The Devils Daughter

Chapter Twenty Nine: Nightmares

I leaned over Charlotte's shoulder and watched her click "Delete Contact" and just like that, one press of a button Wes was gone. A nobody to us. But at the same time the most important thing right now.

I gave Charlotte's shoulder a tight squeeze, "I'm proud of you."

"Thanks." She said, "He's just another guy who literally ripped my heart out and stomped all over it." Her voice had a pang of sarcasm to it.

"How are you?" I asked her.

"I'm fine."

I took one look at her tear-streaked face and messy hair, "You don't look fine." I said with a laugh.

"Then stop looking." She said sarcastically, laughing right along with me.

"Let's go get you some donuts and a whole lot of coffee." I suggested, standing up.

"You know me so well."

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"Hey girls," Jason said as we walked down the stairs.

"Hey, Jace," I said skipping down the last three stairs, staring at his attempt to keep Scooter under control. He was failing miserably but it was so cute he was trying. Scooter kept trying to wriggle out of Jason's arms and you could see Jason was trying not to fail.

Charolette and I walked to the kitchen,  I made us a pot of coffee and she grabbed the box of donuts we had purchased earlier. On our way out Jason stopped us,

"You forgot these!" He said, holding up two dark blue mugs.

"Thanks, Jace," I told him gratefully, leaning forward to give him a hug. It was quite awkward due to the coffee pot I was carrying.

"You're welcome, Darling."

He walked inside and closed the sliding glass door behind him. Charolette and I walked down the hill toward the pond that lay peacefully at the bottom.

"This place is gorgeous!" Charolette exclaimed, taking a seat by the water.

"It really is." I took a seat next to her and kicked off my flip-flops, burying my feet in the lush green grass.

"The way he called you Darling," Charolette started, staring at her freshly manicured nails, "Not bae or babe or even, hon. He really loves you."

I searched her face for any emotion but she stared down, her face a blank canvas. But her eyes said it all.

She wants what I have. She loves Jason's small gestures and his over the top dates. She wants that so bad.

"Charolette," I said, staring her dead in the eye, "You've been through breakups far worse than this. Now adjust your tiara and move on like the queen you are!"

She looked at me shocked, she expected sympathy. But this is Charolette we are talking about! She doesn't want that sympathetic junk! She thrives off of sparkles and anything with tiaras.

"Alright!" She said, her eyes glistening with a newly discovered motivation.

"Now Cassie, can I ask you something?" I sensed a seriousness in her voice that I rarely hear.

"Sure."

"How did you know," Oh boy, she's treading lightly, "You could trust Jason." She blurted out, shifting uncomfortably.

"Well," I started, staring out at the blue water, "He had a sense about him. I felt," Struggling for the right word I finally decided, "Connected. I felt connected to him. And I knew, he was the one."

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It wasn't the rain that woke me, not even the thunder. It was the scream. It rang throughout my ears and it came from Jason's room, I bolted from my bed toward his room.

Nightmares.

The word echoed in my head over and over.

I threw his door open and turned on the light. He was sitting in his bed, his knees tucked up to his chest, sweat dripping down his face.

I sat down next to him and ran my fingers through his hair, wrapping my free arm around his broad shoulders.

"It's ok," I said in a calming tone, "It was just a nightmare. It wasn't real. You're okay."

He seemed to relax and he untucked from his feeble position.

"You want to talk about it?" I asked, stroking his hair.

"The fire. They're gone." He whispered.

"Who or what?" I asked curiously.

"Everything."

"What do you mean?"

"The fire burned down my house, it killed my family and I'm the only one left."

"Oh Jason." I whispered. The words caught up in my throat.

"I'm being tortured with the nightmares."

"They can only use the things you love against you." I told him.

"Then they can only use you." He said confidently, "And I won't let that happen."