Tempting the Fates

Chapter 3

I glanced at the gold watch hanging loosely on my wrist as I walked through the bookshelves of the school library. It was 10:25 PM. I sighed and continued my search through the catalog of titles. I was exhausted, but I wasn't going home. 

After the crazy argument we'd had that morning, the shame and guilt from it all was festering like a tumor on my soul. I was embarrassed that I'd ambushed him with an ultimatum like that. But I also wasn't ready to apologize- he wasn't innocent either. He was keeping secrets and treating me like a child. He was happy to make me feel like this competent, intelligent woman when it came to anything else, but the second I brought up Mom, I was a fragile toddler again who needed protecting. 

Yeah, I was more than happy to avoid my father in any way possible. Studying in the library until I was confident he was asleep was my best option.

I dragged my finger along the spines of some books. Symptoms of Cardiomyopathy, Dilated vs Hypertrophic vs Restrictive Cardiomyopathy... I bit my bottom lip, focusing. My eyes blurred a bit as my body fought to stay awake. I blinked hard, my vision turning white for a moment. When the world around me came back into focus, I saw a glint of light over some of the books on the shelf in front of me. My eyes immediately snapped to attention and locked on something that had my entire body on high alert.

The most attractive man I had ever seen was leaning against the wall about thirty feet away. He was clutching an old leather tome in one hand, but he was staring directly at me. He had pale skin and dark black hair, which was combed back like some kind of 1950s leather-wearing biker guy, a look he seemed to be going for since he was wearing a white t-shirt and a black leather jacket. He was too far away to tell exactly what color his eyes were, but they were looking at me with such intensity that I felt my heart pounding with excitement- or was it fear?

I held his gaze for about five long seconds before my phone buzzed in my pocket, startling me. I  pulled it out and checked the lock screen. There was one message, from my dad.

Callie, please come home. It's not safe to be running around alone at night.

I rolled my eyes. He was at it again, always trying to coddle me from the world.

When I looked back up, the handsome man was gone. I did an entire 360-degree sweep with my eyes, but there was no sign of him. I started to wonder if I was crazy, or perhaps just so exhausted that I was hallucinating. Maybe the dream from the night before still had me a little on edge. I shook it off and sat down at the desk cubicle I had occupied for the last several hours. I opened the book I'd found earlier about Kawasaki Disease and read to clear my mind.

It didn't take long before my eyes got heavy again. The air around me was so warm, and I was so tired...

Before I knew it, I was back in that dark chasm of my dreams. But there was no sign of the woman who had come to me the night before. I was alone. I sat down on what I thought was the floor and took a deep breath. 

The world around me changed. Where black emptiness had once surrounded me, a vast land now took its place. I was sitting in the middle of a field of dead grass. Empty trees and bushes were scattered for several miles in every direction. There was even a huge land mass ahead, which I assumed was a mountain, but I could barely see due to the intense gray cloud cover that hung low in the sky.

I didn't know where I was. I had never seen this place before, in real life or my dreams. As dreary as it seemed, I wasn't scared. In fact, there was a peacefulness to it. It was quiet and calm, despite the looming clouds overhead. I wanted to stay here and relax, but everything disappeared in a flash of darkness.

I awoke abruptly as I heard a loud thump. I shot upright, wiping my eyes and looking around for the source of the sound. The book I had been reading was lying face-down, sprawled open on the floor by my feet. Oh crap, I'd really fallen asleep. I looked at my watch and my heart dropped.