Dreamcatcher

Chapter 8 - Tuesday

It was another no-show from Dean today. He never came into the diner, which left a strange, empty feeling that I tried to ignore. Paige, however, was beyond excited when she saw the ring on my finger. Her usual bubbly energy practically doubled as she squealed over the news. It was almost funny, considering she had spent the past week pushing me toward Dean, and now she was acting like she'd been a Daniel fan all along.

"Look at you! You're getting married!" Paige gushed, grabbing my hand to get a closer look at the ring. "Daniel's such a catch, Ashlyn. You two are going to have the cutest life together."

I smiled, but her sudden shift in enthusiasm for Daniel didn't go unnoticed. Just last week, she was telling me I could do better.

As the day went on, the absence of Dean started to fade. I kept busy with the usual hustle at the diner, the sound of clinking dishes and conversations pulling me into the present. By the time my shift ended, I hadn't thought about him once.

That evening, Daniel and I went to my parents' house for dinner. The smell of home-cooked food filled the air as soon as we stepped inside. My dad wrapped me in one of his signature bear hugs, and it felt good to be surrounded by family.

When we finally broke the news of our engagement, the joy was instant. My mom's eyes welled up with happy tears as she hugged me, and my dad, in his usual understated way, smiled proudly, patting Daniel on the back. It was the kind of night that should've felt perfect—filled with warmth, love, and excitement for the future.

And for a little while, it did.

That night, desperate for some peace, I took a sleeping pill, hoping for the quiet, dreamless sleep I so desperately needed. I thought maybe this time, I could escape the vivid dreams, the unsettling images that had been haunting me. But I was wrong.

The dream that followed was unlike any other. Dark and twisted, it unfolded like a nightmare I couldn't wake from. I found myself in a dimly lit room, the air thick with an unnatural stillness. As I looked around, figures began to emerge from the shadows—men, tall and imposing, their faces obscured by the darkness.

And then I saw it. Their eyes.

Pitch black. Cold and empty, like voids staring back at me. My heart pounded in my chest, my breath coming in shallow gasps as they moved closer, their black eyes gleaming with something malicious, something inhuman.

I tried to back away, but my feet felt like they were glued to the floor. No matter how hard I willed my body to move, I couldn't. I was trapped, frozen in place as these men with black eyes circled around me, their presence heavy and suffocating.

One of them leaned in close, his breath hot against my skin as he whispered, "There's no escape now."

I woke up with a start, my body drenched in sweat, heart racing, and my hands trembling. The sleeping pill had done nothing to stop the terror that found me in the dark.