That night after dinner, Kane and Landon walked us back to Jessi’s car before they headed off to Landon’s truck. When I offered to give Kane his shirt back, he refused and I smiled, secretly loving the fact that I was going to get to keep it for a few more hours.
By the time Jessi and I had made it back to the dorm I was so ready to crash. As soon as we stepped inside our room, exhaustion overtook me, and I flopped down on my bed. I didn’t bother to take Kane’s shirt off—and honestly I was enjoying the fact that I would be able to drift off to sleep with his sweet smell all around me.
I awoke to the sounds of blood-curdling screams, and it took me a second to realize that the screams were coming from me. By the time I opened my eyes, Jessi was hovering over me … concern etched all over her face.
“Kelsey, oh thank God you finally woke up!”
“Finally woke up? How long had I been screaming?” My raw throat and hoarse voice let me know that I must have been screaming for quite some time.
“About five minutes. You woke me up with your screams. I tried to wake you up but no matter what I did, you just wouldn’t open your eyes. It was so scary. I didn’t know what to do. Usually you’re so easy to wake up when you have your nightmares, but there was something different about this one. I couldn’t get you to come out of it.”
I felt so bad for putting my friend though my many years of night terrors. It had been a few months since my last one, though, and I wasn’t sure what would just bring them on again.
This one was just like the others—I was back in my old house, reliving the whole thing all over again and again. The last thing I remembered when I’d woken up was those eyes staring back at me.
It was the same eyes I looked at day in and day out. The warm, honey color would make you believe the person who wore those eyes would be full of warmth and love … when in reality he was as cold as ice, and as evil as the days were long. My eyes were the only things my father had given me; but he had taken everything.
He had taken my mother from me the night he murdered her.
The night I did nothing but sit there and watch.
Jessi sat back on her heels, giving me room to sit up on the edge of my bed. I pulled my hair at the roots, hoping the pain radiating from my scalp would dull the pain I felt at my core after reliving that night through my dream. But honestly, nothing ever soothed that ache and it never would. Throughout the years, the guilt had lessened a bit but I knew it would never fully go away. Some days it was easier to deal with, some days the pain and guilt was so crippling it was hard for me to even get out of bed. That’s why I would forever be in debt to Jessi and her wonderful family. I wouldn’t have made it through the last six years without them.
“I know this is a stupid question, but are you okay now?” Jessi whispered.
I nodded. “Yeah, Jess, I am. But could you do me a favor? Will you sleep with me tonight?”
This wasn’t a strange request to her. For the longest time after I had moved in with her, the images of that night came back so strong and real that she slept most nights in bed with me. I couldn’t stand to be alone. Every time I was alone, I was left with only my thoughts, and at that time my every thought was of that night. Being alone was just a reminder that I was—in every sense of the word—alone.
“Sure, silly. Now scoot. These beds are a lot smaller than the ones we have at home though. So just know if my ass ends up on the floor sometime throughout the night, I’m going kick yours when I climb back in bed with you,” she joked, trying to lighten the mood.
“Deal,” I said and scooted as far as the wall would allow.
“Thank you, Jess. For everything,” I whispered to the dark room, and her tiny hand grasped mine.
“You’re my best friend, Kelsey. I’ll always be here.”
Exhaustion from the dream finally took over and I drifted off to sleep again, holding tight to my best friend’s hand.
I slept through the rest of the night in a peaceful, dreamless sleep.
A thump that I assumed was Jessi’s body hitting the floor, was our wakeup call the next morning. After the thump, I heard muffled curse words being thrown around before Jessi’s wild red hair popped up over the side of my bed.
“Good Morning.” I sweetly smiled at her.
She grunted at me before returning my greeting with a quick, “Mornin.’” before she crawled over to her bed, climbed in, and went back to sleep.
I silently laughed before making my way to the bathroom for a quick shower. Lucas said it would be okay to shower the next morning, just as long as I tried to keep my more fragrant-filled soaps away from the tattoo as much as possible.
I hopped in the shower and began washing my hair, making sure to keep my hair away from my new tattoo. After I was done, I used a clip to hold my hair on top of my head as I began to wash my body. All and all I think I did a pretty good job keeping my tattoo out of harm’s way, but I was stilling going to have to wake Sleeping Beauty in there to help me clean the tattoo and reapply the ointment Lucas had given us for them.
After finally waking Jessi, and more or less pushing her into the bathroom so she could take her shower, we doctored our tattoos and set out for the day. We started the morning off with a cup of coffee and small breakfast at the coffee shop Kane and I had gone to that first day after class to have our talk. We then decided a little girl’s day to celebrate making it through the first week of classes was in order. After finding a salon that could fit us both in, we got our hair washed, trimmed, and styled. There was nothing like having someone else wash your hair. Even if we’d already had showers that morning, there was something about salon shampoos that made your hair shine and bounce like no other shampoo could.
