Dreamers (The Dreamers Series)

by Brooklin Skye

  “Set what up?”

  “The Ouija board.”

  The line went dead as he hung up. I can’t say that I blame him for not believing me, but I have no other way of proving it to him. I need him here, I have to keep him on a leash. I can’t have him interfering with helping Nick cross over.

  Focus, Sydney; you have too much to do to slow down right now. Figure out Cayden later.

  The time in which I have to prepare dinner grows shorter and shorter. If I were a more experienced liar, I could have come up with something that didn’t force me to entertain not one, but two of my current arch enemies. I don’t really consider Cayden the enemy, though. He’s lost, completely void of any remaining family. His hostility is light compared to what I might feel if the situation was reversed and I thought Mia was missing. I decide to cut him a break, given his certain situation. He isn’t a bad guy, he’s just wound tighter than guitar strings where Nick is concerned.

  I take the opportunity to relax and enjoy the one thing I love even more than photography—cooking. I blast Paramore throughout the house, thankful for Heather’s taste in expensive electronics. I’ve never experienced sound like this coming from a few tiny mounted speakers along the wall. I feel so sad right now. Everything I ever trusted in Heather has disintegrated in a matter of hours. I thought we might even end up together. I really love her, not loved—I just can’t just turn feelings off like a dripping water faucet. I still pray she is just somehow innocently caught up in the middle of this nonsense.

  Tears flood my eyes. I’m not ready to hate someone I love so much, and I’m not ready to love someone I know so little, but I do. I love Nick, as insane as it seems. This is so much to swallow right now. I love her—I love him—I hate this situation.

  I succumb to the music and food prep, letting all negativity float away. I go above my initial intent of just entrée, salad, and dessert and create a beautiful antipasto platter with pepperoni, salami, cappicola, marinated bocconcini, and olives. It’s almost too eye-pleasing to eat—almost. Mia will absolutely love this spread.

  Damn! I didn’t tell Mia about dinner!

  I text her as efficiently as possible considering my fingers are covered in olive oil.

  Be here at five-thirty. I’ve invited Cayden. We’re having a dinner party.

  Okay, but how are we supposed to talk about the “thing” if he’s coming too?

  It involves him.

  This is about his brother, isn’t it?

  Yes. Just try to remember something. I’m your sister and I would never lie about what we are going to talk about.

  You’re scaring me, Syd.

  Don’t worry, Mia, it’s just VERY important.

  I’ll be there. Just tell me you’re okay.

  I’m okay, but I love him. I need your help.

  You love who?

  Dominick.

  Shit, Sydney. Now I am scared. I’m coming now.

  Okay, I wanted to talk to you privately first anyway.

  On my way.

  I have a very short period to get ready before Mia arrives. If I am going to begin the process of breaking Heather down, I can’t do it like this. I need to be in top condition. Her eyes have to want me so much her mind won’t fight her.

  I hastily jump in the shower, using the Pear Berry, something I know she loves. I might be late meeting Nick, but once he figures out my plan I hope he’ll understand.

  The water feels so good against my skin. It unwinds all the tension in my throbbing muscles. Unfortunately I have no time to enjoy it. I wrap it up in a matter of a few short minutes then dart to the closet. This has to be good, sexy—seductive.

  I choose an entirely too short black pleated skirt, and a red spaghetti strap shirt, so low cut that my lacey black bra peeks from the top. I turn in the mirror, fighting embarrassment away, knowing what I have to do. My red lace-trimmed boy short panties creep from the bottom of the skirt, showing off a little too much everything. It should do the trick, even if I do feel like a slut. Instead of drying my hair I choose to grab a palm full of gel, tossing my cherry red hair into a sexy curly wet mess. I drench my face in makeup, blacking the area around my eyes into a smoky dark circle. As I stand back I realize I really do look insane. This is nothing even close to the jeans and t-shirts I usually wear. I top the ensemble with the single pair of heels I own, which were given to me as a gag gift for Christmas. I honestly thought they wouldn’t get a single use. Oh how happy I am that I kept them. These heels must be five inches tall.

  Perfect.

