Dusk (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 14 - Rain

***

I'd finished eating dinner and my parents had just gone to bed. How late would Rowan's practice go? I'd never felt this impatient before.

I turned the TV on, the lights around me off, and flipped through Netflix. After mindlessly scrolling through my options, I decided on a random episode of Arrested Development. I numbly stared at the screen without processing any of the show, though my mind was racing.

What would he say to me? Would he just tell me it'd been a mistake? Would he talk about it at all? I looked at the time, it was already 8:30. He'd probably forgotten.

I got back up to go to the front door and unlocked it, before walking back to the living room and dropping down to the couch.

Door is unlocked.

I sent the message to Rowan, hoping he'd respond with a 'five minutes away' or something close, but after a few minutes when he didn't respond at all, my heart fell.

Don't put expectations on people you hardly know.

The lack of sleep from the night before was catching up to me, and I could feel my eyelids drooping.

Wait a second, I know you...

I forced my eyes back open, trying to focus them on the show but about a minute later they'd fully shut, and darkness blurred my reality.

I'm back on the cement. It's wet and dirty... He has me pinned to the ground.

"I warned you what would happen..." He says, his rotting, yellow teeth showing as his lip curls upwards.

I try pushing him off of me, but I'm weak, and my arms feel like they're made of lead. When did they get so heavy? He picks up a long shard of glass from next to him. I feel my heart pounding, almost forcing its way out of my chest...

"I told you what would happen if you said a word to Williams... Didn't I?" My eyes follow the glass in his hand with panic, and it gleams dangerously in the sunlight.

I shake my head, but he brings it down, pressing slowly against my throat, applying more and more pressure...

I woke up with a start and my eyes snapped open, trying to adjust to the darkness, only to find a figure kneeling in front of me.

I jumped back in shock as my heart almost leapt from my chest. I tried to yell, but his hand was already on my mouth. I grabbed the man's arm, trying to pull it away in terror.

"Shh, shh it's me." I heard a familiar voice whisper. I froze, my hands still gripping his arm tightly, until I saw the light from the TV reflecting off his face. I slowly let go of him and he took his hand off my mouth.

"Oh my god," I whispered, breathing heavily as if I'd just finished a marathon. I sat up and leaned back, rubbing my eyes. My face was damp with sweat and I wiped it away with the top of my shirt.

"Are you okay?" Rowan asked, and I looked at his shadowy figure ahead of me.

"I'm fine, just..." He looked at me uneasily, his eyes focused on mine. "Nothing." I finished. My mind was still reeling from the dream and slowly processing why Rowan was at my house. I looked behind him and saw that the show had paused, with the message, 'Are you still watching Arrested Development?'

Rowan let me catch my breath and I pushed away the vivid images from the nightmare I'd had seconds earlier.

"What time is it?" I whispered to him, feeling my heart slowly return to normal.