Lamia's Dream

Chapter 13

I texted Valerie on Sunday to meet her after school on Monday.  I was grateful I did it right after church.  Throughout the school day, I wavered back and forth on whether or not I would really ask her about being a demon.

"Thanks for meeting with me," I said at the risk of sounding too formal.

She smiled.  "It must be serious if you're actually talking to me again."

"It is," I confessed.

"Ooook," she replied, her smile replaced by a look of suspicion.

"Do you remember how you mentioned having a dream about me last week?"

She nodded, slowly.

"I had a dream about you, too, the night before.  And another one this past weekend."

For a brief moment, she looked uneasy.  Then, she grinned, one not so convincing.  "A lot of guys dream about me, Miles.  It's nothing to be ashamed of."

It was my turn to feel uneasy.  Did I really want to take this leap?

"Do they dream about you with fangs and claws?"

Valerie reflexively narrowed her eyes.  "What are you getting at?"

"That night in the woods when I saved you, for a moment, a brief moment, you had fangs and claws. And you made them disappear somehow."

She forced a laugh.  "Are you out of your mind?  Do you have any idea how insane you sound right now?"

"And I remember your attacker called you a demon."

Valerie slammed her hand on the table, and then stood up.  Without thinking, I grabbed onto her.

"Don't touch me," she shouted, pulling herself free.

"Shhh!" a librarian called in a harsh whisper.

We turned to the librarian, then back to each other, more concerned about our conversation than the mundane rules of the library. 

"How dare you bring that up?  How dare you?  I have tried for weeks to forget that night and here you are using it to promote some crazy theory about me."

I felt like utter crap in that moment. 

"O-ok, Valerie.  Then, why did you go back to Tyler, a guy you were glad to be done with?"

"So your idea that I'm a demon is a way to explain the decisions I make in my love life?"

I lost. Badly.  I didn't even want to bring up Phil's theory about her needing a new boyfriend every other month after what she had just said. 

“Um… w-would you believe I’ve been joking this whole time?”

Not even the faintest hint of a smile.

“You are so-”  she began, exerting much effort not to scream.

“Shh!” said the librarian.

“You ‘shh!’” Valerie screamed.

The librarian pointed to the door.  “Both of you.  Out.  Now.”

I looked at Valerie.  Her face was still red. 

“I don’t even want to… how could you-”

“Val-” I began to say, reaching for her.

“Don’t!”

She collected her things and took off. 

The librarian watched me until I did the same.  Right outside the library, I dropped my bag onto the floor and leaned against the cinderblock wall.