Asleep

59 An Invitation

Nora~~

Two days after Charlie agreed to escape with me, he and I wait in the backrooms of the subway station. Charlie debugged the room, hallway, and station before rifting me here.

I haven't seen Charlie since right after we left his menagerie, and even seeing Tye, Ricky, and Avery, I have had too much time to replay that moment with him on the couch, the way his body felt against mine as I hugged him, when I was certain I was going to kiss him.

With no chairs available, I've perched myself on the end of the table, while Charlie paces around the room, running his hands through his hair and muttering something every so often.

Raymond told me that when I got the map, I'd know how to contact him. When Charlie said he could get ahold of Raymond, all I could wonder was if this is who Raymond meant for me to find the whole time.

With Charlie we don't need a map.

It's already in his head.

The door opens, and Charlie stops, his body tensing.

Raymond steps through the door, his bear trimmed and dressed similar to how he was the night at the Lion's Den.

Closing the door, he locks it. "Nora, what a pleasure it is to see you again." He doesn't looks surprised to see me. Charlie didn't tell him I would be here.

"If you don't mind." Charlie stands between us, holding out his hands to both of us. I slide off the table and thread my fingers through his and something flutters in my stomach. Once he has hold of both of us, he rifts us into a pocket of the dream, the void.

Raymond glances around but keeps his face neutral. There isn't anything to see here.

Charlie gets right to it. "Nora said you know how to wake the master dreamer."

"That's true."

"Can you teach me?"

"I don't need to ask if you're aware of the consequences. You're already quite aware of what can happen to Lucid."

"My father has certain plans for us that we'd both prefer to avoid."

Raymond shifts as if he wants to lean back against a wall that's not there. He runs a hand through his beard. "I can teach you."

My shoulders relax as what feels like the final piece of the puzzle falls into place.

Charlie massages his palm with his thumb. "Not all dreamers will wish to stay awake, but no one will want to be the master dreamer. I rely on this dream to get any rest since my natural sleep is plagued by nightmares as most of your co-workers can relate to."

"The master dreamer hasn't always been done the way it is now. It used to be coma patients who weren't expected to wake up."

I cringe. "That still doesn't seem right."

Raymond shrugs. "No system is perfect." He looks at Charlie. "Your family paid off the family's medical bills. Take that as you will." The master dreamer in the past was basically bought. Purchased. Were my parents compensated for me?

"Do we have your full support, Charlie?" Raymond asks.

"There will be chaos."

"But?"

"It's time dreaming became voluntary."

I grin and sidled up to Charlie. "Can you come to the Lion's Den tonight, Raymond?"

"The Den?" Charlie asks.

Raymond's eyes flick between us, amusement in his eyes. "You're in for a surprise. I'll be there at eleven."

Charlie sets his eyes on me. "What surprise?"

I shoot Raymond a glare. "I have two friends I've been working with."

"To shut down the dream?"

"Yes." I grimace. "I wasn't sure how to tell you. Or what you would do. It's one thing for me to risk myself trusting you. I couldn't risk them until I saw that Raymond trusted you." And that you trusted Raymond is what I don't add. That neither of you were going to turn me into your father.

Charlie holds out his hands, and Raymond and I place our hands over his. He rifts us back to the room at the station. "I'll see you both at eleven then. I hope that will give you time to decide if you really trust me, Nora." He won't meet my eyes. My stomach churns. He should understand that I'm only being cautious like he wanted me to be.

He rifts out of the room, leaving me rubbing at my forehead, a headache forming.

"Give him time. He's a good kid; he's just often experienced everyone expecting the worst from him."

There's an ache in my chest. I can never understand what it's like to have grown up in the shadow of a man like Richard Pace. Maybe Charlie thought he finally found someone who wouldn't treat him like a wild card.

"Don't mention that it's Charlie I'm bringing to Avery and Ricky. If they know it's him, they might not give him a chance."

Keep counting those fingers.
~Mikaela