Dreamers (The Dreamers Series)

by Brooklin Skye

  “I’m sorry. Let’s talk. I want to talk,” he quickly answers.

  He looks so desperate. Any residual anger or betrayal is melting away fast, like a glacier in the desert. The effect he has on my good sense is dangerous, yet I don’t want it to go away—ever.

  “I feel bad for leaving you the way I did. I should have stayed with you and made sure you were okay. I’m sorry, Nick.”

  Tears stream from his eyes again as he drops to his knees at my feet, wrapping his arms tightly around my legs. My fingers float involuntarily into his beautiful messy hair, caressing the sadness from him.

  “Tell me you love me, Sydney. Say you belong to me. Tell me you’ll never leave me again,” he begs through heartbreaking sobs.

  My mouth moves before my head can think. Either way, given a lifetime to think about it, I would still have answered the same way.

  “I love you, Dominick. I belong to you—only you. And I will never leave you again.”

  He sweeps me into his arms, cradling me like a treasured child, daring to let me go.

  “Now that I can breathe again, I want to know exactly where you are? You seem far away. Communication feels distant.” His tone returns to normal.

  “I’m in Blue Ridge, Georgia, in a gorgeous cabin. Heather rented it for us all for the weekend. It’s so peaceful and serene here. There are mountains all around us and this sweet little grocery—”

  “I know what Blue Ridge is. I also know its romantic there. You’re spending a weekend in romantic Blue Ridge—with Heather?” His tone begins to swelter as he cuts me off.

  His jealousy didn’t take long to rear its head. Not that I blame him, as far as he knows Heather is a monster. I suppose an explanation really is necessary.

  “Oh calm down, honey. Cayden and Mia are here too.”

  “Like a double date vacation? Talk about a dagger in the back…my brother is condoning this?”

  “Nick, keep in mind a lot has happened since I was kidnapped, including a ton of new information regarding Heather and…other people. Heather was set up for the bracelet by Lana. Lana also drugged her, causing the—uh—aggressive behavior that night. You were wrong about Heather, and so was I. After that dream last night I wanted to get away. Away from Lana’s memory—away from you. She was trying to help me.”

  He looks less than impressed by the reasoning or the explanation. In any event, he blows his frustration away and tried to calm himself.

  “Can I trust her to play by the rules with you? You’re mine.”

  “You’re going to have no choice but to trust her. She’s my friend, and I’m not giving her up. I’m sorry.”

  “We will discuss this another time, I don’t want to fight,” he says, flatly.

  “I have to go though, it’s getting close to dinner time and I really should eat before I get sick again.”

  “You’re sick?”

  “Um—kinda. We will talk about THAT when I get back. I gotta go. Love you.”

  “Love you, too. Be good, Syd, and take some medicine or something.”

  “If only it were that simple. Bye.”

  Back together five minutes and he’s sulking already. He makes me smile, even though he’s a grump. His jealous side is kind of cute though, I’ll admit.

  I’m nearly skipping outside as my spirits are immediately high as a kite after talking to Nick. I join my friends on the beautifully-aged wooden porch, drinking in the gorgeous blue-tinted mountain view. I even catch myself humming as I begin shucking the bright yellow sweet corn. I layer a thick coating of mayonnaise atop the entire ear, and then wrap it back inside the husk to throw on the grill. This is one of my signature side dishes, and is requested every year at my sister’s company barbeque at the hospital. I wonder if I were to imagine a grill in my dream and cook if Nick could taste it. That would be a nice idea for our next date. I could cook dinner for him. I’m sure the deceased aren’t really hungry, but it’s the thought that counts. Making dinner together is something normal couples do. I want to give him that—normalcy. If we’re going to raise this child together, we should try to be as conventional as humanly possible. We are already going to be the oddest family in history, the least we can do is try to instill traditional values.

  “It’s gonna be an adventure, that’s for sure.” I catch myself speaking aloud.

  “Feeling better, I see.” Mia hugs me. “What’s gonna be an adventure?”

  “Raising a child together in two separate worlds—trying to be a normal family.”

  “You’ve got that right, girl—definitely an adventure. Speaking of the little angel…”

  “Monster.”