  I assemble dinner beautifully on the kitchen island. The entire apartment smells fantastic, like an Italian bistro. The spread is accompanied by a few bottles of crisp white wine. Candles line the dining table, music caresses the air.

  The doorbell rings. Given that it’s only five o’clock it must be Mia.

  I make my way clumsily toward the foyer, opening the door slowly for my sister.

  “What the hell are you wearing? You look like a slut.”

  “Clothes,” I shrug casually, trying not to lead anything on.

  Mia walks straight past me, helping herself to some wine. She chugs the first glass without stopping for a breath.

  “What the hell is going on with you, Sydney? You piss Cayden off at lunch and he won’t even look at me for the rest of the day, then I come here and you are dressed like a prostitute. You barely call me anymore. You’re in love with a dead guy. What is going on with you? I don’t want any bullshit answers either. I want truth or I’m walking out of here right now to find you some professional help.”

  I give it to her just as she wants it.

  “Dominick is dead. He has been haunting my dreams since I moved in. He needs me to help him find information on his death, so that’s what I’m doing. Somewhere in the middle of all of it we fell in love. I’m in love with a ghost. My ghost is your new boyfriend’s brother.”

  She pours another drink, full to the rim, looking at me like I’ve lost it.

  “Mia, you know I would never lie to you. I can prove it.”

  “Prove it then, Syd. This is too much to believe. If you really say you can prove it, then prove it.”

  “Right this way.”

  I lead her into my room and pull the Ouija board from beneath my bed. She watches me closely as I set it up.

  “Put your hands on the cursor,” I command.

  She does as I ask, hesitating only to take another sip of wine.

  “Nick, I’m here with Mia. Are you here?”

  Y.E.S…B.A.B.Y…I.M…H.E.R.E…

  Mia pulls her hands back in shock as she is having trouble absorbing the truth.

  “You’re doing that, Sydney, I’m not stupid.”

  “Mia, I’ll take my hands off. I can communicate with him without it through meditation. Put your fingers back on the cursor. Trust me.”

  She follows orders.

  “Ask him something, anything you want to know.”

  Before she can speak the cursor begins to move.

  M.R…D.U.R.S.E.Y.S…C.L.A.S.S…T.H.I.R.D…P.E.R.I.O.D…S.E.N.I.O.R…Y.E.A.R…

  Mia can’t seem to move. This is the moment when she realizes I’m telling the truth. She hadn’t even spoken her question yet, and he answered it.

  “He can read minds,” I inform her. “What did you ask him?”

  “I asked him which class we had together senior year. We only shared one common class throughout four years of high school. Nobody else would know that, nobody who’s here, anyway. You really aren’t lying,” she gasps.

  “No, I’m not lying. Now we can talk about the rest.”

  I speak to Dominick telling him he can go. He is probably wondering what the hell is going on, but I can fill him in later.

  “This is almost too much to comprehend, Syd. How is Heather handling you being in love with a—um, Dominick?”

  “She doesn’t know, and she CAN’T know, not yet. She’s actually part of the reason he’s dead, I don’t know what part she pl
ayed, but do you remember that bracelet Cayden showed us today, the one of only two in the world? Well, I found Nick’s bracelet in Heather’s drawer today. She had something to do with his death. I have to figure out what it is.”

  “How exactly do you plan on doing that? We need to get the fuck out of here.” She jumps up, grabbing my hand in an effort to pull me from the room.

  “No, I have a plan. I’m going to seduce her so Nick can penetrate her mind tonight. He can only reach us subconsciously, but her mind is not accessible for some reason. I need help getting her drunk so she won’t be able to mentally fight him off. Problem is she doesn’t drink. I need you to help me either spike her drink somehow, or convince her to drink. Please.”

  “What? No! Are you out of your damned mind, Sydney? You need to get the hell out of here and leave it to the authorities.”

  “The authorities think he’s in hiding, Mia. Please just help me. I love him.” Tears spill from my eyes as my beloved sister sobs with me in unison.

  “Syd, even if you find what you’re looking for what does that mean for you? He’s dead, sweetie. You can’t have him.”

