Nightmares from Within

by Jessica Prince

  My hands sweep across cool steel and I know I’ve found the door. Adrenalin is coursing through my veins at the realization that escape is so close. I grab hold of the latch and push the door open. It’s much heavier than I anticipated and it takes a lot of effort.

  It cracks open and I can see light spilling down what looks like bare, wooden steps. I’m in a basement of some sort but where, I don’t know.

  I take a step out of the room but before I can make it to the stairs he grabs me by my hair and spins me around. “You stupid bitch!” he yells. “You’re just like the rest of them! You’re nothing but a filthy fucking whore!”

  The light coming down the stairs illuminates his face and I instantly recognize him. My mind screams just as the knife in his hand plunges down.

  I woke up like I always did after a nightmare like that, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath. It was Cassie in that nightmare and it me living through it. I didn’t see her face, but there was no doubt in my mind that it was my friend.

  I glanced at the clock and saw the numbers glowing 6:45 in the morning. I knew she’d be pissed but it was a chance I was willing to take. Ever since leaving her house three nights ago, I called and texted regularly just to make sure she was okay. She always answered.

  The phone rang in my ear just before her muffled, sleep filled voice broke through the line. “Still alive, hon,” she said. “But you won’t be if you don’t cut the early morning wakeup calls.”

  I let out a little laugh and heard her giggle in return. “Sorry, go back to sleep.”

  I pulled the phone away from her ear when her voice came through again, causing me to bring it back up so I could hear her. “Hey, Taylor?”

  “Yeah, Cass?”

  “Love you, friend.”

  Tears burned the back of my eyes as I replied, “Love you, too.”

  Jordan

  I’d been blowing Taylor’s phone up for the past three days to no avail. After she ran out of my apartment I went into the liquor cabinet, cracked open a bottle of bourbon and began working my way through it. When I started the bottle I was replaying everything Taylor told me about seeing visions of people before they died. It was just too ridiculous to believe.

  A quarter of the way through the bottle I started questioning how she had the information she did on the murders. There wasn’t a single cell in my body that thought she was involved in any way. Unfortunately, my rational mind wouldn’t let me consider the fact that what was she was saying could possibly have any truth to it.

  Halfway through the bottle I started questioning my decision to automatically believe what she was saying was either a lie or just plain crazy. And I wanted to kick my own ass for how poorly I had handled the situation with her meds. I’d been the world’s biggest asshole. She was right. I’d let her believe I was in her corner and that I’d always be there to support her and the minute the words left her mouth, I knew I’d treated her the exact same way everyone else in her life had. I was worse than her parents. At least they’d never given her false hope.

  I didn’t remember much after that but when I woke up the next morning I remembered the look on her face as she told me what had scared her so badly. I remembered the look of fear that quickly changed into disappointment at my reaction before turning into total devastation when I accused her of being involved then threw her pills at her.

  The pain that my guilt caused was the only thing that overshadowed the pain from my hangover. I’d been falling for that girl more and more with every day that passed and I’d broken her trust that I’d all but begged her for.

  I needed to talk to her more than I needed air.

  “Dude, when are you going to get the fuck over that little waitress? You’ve been moping around here for the past three days. Even I’m starting to get depressed and I’m a naturally jovial person,” Stevens said as he leaned back in his desk chair causing it to let out a groan that told me it was dangerously close to the end of its life.

  “Stevens, you don’t even know what the fuck the word jovial means so just shut your goddamn mouth.”

  “She dump your whiny ass because she realized you have a vagina?”

  He just didn’t know when to quit.

  I got up and started walking away before I broke my partner’s face…not that anyone in the department would really blame me. Barry Stevens was a great guy, but he had a mad talent for pissing people off in only a matter of seconds.

  “Where you going?” he called after me as I pulled my keys out of the pocket of my slacks.

  “Lunch,” I replied right before pushing through the precinct door. I hopped in my car and drove to the place where I knew I could find Taylor.

  Unbeknownst to her, I’d been keeping track of her schedule for the past few days. I never went into her apartment building or Benny’s Diner but I was keeping a constant eye on her. Yeah, I knew I was quickly reaching stalker level but that girl had me tied in knots.

  I couldn’t function.

  I would watch her from a distance and the one thing that stood out most was that as I watched her she watched Cassie. When they worked together, Taylor’s eyes would constantly dart over to wherever Cassie was. It was as if she had to see her to make sure she was still okay. That just intensified the guilt for not taking what she said seriously. It was obvious she believed what she’d told me and it didn’t take a genius to see that it was weighing heavily on her.

  I don’t know how long I sat in my car outside of the diner, but I was so engrossed in my “stalking” I hadn’t even noticed someone watching me. I really wasn’t showing my skills as a detective.

  The knock on my window scared the ever living shit out of me and I about spilled my coffee in my lap when I jumped.

  The last person I wanted to see was standing there wearing a smart-ass smirk on his face while I tried to recover from my near heart attack.

  “What the hell do you want?” I asked the smug looking bastard after I rolled down my window.

  “I’d ask the same thing,” Daniel replied. “But since I’ve seen you in this same spot for the past three days I think I’ve pretty much got it figured out.” He turned his head toward Benny’s right as Taylor walked past the big plate glass window.

