Page 34 of In Between Darkness
My vision adjusts to the view, and I can feel myself start to panic. My eyes shoot around the room, taking in the surroundings. My knuckles tense and wrap around the black satin sheets. I am sitting on his bed? His walls are a dark charcoal grey, and his wooden floors creak under my toes. He has a large sword above his headboard on display, and his room is neat and pristine; there is not a speck of dust around, and no personal items on display. It feels cold and dark. He looks up at me with frustration.
“What are you doing here?” His brow line is deeply furrowed.
“Ummmm…” I pause for a moment. “Where exactly ishere?”
“You’re in my dorm room, Asha, I know I called you a stalker, but this is taking the piss.” He grabs the white shirt draped over his bedside table and covers himself up.
“What?! How did I get here?” A cold shiver runs down my spine as I realise I am in Moon Castle. I stand up and begin to pace around the room trying to make sense of this, the floorboards groaning with each step I take.
“Funny, I was thinking the same thing.” He walks towards me. “If you wanted to see me again, you should’ve just said so.” A small smirk tugs at his lips.
“I shouldn’t be here,” my voice shakes as panic starts to set in. “If they find me here, they’ll kill me.”
“Or they’ll just do me for attempted kidnapping.” He shrugs nonchalantly. My body tenses, and my feet stop pacing.
“You?!” I point at him. The dots slowly adding up in my mind. “You put the newspaper article in my bra.”
“Watch where you’re pointing your finger.” His words sting as he attempts to swipe my finger out of his face, but somehow failing to make contact. I see his hand meet mine, but I don’t feel anything. His hand just sinks through my skin as if I am made up of air.
“What the?!” His eyes screw onto mine and his eyebrows furrow again.
I look up at him for answers, but he seems just as puzzled as I am. I reach out to touch him, and the same thing happens again; my hand goes straight through him like flour through a sieve.
“A- A- Am I dead?” Water wells in my eyes, but I plug the tears and stare down at my hands. They look real. I wiggle my toes. I can feel the floor beneath my feet. He looks at me, reading the situation to a tee.
“No. Not dead.” He bites his lip.
“How can you be so sure?! Your hand just went straight through mine,” I whine, panic still racing up and down my body.
“Relax…” He rubs his chin in thought. “I think this is one of your crazy dreams again.” He looks in awe at me as if he is looking at a rare diamond.
“Relax? How do you expect me to relax? I’m in Moon territory AGAIN?!” I raise my voice and drop my head into my hands.
“Your mind is in Moon territory. If I’m right, your body is still in your dorm room.”
I stare at him in shock. Surely, he’s not right. I can’t be here and there at the same time.
“At least you’re not dead,” he jokes and retreats back to his bed, patting the space beside him, beckoning me to come sit. I accept his invitation and sit down next to him.
“I just don’t understand any of this.” My sentence sounds more like a cry for help. I fiddle with my fingers in my lap and silence enfolds us for a moment. He turns to look at me, his bed creaking with the motion.
“Was thatyourmum in the photo?” his voice softens as he looks at me for answers.
“Yes. I never met her; she died having me.” My head drops as I stare into my hands. “I never knew about the kidnapping… It just doesn’t add up. Why would my father not tell me this?”
I lift my head, and my eyes meet his.
“She looked just like you.” A sincere smile forms on his face. I lock eyes with his briefly, then drop my head back down to my fingers in my lap. Another pause. Silence surrounds us, but not in an uncomfortable way. I never thought a Moon could make me feel so safe. So many thoughts race around my head.
“Why did you give me that article?” I question, studying his face, waiting for his reply.
“I told you I did some digging. I knew I’d seen your face before.” His jaw flexes. “All Moons know about Luca Thorncroft. They made an example out of him, killed him for his crimes…They said that he murdered her.” His eyes narrow. “But she must’ve survived because she had you.” He looks at me for answers, but I am a blank canvas. This doesn’t make any sense.
He continues, “My father was Luca’s best friend. He never believed that he was capable of doing something like that.” I watch his body tense as he speaks about his father.
“Your father knew him?” My eyes widen. “I need to talk to him.”
I turn to him, grabbing his t-shirt. How come I can touch him now?
