Turn

20

As Virginia tried to sleep, her eyes stared up at the bare outline she could discern of the ceiling tiles. She listened, trying to hear what Quinn could hear, what Greyson could, from the whistling of the breeze outside her window to the gentle breaths of her sleeping best friend. But she could only imagine what he could hear and feel and know from just existing in that incredible, supernatural way. She wondered what it felt like to feel the sun on his face or when water touched his skin.

Eventually, her exhaustion overtook her and she descended slowly, then completely into sleep. But it was restless and plagued with dreams, most of which she could not remember. The redheaded Virginia was in one of them, however, and that one she did remember. This time, the two of them walked through the cemetery together, side by side, in the fading light of the evening.

"Are you sure you want to get involved in this?" asked the woman.

"What? With vampires?" Virginia questioned back. She was aware she was in a dream, standing with the other Virginia, but she didn't have much of a desire to leave it.

The redhead nodded with a silent smile.

"How do you even know that's happening to me?" Virginia asked another question. "How do you know anything about me?"

Laughing, the woman paused. "Because I am a part of you, Virginia, as you are a part of me. You are never fully separate from me. Sometimes you are further, but when you're dreaming, you are closest to me."

Virginia frowned, feeling a need to pull away. "So you know everything I do? Everything about me and my life?"

She shrugged. "Not exactly everything. I know everything you bring with you into these dreams, everything that really matters to you, but I don't know what you ate for lunch last Tuesday because it doesn't matter. It's not the conflict with which you currently wrestle. But the realization that vampires exist? Well, that you most certainly brought with you."

"What should I do?" asked Virginia.

"Only you can know that," smiled the other. "I can't tell you what you want because you don't know what you want. But you do want something, that I can sense. And you want someone."

Virginia levelled her eyes at the woman, really studying her face for the first time. It wasn't a face she would have initially called pretty, but she was instead striking and almost ferocious in nature. Her nose was arrow-straight and her gray, mesmerizing eyes had not a hint of blue or pity. The roundness of her cheeks betrayed her youth, but that was the only thing about her that was not hard and angular.

"They fascinate you, the vampires?" she asked, and Virginia didn't respond. "That's all well. They fascinated me as well, when I was alive."

That caught Virginia's attention. "You knew vampires existed when you were alive?"

She smiled bashfully. "Well I've said too much now, haven't I? Best let you come to these conclusions on your own."

Before she could respond, a scream echoed through Virginia's head, a scream that permeated every aspect of the world of her dream like a blanket. It wasn't from somewhere in her subconscious, but somewhere outside it, in the world of reality.

"Ouch," blinked the redhead, rubbing her ear. "You'd better see to that."

And Virginia was awake, her eyes snapping open alertly as she rolled onto her side. Catherine was screaming, gasping for air like someone was strangling her, as she, still asleep, writhed in her bed. Leaping down hastily, Virginia grabbed Catherine's shoulders and shook her awake.

"Hey!" Virginia cried. "Wake up, Catherine!"

When her eyes popped open, they were filled with fear. She grasped Virginia's arms tightly and forced herself to breathe slow and even.

"It was just a dream, Catherine," Virginia said quietly, doing her best to sound as reassuring as possible. "You're safe, I promise."

"I know, I know," gasped Catherine. "I know."

"Are you okay?" asked Virginia.

Catherine nodded, still not trusting herself to speak.

"What happened?" Virginia stroked her best friend's hair that stuck to her damp forehead.

"I was on the road, by the Delta Phi house, where it happened," she spoke with a low, rapid voice. "But it wasn't him who died. It was me. I was trying to scream, but I couldn't talk, and I was trying to breathe, but it felt like I was breathing water."

Blood, thought Virginia. Not water. Blood. But she said, "It's okay, Catherine. It was just a dream. It's nothing to worry about. I promise. Do you need anything?"

She shook her head as she grabbed her water off her nightstand. "I'm okay now, I think. Thank you."

Virginia smiled sadly and nodded, slipping off Catherine's bed to climb back into hers. She watched her best friend until the girl turned out the light to go back to sleep.