"Ahhhh!"
PJ sat bolt upright in bed with a gasp. The nightmare had torn her from Reap?s arms and thrown her into an emotionally draining and almost physically painful un-reality.
The room was dark and silent, save her ragged breaths. Her eyes, darker than the room itself, struggled to pinpoint any sort of landmark in the room. Her hand slid across the bed, searching for the comfort and security that was her Cowboy beside her. She found only emptiness and cold sheets.
Icy vines seemed to stem from her heart and grow upward, wrapping themselves around her throat. Her hand followed, stroking down the clammy skin of her neck.
"Reap?" She called out even as she spun her legs from the bed, her feet finding the wooden floor. She reached for a robe and twirled it around her shoulders before leaving the room.
The Rooftop home was much larger than the studio apartment had been, and PJ usually loved that. Tonight it felt as though something was lurking around every corner. She patted her robe pocket, feeling the security that was a .357. She tried to remember where she had acquired such a hand cannon, but she couldn?t seem to place it. It had always just been there. There in pocket of the robe, it had always been there.
(If you?re not ready to die yourself, you shouldn?t carry a weapon.)
Where in the hell had that thought come from? Before she could figure it out, it was pushed away by the thought of her daughter. Laci - She needed to check on Laci. She slipped down the hall, her bare feet padding quietly. The new floors hadn?t settled in enough to squeak yet, but she still tread as though she might give away her position at any moment. She softly pushed Laci?s door open and peered in. Her heart leapt to her throat
(Always my throat, why my throat?)
at the sight of the empty crib. No Reap, No Laci. Right then and there, PJ nearly screamed, but the fear was
(Choking. I?m choking. I can?t fvcking breathe. I?m )
choking off any sound she might have made. She swallowed roughly, tasting blood. She must have bitten her tongue. Just as she was about to panic again, she realized that Reap and Laci must have fallen asleep in the living room. Yes, that would make sense. The two of them seemed able to sleep anywhere.
She shook her head softly at her own foolishness. She hated being spooked by silly fears of
(Vampires)
things that went bump in the night. She admonished herself and headed for the end of the hallway. That would bring her right into the
(Woods? Why am I in the woods? Wasn?t I just at home?)
She turned slowly ? north, south, east, west and back to north. This was definitely the woods, not the living room like it should have been. Okay, she?d had enough of being brave and strong, she was scared and alone and
(dying. I?m dying and he?s killing me. I?m going to die.)
wanted her man right then and there. She struggled to take a deep breath, finding her windpipe feeling as though it were caught in a vice grip. She tried to push through it and scream for
(GAGE! Ohmygod, ohmygod. Gage is killing me. Reap isn?t at the brewery, because I?m not at the brewery. Please, please let him be with Laci and keeping her safe. I?m gonna die. I?m going to be sick, so much blood. Is it all mine? Look at the way it drips down his chin. I used to love his blue eyes. Blue eyes, blue skies, moon pies, loon cries, PJ dies.)
Bloodied, thrashed and left in the alley behind the inn, PJ?s brain had tried to make sense of everything. It had tried to compensate for the loss of blood, for the loss of consciousness. It had turned her very real waking experiences with Gage into a nightmare?s nightmare.
There would be no lasting physical damage. That hadn?t been Gage?s intent. He just wanted her to look dead; not be dead.
("He?ll love you until he dies. I would have loved you forever." )
Gage?s last words to her. PJ didn?t doubt his own belief in them for a moment, but she knew the truth of the matter. Nothing lasts forever. Gage did love her, enough to set her free the only way he could.
She never hoped for Forever. She only hoped for now.
PJ sat bolt upright in bed with a gasp. The nightmare had torn her from Reap?s arms and thrown her into an emotionally draining and almost physically painful un-reality.
The room was dark and silent, save her ragged breaths. Her eyes, darker than the room itself, struggled to pinpoint any sort of landmark in the room. Her hand slid across the bed, searching for the comfort and security that was her Cowboy beside her. She found only emptiness and cold sheets.
Icy vines seemed to stem from her heart and grow upward, wrapping themselves around her throat. Her hand followed, stroking down the clammy skin of her neck.
"Reap?" She called out even as she spun her legs from the bed, her feet finding the wooden floor. She reached for a robe and twirled it around her shoulders before leaving the room.
The Rooftop home was much larger than the studio apartment had been, and PJ usually loved that. Tonight it felt as though something was lurking around every corner. She patted her robe pocket, feeling the security that was a .357. She tried to remember where she had acquired such a hand cannon, but she couldn?t seem to place it. It had always just been there. There in pocket of the robe, it had always been there.
(If you?re not ready to die yourself, you shouldn?t carry a weapon.)
Where in the hell had that thought come from? Before she could figure it out, it was pushed away by the thought of her daughter. Laci - She needed to check on Laci. She slipped down the hall, her bare feet padding quietly. The new floors hadn?t settled in enough to squeak yet, but she still tread as though she might give away her position at any moment. She softly pushed Laci?s door open and peered in. Her heart leapt to her throat
(Always my throat, why my throat?)
at the sight of the empty crib. No Reap, No Laci. Right then and there, PJ nearly screamed, but the fear was
(Choking. I?m choking. I can?t fvcking breathe. I?m )
choking off any sound she might have made. She swallowed roughly, tasting blood. She must have bitten her tongue. Just as she was about to panic again, she realized that Reap and Laci must have fallen asleep in the living room. Yes, that would make sense. The two of them seemed able to sleep anywhere.
She shook her head softly at her own foolishness. She hated being spooked by silly fears of
(Vampires)
things that went bump in the night. She admonished herself and headed for the end of the hallway. That would bring her right into the
(Woods? Why am I in the woods? Wasn?t I just at home?)
She turned slowly ? north, south, east, west and back to north. This was definitely the woods, not the living room like it should have been. Okay, she?d had enough of being brave and strong, she was scared and alone and
(dying. I?m dying and he?s killing me. I?m going to die.)
wanted her man right then and there. She struggled to take a deep breath, finding her windpipe feeling as though it were caught in a vice grip. She tried to push through it and scream for
(GAGE! Ohmygod, ohmygod. Gage is killing me. Reap isn?t at the brewery, because I?m not at the brewery. Please, please let him be with Laci and keeping her safe. I?m gonna die. I?m going to be sick, so much blood. Is it all mine? Look at the way it drips down his chin. I used to love his blue eyes. Blue eyes, blue skies, moon pies, loon cries, PJ dies.)
Bloodied, thrashed and left in the alley behind the inn, PJ?s brain had tried to make sense of everything. It had tried to compensate for the loss of blood, for the loss of consciousness. It had turned her very real waking experiences with Gage into a nightmare?s nightmare.
There would be no lasting physical damage. That hadn?t been Gage?s intent. He just wanted her to look dead; not be dead.
("He?ll love you until he dies. I would have loved you forever." )
Gage?s last words to her. PJ didn?t doubt his own belief in them for a moment, but she knew the truth of the matter. Nothing lasts forever. Gage did love her, enough to set her free the only way he could.
She never hoped for Forever. She only hoped for now.