My Haunted Heart

Chapter 5

I was deeply submerged in a dreamless sleep, when suddenly I appeared in the same field as the night before. I looked down at my body to find that I was wearing a white cotton dress. There was only a breeze this time, and sun rays were peeking through fluffy white clouds in the sky. Wildflowers grew on the once plain grass, and I twirled around a few times, feeling the warmth on my skin.

"Gabriella," I heard the familiar voice say calmly out of thin air, and I glanced around me. "Follow my voice, Ella," the stranger urged, and so I took a few steps forward. "Good, now keep going," it praised me, and I felt like a child again.

I was led into a large forest filled with cedar and pine trees. There was an unworldly beauty to everything around me, and I felt out of place. Birds chirped and sang melodies in the branches above, and hundreds of butterflies that appeared to be glowing danced gracefully through the air.

After what seemed like hours of following the floating voice, I planted my feet on the ground and folded my arms. "Whoever you are, can you please show yourself now?" I begged, my voice laced with annoyance.

"You aren't a very patient girl, are you," a smooth voice chuckled behind me. I turned around to see a young man sitting in a tree branch above me, swinging his legs freely. His hair was as white as snow, and his skin much the same. His eyes shone a brilliant blue, and his smile was heart melting.

"Who are you?" I demanded, and his smile only grew. "Not very polite either," he chuckled again. "My name's Julian, and I already know your name, so you don't need to worry about introductions." Julian swung down from the tree branch and effortlessly landed on the ground.

I took a step back, wondering how it was possible to make conversation with a stranger in one's dreams. "Why have you been invading my dreams?" I questioned, trying to appear confident in front of this angelic creature.

Julian flashed a devilish grin and took a few steps towards me until we were no more than a foot apart. His pale hands cupped around my cheeks and he bit his lip, staring into my eyes for a few moments before he said quietly, "I'm here to protect you, Ella."

I locked my hands around his wrists and we stood there like that, examining each other's faces in the middle of the enchanted forest. "Protecting me from what, or who?" I murmured, inwardly wondering how he already held so much power over me.

"There is someone who is invading your life... someone who you think you'll be able to trust. But I'm warning you that you need to stay away from him, he will hurt you Ella," Julian whispered, rubbing my cheek gently with his thumb. "But I'm here to protect you, and you can always run to me. All you have to do is fall asleep," he said, his voice smooth and sweet like honey.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but before I knew it, Julian leaned down, pressing his lips against mine. I breathed in sharply, surprised at his sudden affection.

I woke up gasping for air, and my skin was hot to the touch. The window was wide open; Mickey must have opened it while I was sleeping. I thought about what had just happened, and my mind raced. It was only a dream, but how did his touch feel so real?

I went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on my flushed cheeks. After drying off with a towel, I placed my hand on my face where Julian had only minutes or hours before, trying to imagine what happened.

Mickey was at the table when I went down to scramble some eggs, and breakfast was eaten in silence, until I decided to break the ice. "So, what kept you last night?" I said innocently, fiddling with my fork.

Mickey peered up from his newspaper and grunted. "Oh yeah, sorry about that. There was a patient at work that I had to deal with. Young man, seemed to be very upset about something," he replied, looking back down at his paper. I pondered this while finishing off my orange juice. "What was his name?" I inquired, knowing I wouldn't likely get an answer. "Sorry honey, patient confidentiality," he shrugged, taking a sip of coffee.

After breakfast was done and the dishes were clean, I went back up stairs to get ready for school. After spending a few minutes cleaning up the broken lightbulb, I threw on a grey tee shirt and some acid-washed jeans. I grabbed my bag and sneakers before heading out of the front door.

Fletcher was waiting outside, leaning against his shiny black Mercedes. He gave me a small smile, but I could see that his eyes were dark and he looked more tired than usual. His black tee shirt hugged his toned body nicely, and I tried not to gawk as I walked down to meet him. He was still the most beautiful being I'd ever seen, as he smirked and mumbled, "Hello, Miss Winters."

"What are you doing here, Fletcher?" I said, trying to hide my giddiness. "What do you think I'm doing here? I'm giving you a ride to school, of course," he rolled his eyes, patting the top of the car with his hand.

"It's not supposed to rain today," I argued, looking up at the somewhat clear sky. He groaned dramatically and opened the side door. "Why can't you just let me be nice, for once?" He pleaded, and I laughed before climbing in.

Claire De Lune was playing through the sound system, and as Fletcher started the car and pulled out of the driveway onto the road, the music triggered my memories of what happened the night before.

"Something happened last night, something to do with this song," I said cautiously, causing Fletcher's jaw to flex and his hands tightened on the steering wheel. "Continue, Ella," he replied, as we cruised down the forest roads.

"... I was lying in bed when my record player started playing this song, and then the light flickered before breaking and a paper bird flew across my room," I blurted out, glancing over to see his reaction.

He arched his eyebrows and his lips tightened. "Ella, are you sure you weren't dreaming?" He said, disbelief evident in his smooth voice.

"I know what I saw. I don't care if you don't believe me. I know somebody will, and I'm definitely not crazy," I declared, looking out the window at the green blur of trees.

Fletcher looked back at the road silently for a few minutes. He turned suddenly, his eyes locking onto mine. "Ella, meet me in the park after school. You can't tell anybody about what you saw... There's something very important I need to tell you," he whispered darkly, his voice urgent.