The Puzzle

Chapter Two: The Madness That No One Sees

Deep in the darkness of a familiar place, I feel a feeling I have felt all too well,trapped and afraid. I try to move but I can't, I never can, then a light hits my face, I try to see the the man I already know is standing behind the light. Except he isn't really much of a man but more of a monster, he has no face and he says no words, as he gets closer to me I try to scream but nothing comes out. He reaches out a claw and caresses my face, I start to cry as he pulls out a knife. Finally words come to me "Why?" I ask the question I always ask "Why?" this infuriates him, just as it has in the past, he moves to cut my throat...

I awake in a cold sweat, Tori sitting by me, I sat up and hugged her
"I heard you screaming so I came to make sure you were okay, was it the dream again?" she said with concern. Tori has always been my savior when it came to the dream I could talk to her about it without feeling judged
"Yeah, it was the dream, I'm sorry for waking you..." She cut me off
"You didn't wake me, I was heading off to the gym," she said still looking concerned "I'm fine Tori I have that dream all the time," I said looking down at the covers
"Go, Go work out I'll be okay," I looked up smiling "Okay then,"she paused getting up
"And don't worry about the beasts I, the great and fabulous Tori will risk my life and take them for a walk!" She proclaimed laughing. I laughed as she sauntered out of the room comically.

I then looked at the clock, it was only six in the morning so I took a shower and got dressed. Then as I was brushing my teeth the phone rang startling me
"Holy frijoli!" I exclaimed. Spitting out the tooth paste and putting down my tooth brush, I answered the phone
"Hello?" I said still trying to calm myself and feeling stupid the whole time
"Hey, it's um it's Josh I just wanted to know if you're hungry because I'm outside your house right now and I was going to take you to breakfast, if you're up for it that is." he chuckled nervously,
"That sounds really creepy, I'm sorry." He said awkwardly,
"Sure I'm kinda hungry yeah, why not" I said because I didn't know how to reply to that. I walked to the door quickly and opened it
"Hello, are you lost?" I smiled when I saw Josh's tall frame standing on my porch holding the phone in his right hand. He looked casual in his faded blue jeans and black T-shirt his blond hair shining, and his black rimmed glasses reflected in the morning sun as he turned around to the sound of my voice.

"Oh hey, umm so are you ready?" he asked awkwardly
"Yeah, are you ready?" I asked because he looked nervous. He nodded smiling, I looked at him slightly concerned.
"Okay then my car is right here," he said pointing to a Volvo then he turned to me "Hey, umm you should get you're luggage I can give you a ride." I nodded still a little unsure of the situation as I headed towards the garage. He followed me silently and when I opened the garage door his eyes widened
"You drive a 96' mustang!" he exclaimed next to me getting closer to my car
"Yeah, she's my baby, well her and my dogs." I laughed then grabbing the keys off the hook I popped the trunk and grabbed my suitcase. Closing the trunk I placed the keys back on the hook
"Okay I'm ready." I smiled.

Josh looked at me with that look again the happy half smile I got yesterday. Finally he nodded and helped me put my suitcase in his car. I felt slightly more at ease when I got in the front seat of his car. Fall Out Boy was playing softly, I looked at him
"Do you really listen to Fall Out Boy?" I asked hoping he would say yes he looked at me and smiled brightly
"Yeah sometimes, do you like them?" he asked cocking his head to one side
"They have been my favorite band since high school." I grinned looking at him, he laughed softly and began to drive. He drove us to a small diner not far from the company airport. As we exited the car it began to rain lightly, I looked up at the sky and smiled, I've always loved the rain, I remember my mother used to take the whole family to the park and when it would rain. We would jump in puddles on the way home, we used to sit by the heater and drink hot chocolate. Those times were the best, before everything became complicated and upsetting. Josh looked at me with a warm smile
"So... I'm guessing that you like the rain," he laughed softly I nodded
" Yeah. It's my favorite." He looked at me and without speaking led me inside the diner where we took our seats at a quiet booth in the corner. The soft red upholister of the seat brought me comfort as I stared out the window.
"Well, it looks like we might just be delayed due to this little storm" he sighed glancing out the window. Before I could respond an older woman with thick blue eye shadow and a smile plastered on her face walked up to the table
"Welcome to Bennie's, what can I get you folks today?" She said in a chipper tone and a fake southern accent. She took our orders and scurried off to the kitchen.