job. It’s fascinating,” he glances to the side, “except I got to deliver nightmares; other than that, I love it.”
“Do you give me my nightmares?”
“Yes I do,” he sighs and sits on the edge of the bed, his black cloak spilling onto the sheets like paint, “I make your nightmares so that I’m in them and so that no body can physically hurt you.”
“Tell me about it,” I say, “tell me everything.”
He shakes his head, resting a hand on my shoulder and laying me down on my back, “you need to go to sleep, Will, you’re tired. I’ll explain it to you tomorrow,” he begins to stand up but I grab his wrist.
“Wait, don’t leave.”
He smiles softly, sitting down next to me and strokes his figners gently through my tangled red hair, “I will stay until you fall asleep. I need to get back to work.”
I nod softly and close my eyes, not feeling uncomfortable at all about his eyes on my face or the feeling of his hands on my face and hair.
Eventually, I do fall asleep.
***
“I was banging on your door last night, Will,” Jack snaps, the second I arrive to history class.
My eyes widen, “I forgot! I’m so sorry, Jack,” I give an exasperated glare at Eric, sitting next to my desk in the back where I sat in every class.
He just winks and chuckles.
I turn my gaze back to Jack and sigh, “I really am. I got fussed at once I got home.”
Jack sighs, smiling. Jack has an issue with staying angry at people. He was as soft as a teddy bear and wouldn’t ever hurt anyone. “It’s alright. Your aunt is kinda a---”
“Everyone take your seats,” Mr. Palms says as he storms in.
I give Jack a brief hug then return to my seat and playfully glare at Eric. He rolls his eyes and teases me with a silent kiss.
I roll my eyes and turn to the teacher, feeling Eric’s eyes on me. My heart begins to pound, a usual thing that began to happen to me.
I pull out my dream notebook from my bag and flip to the first blank page. Well I thought it was blank. I stare at the thing resting inside it, black and dark. My mouth slowly releases a gasp as I pick up the amulet.
I glance at Eric, who’s staring at it, then slowly his eyes meet mine, a dark glare telling me to put it away.