  “Ugh, Little Monster. Anyway, you need to make sure you’re taking in more calories and staying hydrated since you keep barfing everything up. How are you feeling right now?”

  “Back and forth. The icks are starting to come back though. The smell of the grill is great, but it’s starting to get to my stomach. I don’t know if I will be able to eat,” I sulk.

  “I thought it might, so I prepped some ginger for you. Tuck it between your cheek and your gum. It’ll help.”

  I put the nasty ginger in as she instructs. It’s somewhat sweet, yet it’s burning the inside of my cheek. I’m tempted to spit it out at first, the awful pungent flavor makes me want to gag even more, but after a few excruciating minutes I begin to feel my stomach relaxing, and in no time I am ready to throw down on some good old fashioned southern ribs.

  We talk and laugh as we devour our grub. Heather and Cayden have orchestrated a taste test with the ribs, trying to prove the best cooking theory. We each vote for a separate rib which leaves them both slightly sullen that they’ve tied. I personally liked Cayden’s ribs better—they reminded me more of Daddy’s, but I would never say that aloud. I’m glad Mia took my cue and voted opposite. As different as my sister and I can be, we can occasionally share a thought or two. Even through the vast range of emotions I have experienced today, I’ve had a great time, other than the fact that I miss Nick now, more than ever.

  My tummy rolls again as I remember the last time I left him, the agony I left him drowning in. It leaves me to wonder if he felt as awful when he hurt me as I do for hurting him. I never considered how hard that must have been for him, saying those awful words to me, knowing that if he made one wrong move it could cost me my life. The amount of pressure thrown on him was unimaginable. I can’t believe I didn’t catch on to the Red signal. Thankfully, he is giving me another chance. Although, I’m not sure I deserve it.

  As night rolls in we roast some marshmallows and suit up for the hot tub. I dip my leg in and begin sinking toward the wonderful bubbling bottom for a seat against the jets.

  “No, Syd! Too hot! It’s bad for the baby.” Mia shouts loudly.

  “Mia, Little Monster will be fine as long as she isn’t in for more than a few minutes, let her enjoy it.” Cayden comes to my rescue.

  “What baby?” Heather looks confused.

  Everyone goes silent.

  Oh, I hadn’t told her yet. Damn…

  “Heather, have you had a brain fart? Sydney’s preggo, remember?” Mia chirps.

  “Um, well it’s kinda hard to remember something she never told me. Excuse me, guys…” She walks away.

  I can’t let her walk away from me like this. She is hurt, clearly. We are supposed to tell each other everything as best friends, and I hide something so huge from her. I feel terrible. I just fixed our relationship, I can’t let it end this way.

  “Heather, wait, please.” I jump out, running to her. “I want to explain.”

  “Go ahead, Syd. Explain how you forgot to tell me you’re pregnant. Just a few short weeks ago we were supposed to be beginning a relationship, now I find out you’re freaking pregnant! Tell me, Sydney, were you fucking with my head the whole time, or just when I rented an entire restaurant for you, or when I tucked you into bed at night, when I made sure you were comfortable when you were drunk and sick? I fucking loved you—I still
fucking love you, even after you tell me we are only going to be friends. I’m okay with waiting, just on the hopes that one day you’ll see I would die for you and that I might actually be worth a shit. I would have waited forever for just a chance.” Tears flow freely from her eyes, ripping me to shreds.

  Mia and Cayden watch silently as she pours herself out in front of god and everyone.

  “Who’s the father, Syd? Some dead beat? I didn’t see him there comforting you after a terrifying night of flashbacks last night. I didn’t see him making you tea this morning while you were puking because of his fucking baby. Where was he when you were locked away by that fucking psychopath? Where is he now, so I can bash his face in for leaving you here to deal with this shit alone?” Her anger echoes off the pine trees surrounding the cabin.

  Cayden jumps from the hot tub, ready for a fight. Heather has no clue that she is bad mouthing Cayden’s dead brother, how could she have known? She is in protective mode: hurt, disappointed, and angry. She can’t be blamed for what she doesn’t know. I grab his arm as he makes his way quickly into her face.