  “At least he will be in peace. I can deal with my own heartbreak later. I’m doing this for him, not me.”

  “Okay, Syd. I’ll help you. What do you need from me?”

  “Get Cayden here. He hung up on me earlier, he won’t show if you don’t get him here somehow. He knows I have been talking to Nick. We need him here so I can prove to him that Nick is not in hiding. The more help I have the better.”

  “I’ll call him now.”

  She leaves the room, giving me a moment to connect with Nick before Heather gets home.

  “Nick, baby.”

  “What was that about, Syd?”

  “Mia is going to help us.”

  “What about C.J.? I read Mia’s mind, I see that he’s coming here tonight?”

  “She’s working on that right now. We’re gonna fix everything.”

  “Syd, I don’t know if I wanna go anymore. I can’t lose you.”

  “Stay focused. I won’t have you in pain for eternity because of me. I couldn’t bear that.”

  “Eternity without you is not worth living.”

  His face is filled with more emotion than I’ve ever seen. This isn’t lust, its love—real love.

  “I have to go, Nick. I have a plan.”

  “What plan?” he asks cautiously. His expression begins to change from curiosity to irritation. “Hang on a second, why are you dressed like that?”

  “Please don’t ask me to lie to you.” My eyes close in pain as he quickly figures out what I’m doing.

  “No, Sydney.”

  I pull myself from meditation before he can talk me out of it. Knowing I’m hurting him tears at my heart, but I don’t have a choice. I have to do this.

  “Cayden’s coming,” Mia chimes in behind me.

  Her face pales briefly as tears stream down my face. She sighs loudly, ridding herself of any distraction that could challenge our mission. Her ability to tune out emotion must be from her training in the medical field—psychology, I’m sure. She gives me that look, silently urging me toward my goal.

  “Sydney, if you’re doing this, you have to do it well. Love makes us do stupid things, but this idiotic stunt of yours takes the cake. For some unknown reason—I get it, I see the fire in you. So get your ass up, dry the weakness from your eyes, hike up that skirt a few more inches, and let’s do this damn thing.”

  “Let’s do it.”

  ***

  Heather arrives promptly as scheduled, hugging me the second she hits the kitchen.

  “Wow, you look—hot. Sorry but there isn’t another word.”

  “I thought you might like it.”

  “It smells great in here.” She turns toward my sister. “Hey, Mia, how have you been?”

  “Fine, thanks. How about you, Heather? How are things?” Disgust coats each word with sarcasm.

  “Great actually. Everything seems complete now that your sister is here.”

  “I’m sure it does.” Mia turns from Heather, facing me. “Syd, can you get me another glass of wine? Pour one for Heather, too.”

  “No thanks, Mia. I don’t really drink. It doesn’t mesh well with my medication.”

  “Medication? What kind of medication do you take? I’m a nurse, I can easily tell you if you can mix the two,” she prods.

  Heather looks uncomfortable, avoiding the question.

  “Ah...what the hell, you only live once, right? Pour me a glass too, Syd.”

  “You’ve got it.” I dump a healthy glug into an empty wine glass. “Mia, what time is Cayden arriving?”

  “Any second now.”

  The doorbell rings right on point.

  “Heather, can you get that?”

  I want to see her reaction as she sees a practical twin of Dominick walk through our front door.

  “Cayden?” she asks as he comes through the door.

  “Yes. Nice to meet you…uh…”

  “Heather.” She extends her hand cautiously.

  It’s no surprise that she looks as if she’s seen a ghost.

  “You okay, Heather?” Mia asks with a cynical tone.

  “You look so familiar. Have we met, Cayden?”

  “Who knows? It’s a small world.” His irritated aqua eyes find mine. “Hello, Sydney. How are you this evening?” he asks sarcastically.

  “Just fine, thanks. I’m glad you decided to make it.”

  The evening goes off without a hitch. Everyone enjoys dinner and drinks more wine than we should. Heather keeps a close, cautious eye on Cayden, just as he does her. It reminds me of a gun battle in the Wild West. Cowboys watching for the first one to draw. The tension in the air is almost edible. Mia and I continuously scan the environment, waiting for all hell to break loose.