  “Why don’t you mind your own fucking business,” I pouted like a ten year old. Jesus, maybe Stevens was on to something. I did sound like I was growing a vagina.

  “Taylor is my business, ass face.”

  Good to know we both sound like whiny ass kids.

  “Oh? And how do you figure that? I thought you said you were never involved.”

  Daniel let out a sigh and then proceeded to open my car door. I braced myself for a fight but it never came. “Come on, copper,” he said as he stepped back on the curb. “You and I have some things we need to discuss.”

  I hesitantly got out of my car, closed the door and engaged the locks. “Where are we going?”

  “There’s a coffee shop a few blocks up. I’ve got some stuff I need to tell you and I need you to listen with an open mind.”

  I looked up at the sky and let out a groan. “Why does everyone keep saying that? It’s becoming a fucking trend.”

  “Quit your belly aching and let’s go.”

  We walked in silence for a few minutes as we headed for the coffee shop. Once there, I pulled the door open and was instantly hit by the welcoming scent of freshly brewed coffee. I’d already had four cups that day but was in desperate need of more. Since Taylor walked out of my apartment I hadn’t gotten more than an hour of sleep each night…not counting the night I passed out from my bourbon bender.

  We placed our order and remained quiet while we waited at the counter. Once the barista called our names, we made our way over to a booth near the back where it was somewhat secluded.

  “All right,” I started skeptically once we were both seated. “What is it you have to tell me?”

  He ran a hand over the back of his neck and frown lines indented his forehead. Whatever he ha
d to say wasn’t going to be good. “I know what Taylor told you,” he said in a hushed voice. “And I know you didn’t believe her.”

  I opened my mouth to speak but he lifted a hand to stop me. “I’m not saying I blame you for doubting her but you have to know that what she told you…it’s all true, Jordan. There are things in this world that are beyond anyone’s comprehension. Just because you’ve never experienced something yourself, doesn’t mean it’s not true. Taylor’s had this gift since she was seven and it’s been my job all this time to watch over her.”

  I was having trouble wrapping my brain around what he was telling me. “Like an instructor or something?” I asked lamely.

  “You could say that. But think more along the lines of a guide. She had a shit childhood and I blame myself for not helping her when she needed it the most, but it was beyond my control.”

  I could tell he wanted to say more, but for some reason, he wasn’t able to so everything he said came out rather cryptic.

  “I don’t understand. If you were both kids how were you supposed to help her with the things that were going on?”

  “That’s a question I can’t answer even if I wanted to. The answer is so far outside your realm of reality there’s no way in hell you’d believe me. Not yet anyway.”

  I was growing more and more aggravated at his evasiveness. “Why don’t you try me?”

  He picked up his coffee and took a long drink. “No can do, buddy boy. We aren’t here to talk about me. We’re here to talk about Taylor. I’m sure by now you’ve seen the locket she always wears?”

  My head shot back at his question. It was freaky how intuitive Daniel was. “Yeah. How can you miss it? Every time she gets uncomfortable she messes with the damn thing.”

  He leaned in like he was about to say something life altering. “That locket was her grandmother’s. She gave it to Taylor on her seventh birthday because she knew what Taylor was.”

  I felt my brows shoot up to my hairline at his words. “Taylor’s grandmother had the same gift she does and she knew that once Taylor turned seven the visions would start. She tried to prepare her for what was about to happen but Taylor’s mom was a raging bitch who thought her own mother was loony so she wouldn’t allow them to see each other. Marilyn was the only person who knew what Taylor was about to start going through, yet her own daughter prevented her from giving Taylor the help she needed.”

  I ran my hands through my hair and left out an exasperated breath. “Jesus Christ.”

  “There are other things in her past that I can’t tell you, but I will give you this. Her real name isn’t Taylor Carmichael, its Lydia Taylor. She had it changed legally the minute she turned eighteen and got the fuck out of that hellhole. You look into Lydia Taylor and you may get some of the answers you need.”

  He started to stand and anxiety began churning in my stomach. “Wait a minute. You can’t just dump shit like this on me then bail out. None of this makes any sense!”

  He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and threw a couple bills on the table. “I’ve told you everything I can, Jordan. Just take the name I gave you and look into it.”

  “How do you know all of this?” I asked frantically. I needed more answers.

  “I can’t tell you that either.” He started to walk away but paused just outside the door. I watched as he turned around to say something else. “It’s not just a coincidence that you two were drawn together from the moment you met. There’s a reason for everything and you two didn’t just find each other by accident.”

  With that little bombshell, he turned and walked through the door of the coffee shop, leaving me more confused than before.

  One thing was for certain though. I was sure as shit going to look into Lydia Taylor.

  The rest of my day was a complete wash. If I wasn’t thinking about Taylor, I was thinking about everything Daniel laid on me earlier. I ran a check on Lydia Taylor but wasn’t able to come up with much. There were articles about a girl named Jodi Harrington being abducted outside of her home and a few of them mentioned Lydia spreading rumors about the kidnapping months before it ever occurred, but seeing as they were both minors at the time, all of the official information was sealed. It looked like Lydia had been under the care of a Dr. Lansing since she was seven but I wasn’t able to obtain any of those files.

