A Twist Of Fate [3]

Chapter 10

Cal and I skipped out on socialising with the others that night. I had the rest of spring break to party and tonight I wasn't in the mood. Cal certainly wasn't up for joining the group and I didn't want to leave him alone in our room. Plus, the atmosphere in the house was majorly awkward and I hoped that everyone sleeping on it would maybe reset things a little in the morning.

As I slept, I had a strange dream. I was standing on the bridge outside of our cabin, staring into the trees and I heard footsteps behind me, slow and heavy. When I turned around, a hooded figure was running right at me, arms outstretched ready to push me over the edge. I knew it was Felix coming for me. It was Felix coming for his revenge but as he got closer, the wind blew his hood back and I screamed as I saw the cruel, snarling face of Archie Lane before his palms hit my chest and I fell...

Gasping into the silent night, I lurched up in the bed and kicked the suffocating duvet off me.

'Whoa, whoa, Bethan!' Cal's voice disturbed my panicked thoughts and I stopped thrashing and turned to him, falling into his tight arms. 'Hey, you're fine, you're okay...bad dream?'

'Yes,' I breathed, resting my eyes shut and focusing on the pounding of his heart.

'What about?' he asked me.

I shook my head and sat up, pulling myself free from his arms. 'Nothing really. I just need some water.'

He moved to get out of bed. 'Well I'll get it-.'

'I can get it,' I interrupted, climbing out of bed and pulling on my robe. 'Go back to sleep; I'll be right up.'

He nodded but watched me leave the room carefully. I headed through the dark and silent house, shaking my head in confusion. It had been so long since Archie Lane had plagued my dreams. He didn't scare me anymore and he didn't have a hold on my life anymore. In my dream, I'd thought Felix was coming for me - the man that was really getting to me right now, but why had he changed to Archie?

As I came to the bottom of the stairs, I saw a dim light near the sofa was on and I paused as a broad figure looked up from their phone.

'Evening,' Felix murmured, glaring at me through the dark, no shirt on and all of his dark ink exposed.

'Evening?' I repeated, frowning at him. 'It's like three in the morning. What are you doing?'

He turned away from me and looked back down at his phone. 'Just go get your water.'

My spine tingled at his words and I spun around, heading for the kitchen. Pouring a glass of water from the tap, I couldn't shake the uneasiness I felt at being alone with him whilst everyone else slept. He wouldn't try anything; he wouldn't dare. All it would take was one loud scream and Cal would be down those stairs in a heartbeat.

I left the kitchen, consciously paying no attention to him as I made way for the staircase as quickly as possible.

'PTSDreams by Linda Schiller.' I froze on the step as Felix broke the silence behind me, making me slowly turn to look at him. He was still looking down at his phone and I wondered if I'd been hearing things just then.

'What did you just say?' I asked.

Finally, he looked up at me again. 'It's a book that might help you.'

'Help me what?' I asked, agitated at what felt like another silly mind game.

'The nightmares,' he replied, the corner of his mouth lifting up into an illegible smile. 'Just a suggestion.'

'I don't have nightmares,' I snapped, feeling my heart begin to race.

He narrowed his eyes at me for a few seconds and then shrugged, turning back to his phone. 'My mistake then.'