After Eternity

Chapter 11

I.

He woke up sweaty and startled once more. It had happened two nights in a row. The dream had been the same. Diana was there and they were locked up in some tower where it was impossible to escape. She was desperate to get out and her body had caught on fire once sunlight appeared. This dream had given him two bad nights of sleep and he didn't understand what she was doing there or what it meant. It disturbed him enough not to let him sleep after. He felt his body tremble both times and though it was a nightmare, it felt like some memory that it didn't make sense in his world. He didn't know that place and he was sure he hasn't met her before.

He had had a terrible day the day before because of it and now the same dream haunted him. What did it mean? Why was he so disquieted after she had arrived? Why did he feel safe near her? Why did he feel a scent in the air he didn't know? Why did he hate her boyfriend if he had never seen the man? He had too many questions and no answers. The questions alone were enough to deprive him from his sleep and now he had the dreams to add to the chaos that Diana brought to his life. Did she really bring chaos to his life? That was always his next question...and no...the answer to that question was so clear to him and the only he could answer safely, she was the one making chaos disappear and he'd find peace. Her smile alone was enough to make his heart come back to a normal rate. And if at one hand it all seemed right, on the other hand it scared him and displeased him for the unknown terrified him.

He slammed the alarm clock shut as it announced rainy weather and pulled the covers away visibly grumpy. He grabbed his cell off the nightstand and called Phil. It rang three times before his best friend answer it.

"James?" He said on the other end knowing it wasn't common for him to call that soon.

"Hey..." He gasped running a hand over his hair as if despaired and while looking how it poured outside over the window.

"Why are you calling so soon? Did anything happen? Are you alright?" Phil asked. James heard the cry of a baby at a distance.

"Did I wake the baby?" James asked.

"No..." He said. James could sense Phil was smiling. "It's been hours of crying now."

"Can you come over for breakfast?" James asked. "I'll make these eggs you love."

"Sure." Phil frowned for James usually had breakfast in the office and he sounded strange.

"Thanks man." He said.

"I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"Ok." James hung up and threw the cell on the bed. Scratching the back of his neck he walked up to his wardrobe and chose a pair of jeans and a grey t-shirt which he put on the bed. His head was pounding; he needed coffee, a strong one and maybe an aspirin.

In the bathroom, he opened the water in the shower and let it run to let it warm and pulled his shorts down getting naked. He put himself under water and raised his face under the splash. It made him come alive instantly, but that moment of concentration brought his thoughts alive as well. His eyes flew opened to erase Diana off his mind. He didn't like how she lived in him. No other woman had occupied his thoughts that way, so invasive. Not even when he had fallen in love with Sally. He had been in love with her, right? He asked himself that many times. He was never sure. After a couple of minutes, he closed the water and grabbed a towel to dry his body.

He was in the kitchen putting the eggs on a plate when Phil arrived. James simply pressed the button to open the gate and continued to set the table for two. Phil was familiar with the house and he knew how to find his way in.

"Hey man..." Phil greeted entering the kitchen.

James forced a smile. Phil noticed the black halos around his eyes. He looked visibly tired. "Hey..." He simply said and pointed at a chair as telling him to sit.