Exhale

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

I didn't sleep well that night.

Every time I went to close my eyes, Adrian's face filled my mind. His eyes. The instant color-change. His dark skin, the creases around his lips when he smirked. I thought he was highly attractive, and I was beginning to feel drawn to him. That was a problem, because he wasn't good for me. He'd hurt me, mocked me, laughed at me, insulted me, harassed me, and yet he was intriguing. I wanted to get near enough to him to figure him out. I wanted to test the waters, yet I didn't. He was crazy. He was haunting and breathtaking and naughty. There was no way I was going to even begin to trust him.

As I did what I could to flush his face from my mind, sleep did eventually find me, and I drifted off.

"Britt," I heard my father whisper in my ear. "Britt!" He spoke a little louder this time, his voice sounding more crisp and clear. My eyes drifted open at the sound of my father's voice. It was dark there. But it was cold and damp. The air smelled of mildew, and when I took a step forward, I heard a crunch under my feet, like I was stepping on leaves. "Dad!" I shouted back, squinting through the darkness to find him. My heart was drumming in my eardrums "Dad! Where are you?"

"Right here, Darling," his voice responded. "In front of you." I came to a halt in front of his tombstone. I wasn't in Massachusetts anymore, but back in Oregon, standing in the cemetery he was buried in. I was too shocked to respond. Too shocked to do anything but just stand there and vibrate.

"I know, surprised to hear from me when I'm dead?" My dad laughed his sweet, fun little laugh he gave when trying to lighten up the mood.

"Yeah," I whispered back to the grave site. "Is it really you?"

"Yes," he replied softly, "it really is me."

"Why can't I see you?" I asked, my eyes starting to brim with tears. "I can hear you, but I don't see you."

"Well," my father started, "first of all, I'm dead. I'm still buried, but my spirit is free to roam. You cannot see my spirit because it's not important right now for you to see me. What's important right now is that you're endangered. Terribly endangered."

"It felt like you've been gone forever," I sighed, tears beginning to stream down my face. "I've felt so alone these past few weeks, ever since you passed." I pressed the palms of my hands to my eyes, trying to stop from crying. I was supposed to be the strong one right then, during this period in life. I had to be, in order for there to be some sort of order in mine and my mom's life. She broke down every chance she got. I had to be the one to pull her out of her misery every time and help her move on to the next second, minute, hour, day, week, until she was able to keep herself upright in life without much help from me or anybody else.

"Britt, please, listen to me, Dear," Dad pleaded. "Focus on what I'm saying. You're in terrible danger." I finally grasped onto what he's telling me and listened in. There was a jolt in my chest as if I'd just been punched in the gut. "There's these people," he continued, "that are after you. They are after you, striving to end your life. They are trying to kill you because they don't like our type." Type? What did he mean by type? "They will do anything and everything they can to succeed. Stay especially away from Adrian Vescovi. He is among those who are blood thirsty, and he's different. He's more dangerous. He's after you. That dream you had with him in it? That may have just been a dream, but you were mentally transported. He was able to get inside your head and control your destiny. He is capable of killing you inside your mind. He's trying to get you. He's trying to take your life. Be warned, child, let your guard down once and you will regret it."