  “Dead beat? You better check who the hell you’re talking about, little girl. My brother is this baby’s father. Got something else to say about him now?”

  “Cayden, stop it! She had no way of knowing that.” Mia jumps from the hot tub, sandwiching herself between the two of them as Heather continues to shout at Cayden.

  “I don’t care if god himself knocked her up. Where the hell is he, Cayden? Off fucking up another young girl’s life? It seems to me that your brother doesn’t seem to care much about Sydney at all. I haven’t heard her phone ring once, he hasn’t come to the apartment, nor was he there this morning when Syd was sick as a dog puking in my kitchen sink. It’s okay though, Sydney will be taken care of, believe that. You just let him know I’ll take care of his girl, and I’ll take care of his baby too.” Heather smirks as she runs her mouth.

  “You are such a bitch, Heather. You know nothing about my brother. He loves her more than you ever could,” Cayden yells through gritted teeth.

  Mia has had enough. Her face reddens and her fists clinch as she jumps in, finally giving them a nice piece of her mind.

  “Stop it, both of you! My sister has just experienced a near death experience, she found out she’s pregnant less than twenty-four hours ago, she has Heather and the baby’s father fighting for her like she’s a damned Cracker Jack prize. She’s been through enough. If one more person says another thing to her, I will fuck you both up, permanently. Because I’m a nurse and I know how. Try me, assholes.”

  An unexpected snicker comes from Cayden, setting off a giggle in us all. Somewhere in the middle of the squishing herself in between Heather and Cayden, Mia’s bikini top flopped down, bringing her boob along with it.

  “What’s so damn funny?” Mia asks still fuming.

  Heather and Cayden look away in an attempt to quiet the snickers coming from their mouths. They aren’t fooling anybody, their shoulders shake as they try to hold in the laughter. Mia’s confused expression doesn’t help; it prompts more exaggerated giggles from my mouth.

  “Mia, the fried egg jumped out of the pan.” Laughter overcomes me. I’m doubled over at this point, as are the others.

  “What the hell does that even mean, Sydney?” Mia barks.

  “Well, since you like to speak ghetto to me to lighten the mood, then I will do the same.” I clear my throat and flatten my expression to a more serious manner. “Mia, yo’ titty hangin’ out.”

  She snatches a towel that hung on the back of the rocking chair, covering herself in horror. She is less than amused as she turns to stomp into the cabin, tripping over her towel.

  “Fuckers!” Her face is twisted and her chin pokes out as the door slams behind her.

  The small chuckles turn into bolstering laughter. Either the stress or the overwhelming amount of emotion has finally cracked us all into insane crying-laughing hyenas. Strange combo, but I’ll take it over fighting.

  “Cayden, you better get in there STAT, before she schedules a de-balling. Not to mention, I need to talk to Heather—alone. You two shake hands and turn this shit off. I’m done with stress. It’s not good for the Monster. We are supposed to be unloading for the weekend. Get your testosterone in check. The baby’s father is MY concern, not either of yours. Understand?”

  The both agree and shake hands, perhaps only to appease me, but it settles the argument for the moment, hopefully giving us a chance to enjoy the remainder of the weekend.

  “Now, no more fights or we’ll have to look at Mia’s boob again.” I shudder.

  “I’m okay with that,” Cayden says, winking at Heather as he heads into the cabin to find Mia.

  “Get some, dude,” Heather tosses in.

  “Both of you shut up. Go away Cayden, and Heather—let’s walk before we hear some freaky noises that we don’t wanna.”

  We crack up once more as I turn to Heather hoping to re-cement our relationship for the second time in the last couple of days.

  “Well, as you heard, I only found out yesterday. Also, the father is not someone I feel comfortable talking about right now. I was never messing with your head or leading you on. I love you, I just can’t talk about Nick with you right now. It’s—complicated.”

  “I’m sorry, Syd. I know you’re going through a lot right now. I have no right to put extra pressure on you.” She touches my face sweetly. “Forgive me?”

  “It’s already forgotten. Let’s enjoy the rest of this amazing vacation. I’m getting in that hot tub, even if it’s just for a second. I don’t think Little Monster will mind.”

