Page 94 of Creep

Soft hands caressed my face and my lips. I leaned toward it, wanting more of that light.

“Baby.”

I opened my eyes and took in the room. Lia was leaning over me, her face hovering above mine, with the light from the lamp on the bedside table casting an orange glow over her.

I blinked, taking in her angelic face.

Reaching up, I cupped her cheek. She leaned toward it, pressing her lips on the inside of my palm before placing her hand over mine, keeping me there.

“You were having a nightmare,” she said softly, concern deep in her brown eyes.

I nodded in acknowledgment and pulled her down to me, holding her close in my arms and letting her head rest on my chest. I wasn’t wearing a shirt and could feel her warm skin against mine, reminding me that this was real, that I was here with her and not trapped in the factory.

We didn’t say anything. She was probably curious about what my nightmare was about, and I was just wondering what could have brought this on because it had been a little over a year since I’d had that nightmare.

I didn’t know what it was about that specific memory that my mind chose to revisit over and over again throughout the years.

I had dreamed about other memories of my time in that hellhole, but never as frequently as this one memory. Perhaps it was because it was the first time it had happened with Leo.

Perhaps when the fucker said the wordpunishmentsto me before, it had always meant a fucking beating that would have taken days to recover from, and not… notthat.

Whatever it was, I didn’t fucking know. And I didn’t know why I was having this nightmare tonight, of all nights.

Lia wrapped her hands around my waist, pulling me in closer to her as if she was afraid I might just disappear on her if she didn’t hold me tightly enough. I knew the feeling well.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked softly.

“Not really.”

“Oh.”

She didn’t say anything to that.

I took in a deep inhale and tightened my hold around her a fraction. “It’s a dream about my dad.”

“Your dad?” She seemed surprised I had one. I smiled. Was she hoping I would tell her about my time in foster care like I had done as her stalker?

I wasn’t going to make it that easy on her. If she wanted to know the answers, she needed to come right out and ask me.

“Yeah. You know, the man who impregnated my mom.”

She lightly slapped my chest. “I know that. I’m just surprised… You never mentioned him before, that's all.”

If she was surprised over the fact that I had a shitty father who was still alive, she would be even more so to know he was actually the fucking man her dad called his best friend. The man who hired me to kill her dad.

“I don’t like talking about him. As far as I’m concerned, he’s dead to Theo and me.”

“Theo? Your brother.”

“Yeah, my brother. I’ll introduce you to him one day.”

She leaned up and kissed my neck swiftly. “I’d like that.”

I could sense her hesitation. I waited for her to ask me what she wanted to ask.

“Did he… did he hurt you growing up?”

I let out a dry laugh. “If only that were his only sin.”

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