We both had perfectly-styled, full-bouncing, curls when we came out of the salon. Mine were swept to my left side by a French braid that way I could wear it down, and still keep it off my tattoo.
Jessi wanted to go out tonight and of course she had to have a brand new outfit for the occasion, so we stopped by a few local clothing stores before heading back to the dorm. I was tighter on money than Jessi, so I figured I would just look around and not really buy anything. Well, that had been the plan at least, until I found the cutest pink, off the shoulder dress. The material was so soft and was made to fit you tight and show off all your curves. I was lovingly petting the material when Jessi came up behind me and squealed.
“Oh mah God, Kelsey! You have to get that dress for tonight! With your tan skin and brown hair, that pink will just pop!” she exclaimed.
She had a point. I had always been naturally tan, and bright colors always stood out best on me. But bright colors also drew attention, and attention was something I just wasn’t so comfortable with anymore.
“I don’t know, Jessi. I already have some stuff that I can wear. There’s really no point in wasting money for this.”
“At least try it on, Kels. Please … pretty please! I want to see how hot you look in it.”
I stared at the dress for another second or two before conceding there really wasn’t any harm in just trying it on. “Fine. Let me see if there is a changing room open.”
I walked into the first open room and hung the dress up on one of the hooks. I stood there staring at the dress for another minute. It had been a long time since I had actually bought myself anything as nice as this dress.
After sliding the soft dress over my body, I looked at myself in the mirror. Trying on this dress might have been a mistake because now that I saw it on me, I really wanted it. It came down to mid-thigh, a little shorter than what I was used to, but the dress was so beautiful I didn’t mind. The one strap that was going across my left shoulder was embossed with tiny silver jewels that glittered when the light hit them. I was in love with the dress and it fit me like a glove.
“Kelsey!” Jessi banged on the door to my changing room. “Don’t you even think about taking that dress off before I’ve had the chance to see it on you!”
She knew me so well. If I was trying on clothes and didn’t like the way they looked on me, there was no way I was stepping out of those tiny rooms to let the whole store see me in it. But that wasn’t the case with this dress. I loved this dress and had a feeling once Jess saw me in it, she would be adamant that I buy it.
I slowly twisted the lock, and then the knob to the changing room door before stepping out.
Jessi’s swift intake of air was all I needed to hear to know she also thought the dress was perfect for me. “Kelsey … you HAVE to buy that dress for tonight! And I have a pair of silver heels that will go perfect with it!”
I took a look at myself in the large three-sided mirror they had set up outside the changing rooms. She was right. I had to buy this dress. It hugged my body in all the right places without looking sleazy.
“I think I’m gonna do. I’m gonna buy it.” I smiled.
“Great! You can wear it tonight when we meet Landon and Kane at Shot’s!”—she paused—“Oh mah God! I can’t wait to see Kane’s face when you walk in wearing it! Eeep! He’s going to die! Or get a serious stiffy.” She winked.
Kane and I were just friends. I doubted he would be interested in what I was wearing—let alone have that other problem. The guy had probably seen girls in skin tight, lacey red lingerie. There was no way he would get turned on by plain little me in a dress. It was official. My best friend had lost it. But now I was feeling a little self-conscious in this dress that five minutes ago, I had been in love with.
But a small tremor of excitement worked its way through my body when I stopped to think about Kane’s reaction to seeing me in this dress tonight. He had never seen me dolled up before so this would be a big surprise for him. Will he like it?
Hold it right there! Will he like it? Did I seriously just ask myself that question? Since when did I worry about what I was wearing before meeting Kane? I could feel a shift in the way I viewed Kane, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. If these feelings for him continued to grow, I could possibly mess up the closest friendship I have had since Jessi. I needed to lock this down, now.
Jessi insisted she do my makeup when we were back in the dorms and getting ready. She’d wanted to give me a smokey eye to bring out the bright honey color; and when she was done and I looked at myself in the mirror, I found myself staring at a girl I didn’t recognize at first, but in a good way.
Jessi had really done a number on my eyes. They were dramatic and seductive looking, and I loved it. If it hadn’t taken so long to get all glammed up like this, I would even consider doing it on a regular basis. But seeing as how my butt hurt from sitting in my desk chair for so long while Jessi worked her magic, I would have to pass.
Once I was back in my beloved pink dress, Jessi handed me her silver heels and I immediately began shaking my head.
“No way, Jessi! You know how big of a klutz I am. I will kill myself in those before the night is over with.”
“You have to wear them, Kelsey. The go perfect with your dress, and, besides, heels make your legs look all toned and hot and stuff. They may hurt like a bitch when the night is over but at least you look fucking incredible while you have them on.”—She thrust the shoes at me again—“Now. Put. Them. On.”
I yanked the shoes from her grasp and slipped them on my feet. Already I could feel the pinch in my toes, and when I stood, my ankles started to wobble. Yeah, this was not going to end well. I just knew it.