  “I have to say, this was an amazing meal.” Heather raises her fourth glass of wine in cheers, breaking the silence.

  “So, Heather, what was that medication you were talking about earlier?” Mia quizzes, hoping she is inebriated enough to let her guard down.

  “Anxiety medication. I had a ton of nightmares when I first moved in. He kinda looked like him, actually.” She points at Cayden with a drunken shaky finger. “He was kinda creepy, but Mom fixed him right up. No more nightmares, no more freaks haunting my dreams.”

  Mia and I look at each other as Cayden watches Heather like she has a third eye.

  “I had no idea, Heather. What exactly does your mom do?” Mia asks.

  “She’s a doctor. She works with crazies.”

  “That’s not a very professional way of putting it.” Cayden looks offended. “I’m assuming you’re referring to a psychiatrist?”

  “Yes, a psychiatrist. You’re pretty uptight aren’t you, Cayden? I don’t know if I like you very much. Did you just come here to stare at me all evening or do you have a thing for dykes?”

  “Excuse me?” His eyebrows lift at her belligerent tone.

  Mia and I intervene. She pulls Cayden from the table, and leads him toward my room, clearly to inform him of the situation and offer the proof he will clearly need.

  I pull Heather into the living room. A fire already blazes in the stone fireplace.

  “You’re pretty drunk, aren’t you, Heather? You aren’t being very pleasant to our guest.”

  “I think I drank too much. And aside from that, that dude has stared me down all night. He reminds me of that guy and he’s freaking me out.”

  “What guy, Heather?”

  “I would much prefer to talk about something else.”

  “No worries. I’ll get rid of the company. I want to be alone with you anyway.”

  The time has come, it’s time to strike. She is trashed and completely at a disadvantage. If she’s purposely hiding from Nick, she certainly won’t hold the strength to continue in this condition.

  I walk into my room to find a pale faced Cayden with his fingers on the Ouija board cu
rsor.

  “Does he understand the situation?” I ask Mia.

  “I believe so,” she replies.

  “I’m sorry, Sydney.” He began to cry. “He really is dead.”

  “We are going to help him Cayden, I promise.”

  “I want to strangle that bitch until she talks.” His anger flows towards Heather.

  “No! We have to be smart. We will never find his body if we let her find out we know anything at all. Play the game. Just do what I tell you to do, when I tell you to do it. Understand?”

  “You really love him, right? You aren’t tricking him for some sick fantasy are you? He has never loved anyone before, it would kill him all over again.”

  “I love him, as impossible as it sounds, I really do. I’m aware of his condition, I wouldn’t play that against him.”

  He nods.

  “Right now I need y’all to go. Take Mia home, she drank too much wine. You can come back for her car tomorrow.”

  “No, Sydney, I’m not leaving you here with her. This is a bad idea, I won’t go along with it.” Mia’s voice cracks.

  “Mia, I know what I’m doing. She won’t hurt me.”

  “Let her do what she needs to do,” Cayden instructs Mia. “And you, Sydney, take care of my brother.”

  “You’ve got it, C.J. I’m doing everything I can.”

  “I’m assuming my brother shared that ridiculous nickname with you?”

  “He sure did. Nicky wuvs his wittle C.J.,” I joke.

  “Wow, it’s been years. I haven’t heard that since we were kids. Sometimes I really miss that little butthead. Do you think I could visit him tomorrow?”

  “Absolutely, but for tonight y’all need to skedaddle. I have a wall to break down.”

  “Okay, Sydney, but take this in case things get out of hand.” He hands me a can of mace.

  “I’m sure I’ll be fine, but I’ll keep it close. Goodnight, guys.”

  As they leave, the impending tragedy of what I need to do looms in the air. Heather is waiting in the living room; Nick waits in my dreams. Even if it means disappointing my love, I have to handle Heather first.

  Here we go.

  “Tonight couldn’t have been more perfect, baby.” She smiles broadly. “I don’t deserve you.”

  No, you don’t. What you deserve is a knife in the back, like you gave me for lying about Nick.