Nobody Can Haunt Me Like You

Quarter To Nine

After swallowing a couple pain meds, I lay back down. Dylan sits himself beside me on the bed and I tell him the worry I have for my parents, "Even if I just stub my toe, my dad comes running up the stairs to make sure I'm not dying. They said they'd only be gone a few hours. What time is it?"

He glances over at the clock, "Quarter to nine." He opens up the curtains to let in some sunlight.

"They left at eight last night... Will you go down to check and see if they are home yet?"

He raises an eyebrow. "And what am I supposed to say when they ask why the fuck I'm here?"

I touch a finger to my chin, "That you just got here, and... the door was unlocked."

He laughs softly, nods, then leaves to go downstairs.

I prop myself up on my elbows and see my reflection in the mirror, "oh shit." I sit up and try to finger comb my wild bed head. I let out an exasperated sigh and give up, laying back down.

I hear him coming back upstairs and roll over to my side and rest on my head on my arm.

"They aren't here yet, babe. Maybe you should call them?" He walks over to my nightstand and unplugs my phone from its charger, then puts it in my open hand as he takes a seat on the bed.

I decide to call my mom first. The phone goes straight to voicemail. I dial in my dad's number and listen to the rings, counting them as they go by... voicemail. I leave a brief message, asking where they were.

"Jesus, I feel like my mother, all this fucking worrying! The fuck is wrong with me?" I pinch the bridge of my nose and groan. Dylan runs his hand soothingly up and down my arm.

"I'm sure they're OK." He gives me a soft smile, "Do you know where they went?"

"They went for a romantic night out. Dinner and movie kind of thing."

He gives me a strange look, "Maybe it got more romantic and they had to stay the night somewhere..."

It took a moment to process what he said. I shoved him, "You shit! Don't be disgusting!" My phone rings and I answer it quickly. "Hey mom, where have you been?"

"Sorry Tess, we forgot to call."

"Yeah, I noticed."

"We decided to stay at a hotel for the night... we might stay another night and then be home after work tomorrow."

I can hear my dad's voice in the background, I don't want to know what he's saying so I quickly end the conversation with a "OKhavefunbye!" And jam my finger onto the screen to hang up the call. Dylan cocks an eyebrow.

"You were right. Don't fucking say anything! I don't want to think about it!" I need to get absolutely anything else in my mind right now, and Dylan knows just what to do.

He leans down to me and grabs my cheek gently in his hand, he pulls my lips to his and kisses me softly. The passion of his kiss intensifies as his hand slides down to the hem of my shirt, tugging on it gently, as if asking permission. I respond by softly biting his lip, he slips his hand under the fabric of my shirt. I run my hands through his blonde hair, knotting my fingers in his soft curls.

He breaks away only to pull my shirt back over my head, he throws it across the room without turning away from me and bends down to kiss my neck. My hands feel the muscles of his bare back and I drag my nails softly across his back and arms. His hands find their way behind me and he unlatches my bra, sliding the straps down my arms, resulting in him flinging it haphazardly to the floor and kissing his way over to my newly exposed skin. He massages my breasts and kisses my chest, moving down to my stomach, his fingers lingering on my nipples, making soft circles as he kisses my belly button.

I moan softly and pull him by his hair, bringing his lips back to mine. His hands travel down to my pants, undoing the buttons and pulling away to drag them off of me completely, along with my underwear. He glides his hands down my thighs and puts his mouth back to mine. My fingers unbutton his and at the sound of his zipper, he sits back up to remove the rest of his jeans, his boxers sliding along with the denim material.

-

"No! Why would you do this to me of all things? You know how much this hurts me. I trusted you, Tess. I truly did. The worst part is that you never really trusted me. You could have. You should have."

It was the eyes again, but this time the dream brought me more, it was still too blurry to see her clearly but I could now see that her long blonde hair was wildly blowing behind her, as if gusts of unfelt wind were traveling through her. But as quickly as she appeared, she vanished from my side, leaving me with more questions. But the feeling that I know her from somewhere stayed with me, who is she?

-

"Tess! Tess! Please wake up! Oh my God, please!" It was Dylan's voice, scared and urgent.

My eyes flicker open and I'm lightheaded as I look around at my surroundings. I'm still in my room, still on my bed, still naked. Dylan is hovering over me, his eyes are wet like he's about to cry. He pulls me into his arms and hugs me, "Wha-what happened?" I stutter out.

He pulls me away from his embrace and holds my face with both hands, looking into my eyes. "You past out. I-I didn't know what to do. Are you feeling OK?" His eyes full of worry. I blink a few times, trying to get a sense of what I'm hearing.

A knock on the front door pulls me from my confusion and I'm hit with a realization that I'm not wearing a stitch of clothing. I clear my throat, "We should probably get dressed and see who that is." I say and slide to the edge of the bed. He collects my clothes from around the room, hands them to me and then dresses himself. Now fully clothed, he puts his arm around me to help me stand without putting too much pressure on my feet. We slowly make our way down the stairs, I notice the mess has been cleaned up, I assume that Dylan must have done it when he went down earlier this morning. The knocking was now getting louder as the person on the other side was getting impatient. He helps me settle onto the edge of the steps before rushing over to open the door.

"The fuck are you doing here, Dylan?" Alfie steps in, "Hey Tess, I forgot my key." He looks past Dylan and upon seeing me, makes his way to the staircase, "Oh Jesus! Are you OK? You look terrible, sis." He turns around to face Dylan, "What'd you do to her?!" He's mad, pissed, angry.

"I didn't do anything, man! I swear!" He held up his hands defensively.

"Get the fuck out of this house!" Alfie points to the still open front door. Dylan backs away slowly, Alfie staring him down until he closed the door behind him. He turns back around and sits on the steps with me. "Are you OK?" He sets his arm protectively over my shoulder.

"I'm fine. Just stepped in some broken glass, an intruder broke the vases..." I point to the small table where one of the vases used to sit. But. The vase. It's right there. I look down the other side of the hall, the other vase, it's there too. "But, they were... I- my feet?" I look down at the bandages still wrapped around my feet. 

Alfie puts the back of his hand against my forehead. "I think you might have a fever. Let's get you upstairs." He helps me to my feet and holds me steady as we make our way back up the stairs. After helping me into my bed, Alfie stands up straight, "Let me now if you need anything. OK?" I nod, he leaves and shuts the door behind him. 

From my bed, I take a glance at my mirror, "Oh my God..." I say in barely a whisper. My neck had purple bruises in the shape of hands.