Page 155 of Dark Duet: Platinum Edition

Breathe!

Breathe.

Breathe.

I hear the door open and shut. I wonder if I’m alone, but I can’t will myself to look up. A tentative hand touches my back and I sob.

“Livvie?” says Reed.

“Go away,” I sob.

“I…can’t leave you like this,” he says. He sounds uncomfortable.

“I’m fine. Please, go.”

“You’re not fine. You’re a wreck,” he says angrily.

“Why are you here?” I whisper. Talking to Reed is pulling me further away from my dream, my grief. I’m not sure I’m ready. I’m too raw and I can’t face him.

“There’s been movement on my case. It’s all happening fast.”

“What does that mean, Reed?” I’m exhausted and my tone reflects as much.

He sighs heavily, as if he’s struggling under a tremendous weight. It makes me curious, despite myself. “I came…to hear the rest of your story.”

My heart starts to race. Movement on the case, he’d said. I know Reed is lying, but about what?

Caleb!

I sit up fast, dizzy for a moment, and Reed steadies me. I grab his suit jacket and pull him close. I’m frantic. Reed’s hands grab my shoulders and he pushes me. Hard. As I’m falling backward, he reaches for my forearm and quickly jerks me onto the bed. I rail against him, slapping and kicking, but before I know it, he’s pinned my arms to my chest and sat on my legs.

“Get off me!”

“Calm down!”

I look at Reed for the first time since he’s come in. He’s panting hard and his dark hair is a disheveled mess that mirrors the state of his shirt and jacket.

“Did you find his body?” I whisper. I don’t know what I’ll do if he says yes.

“What? No. No!” Reed says. His expression has gone from anger to pity.

The news is a relief, but I can’t stop crying. Reed slowly lets me go and I roll onto my side with my back to him. Reed rubs my back, but then seems to realize what he is doing and he walks away. I hear him sit in the chair.

“What’s wrong?” he asks after a few minutes.

My sobbing has died away and I answer. “Bad dream. Well, not really. The only bad part was waking up and realizing….” I couldn’t continue.

Reed is quiet for a while. I’m quiet too. It’s the middle of the night, and his presence is a dark omen. Something has happened, and as much as I want to know – I don’t want to know.

Finally, Reed clears his throat. “If it be thus to dream, still let me sleep,” he whispers. I’m not surprised he knows Shakespeare. Reed is a very smart man.

I smile in spite of the sorrow I feel. “Twelfth Night; Sebastian says those words to Olivia.”

“I know. I attended the eleventh grade,” he says. His smile is wry.

“Wasn’t that like a million years ago? I’m surprised you remember it,” I whisper. My face feels crusty with dried tears and I’m sure my face is a mess, but I’m finally starting to feel a little better. My thoughts and memories of the last several days are organizing themselves in my head, and clarity is returning. I’ve heard it said that time heals all wounds, but if a dream can pull you so deeply into your past you can’t remember the present, I’m not sure my wounds will ever heal. Caleb lives in my dreams.

“I remember it just barely, Miss Ruiz,” says Reed.