  “Do I even want to know why you call it that?” Her eyebrow lifts.

  “Nah, I doubt it.” I kiss her cheek, without any motive or expectations—simply because I love her.

  ***

  The rest of the trip is a wonderful time. Cayden and Mia made up pretty quickly, unless those were wild animals we heard on our overly long walk, I choose to believe the latter for my own reasons. I repeatedly own Cayden and Heather on the pool table. We spend our time eating, gossiping, and then eating some more. I get in and out of the hot tub while Mia and Heather continue to scold me on behalf of Little Monster, eventually sneaking into it during evening hours with Cayden instead. He and I have long conversations while sipping cocoa on the front porch. He tells me about Nick, shows me pictures in his wallet of when Nick was a child. He was such a handsome little boy; I hope Little Monster looks like its Daddy with that beautiful wild black hair and curious aqua eyes. I would love that. Tears come and go as I wonder how much the baby will actually get to know Nick, how long Nick will be around—if it’s even right to bring Little Monster into Nick’s world. All these things are in the forefront of my mind, lurking around like a disease. Cayden comforts me; he is such a gentleman, somewhat like Nick in that way. Cayden is more refined and stable than his brother, but the similarities are there, making me thoroughly enjoy spending time with him. He gives me a picture of Nick at age twenty-seven, the age he died. He isn’t smiling, he looks lost and sad. Poor Nick.

  “Keep it.” Cayden refuses the picture as I hand it back to him.

  “Thank you, Cayden. Just being able to see Nick’s face is comforting. I miss him.” I lay my head on his shoulder.

  Heather sits beside me, delivering a fresh cup of steaming cocoa. I accept it from her with thanks. It burns my fingers as I wrap them around the cup. To avoid spilling I set the cup down quickly on the side table next to the rocking chairs, clumsily dropping Nick’s picture to the floor. I panic as Heather bends down to retrieve the photo, especially as I see her eyes widen. She recognizes him.

  “This is Nick? THE Nick?” she asks cautiously as she begins gnawing the inner part of her lip.

  After everything that’s happened between us, I can’t lie to her again. The truth is going to have to come out. If she intends to be a part of my life, and I a part of hers, we are going to have to learn to accept each other�
�s choices, good, bad—or insane. It’s time. She needs to know the truth—the whole truth.

  “Yes, Heather. That’s my Nick—you might know him better as Dominick.”

  11

  Lies. Truth. Omissions. Proof.

  “Cayden, can you leave us in privacy?” Heather asks quietly.

  Cayden waits warily for a moment, mentally deciding whether leaving us in privacy is a smart move. His distrust in Heather’s unpredictable temperament is spread clearly across his worried face.

  “We’re fine, Cay,” I offer a reassuring hug.

  “I’m only a shout away, Syd.” His eyes turn to Heather sternly. “No more fights, she’s in a very touchy point of pregnancy, with MY niece or nephew. Got it?” he warns.

  Although Cayden wasn’t exactly rude, the implication that Heather might hurt me or possibly flip out seems to strike a nerve in her, as her face scrunches in displease. She pinches the bridge of her nose, trying to breathe through the aggravation. It’s easy to pinpoint that this isn’t going to end well when her eyes begin to steam in anger as she hatefully glares straight into his blue eyes.

  “You know, you don’t have to treat me like a fucking baby, Cayden. I wouldn’t hurt, Sydney—ever. Just piss off and let me talk to my girl—alone.”

  “She isn’t your girl. She’s my BROTHERS girl,” he snickers.

  I’m so exhausted with these two and their fights. Every time I turn around I have to listen to the childish bickering. It’s getting old. As much as I care about both Cayden and Heather, if they don’t learn to get along I am seriously going to consider hanging myself, or possibly drown them both in the hot tub. The latter option is becoming more appealing by the second as I mentally explore how I can hold them both under water with my one hundred and forty pounds.

  “Y’all are getting on my last damn nerve, acting like a couple of hormonal teenagers. Shut up or go away. Cayden, stop being a douche bag. And Heather, stop being so defensive.” I roll my eyes at both of them as they stand, still fuming.