  I was able to find one thing that might have been helpful though. In the records, there was a phone number for Charles and Julia Taylor. I’d written the number down before I left the precinct for the night, but once I got home all I could do was sit at my kitchen table and stare at the numbers I’d scrawled across the pieces of paper. Was I really going to call up these people and dig into Taylor’s past for information? It felt like such a skeezy thing to do but I didn’t see where I had much choice.

  Daniel insisted that he was looking out for Taylor and he’d practically handed me this phone number on a silver platter. I glanced up at the clock and noticed that I’d been staring at the number for more than two hours.

  No time like the present, I thought as I picked up my phone and began dialing the Connecticut area code. The phone rang three times before a woman with a heavy accent answered. “Taylor residence.” She sounded Hispanic so at first I thought I’d misdialed.

  “Uh…yeah. Um…” I stumbled through my awkward greeting before pulling myself together. “I’m looking for Mr. or Mrs. Taylor,” I stated, trying my best to sound authoritative.

  “Hold please,” she said sounding bored.

  I sat there for several minutes listening to people hustling around on the other end of the line before someone finally picked the phone back up.

  “This is Julia Taylor,” a harsh, disinterested voice said through the phone. I could only imagine how Taylor felt growing up with this woman as a mother. She’d only spoken four words and it was already evident that she was a total ice queen.

  “Um, yes, Mrs. Taylor. My name is Jordan Donovan. I’m with the Seattle police department.” I was eager to get as much information from this woman as I could so I introduced myself as an officer thinking it might soften her towards me somewhat. I was wrong. “I was hoping we could discuss your daughter, Lydia Taylor.”

  She made a sound that could only be described as a snort through the receiver before asking, “What kind of trouble has that girl caused now?”

  I was thrown at her automatic assumption that Taylor had done something wrong. “I’m sorry if I gave you the impression that she’s in some sort of trouble. That wasn’t my intention, Mrs. Taylor.”

  “Officer Donovan, I don’t assume Lydia is in trouble. I’m confident that she has caused trouble. That’s all she has ever been good for.”

  My spine stiffened at the arctic chill blowing through the phone. “Mrs. Taylor, I’m not calling because she’s done anything wrong. I’m strictly calling as a friend. I had a few questions and I was hoping you’d be able to shed some light on Taylor…I mean Lydia for me. I’m concerned about her.”

  Julia Taylor scoffed on the other end and I knew that calling her was a mistake. It was evident in her inflection that she wasn’t going to lift a finger in an attempt to help her only child. “Officer Donovan, you sound like a smart man. The only advice I can offer you about my daughter is to stay away from her. She’s a one woman wrecking crew. All she’s ever done in her life is cause destruction. She made up ludicrous stories as a child strictly for attention and almost destroyed her father’s political career.”

  “Are you talking about Jodi Harrington?”

  Mrs. Taylor remained silent for several seconds. “I see you’ve done your homework. I’m sorry but I don’t like to speak about that incident.” She said with such finality that I knew I’d hit the nail on the head. “Lydia humiliated me and her father with her insane ramblings,” she continued. “Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to not only have one, but two mentally ill people in your family?”

  “But she isn’t mentally ill,” I protested. How a person c
ould be so cold as to refer to their own flesh and blood as an embarrassment was beyond me. “I’ve gotten to know her pretty well. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with Taylor’s mental health.” I didn’t realize how strongly I believed that to be true until I actually spoke the words.

  “So she goes by Taylor now? How clever,” she offered with a cruel laugh. “Don’t let the pretty little package fool you, Officer Donovan. Taylor is nothing but trouble. And if I’m being honest, not worth the time and effort you seem to be putting into her.”

  “Wow, when she said you were a cold hearted bitch I really thought she was exaggerating but after spending thirty seconds on the phone with you I can believe it. I’m sure there’s a special place in hell just for you. Have a good evening.” With that, I hung up.

  I wasn’t going to get anything useful from that evil bitch, and it took a lot more self control than I was willing to give to listen to her spew her bullshit about Taylor.

  My determination strengthened after talking to Taylor’s mother. I was going to prove that I wasn’t anything like those people. I was going to show Taylor that she could count on me no matter what…and I figured I knew just the way to do that.

  I picked up my phone and dialed the number by heart. “This is Officer Donovan. I need a car on a Cassandra Sinclair.”

  Taylor

  “Are you ever planning on talking to him or are you just going to keep staring out the window every damn day?” Daniel asked as he looked over the menu with a bored expression.

  I reached over and slapped him in the back of the head with my order pad. “Mind your own business or no more discounted meals for you.”

  “You’re going to have to talk to him eventually, Taylor. He’s been sitting in his car during his lunch hour all damn week, staring in here like a sad little puppy. I’d almost feel bad for the guy if he wasn’t such a fuckwad.”

  I looked out the window at Jordan sitting in his black Sequoia. “He’s probably watching me to make sure I’m not out killing anyone.” I muttered as I sat Daniel’s plate down in front of him.