Page 181 of Evil Hearts

Chapter Three

Akirako

A s the fog of sleep receded, I quickly sat up, out of breath and my head spinning.

“What the fuck was that?”

I’d never had that good a sex dream before. Hell, I’d never had that good of sex at all. My heart pounded, and I stifled a shiver. Lingering wetness clung to my fingers and thighs, a light sheen of sweat on my brow.

It was so… real.

Jesus, I was actually sweaty, and I needed to wash my hands.

Looking around, I realized it was the middle of the night. I’d slept nearly half the day. I picked up my cell with my clean hand, swiping it open. My pizza order sat ninety percent complete in the browser window. I finalized it, desperately wanting my pepperoni, bacon, and jalapeno, and went to the bathroom to splash my face and make myself presentable for the delivery person.

When the pizza arrived, I was as polite as I could be, accepted my food, and then got back inside to plop down on the couch. I was determined to give this chill-and-eat-to-a-movie thing another try. Still, I only managed one movie, something about werewolves, before I was tired again. Probably because the flick was boring AF, I wound up passing out right on my couch.

Tomorrow would be my last day off. Hopefully, it would be a better one.

Morning light cut through my half-cracked blinds and right into my closed eyes. I groaned and stretched, my joints creaking after an uncomfortable night on my sofa. Fuck, I should have gotten up and gone to my bed.

My bed .

As the thought of my previous “rest” in there surfaced, I felt a familiar burn snake its way through my core. Why on earth I’d done that and why it still haunted me was beyond me.

“Shower?” I asked myself, again remembering more odd circumstances, this of my previous trip to the bathroom. “Mmm, nope. Coffee.”

I stood shakily, my body lethargic and slow to respond. It was unsurprising. I knew better than to pinch my nerves like that by sleeping outside my bed. Ehlers Danlos was especially unhappy with me this morning, and I was just glad that I hadn’t dislocated anything or paralyzed my arm.

Finally reaching the much-needed caffeine, I pulled down a mug from the lowest cupboard above my counter, thankful yet again that I’d arranged my house in as ED-friendly a way as possible.

The brew of choice today was maple cinnamon, and I sighed as the fragrant aroma filled the air. My coffee pod machine was getting old, and I really needed to replace it, but that would be a problem for future Aki.

The coffee helped and gave me something to swallow down my pills with, though I managed to burn my tongue in the process. I went back to the couch, despite knowing that I should’ve changed out of yesterday’s clothes, and pulled up Netflix. Choosing “The Good Place” for this morning’s TV binge, I settled into the cushions.

“Ugh, what am I supposed to do today?”

I tried to remember the to-dos I had planned, but my memory was foggy and sluggish. Returning to the lab tomorrow sounded about as fun as getting tested for my diagnosis those years back, which was out of character. I loved my job, and I was damn good at it.

Renard was the cause of that dread, though. He was always a cranky bitch when anyone came back from a “vacation.”

I took a four-day weekend for my b-day, buddy. Chill.

Still, the work was important. I was helping people. I mean, sure, not right this minute, but the research was going to change things for the better, even if it could be fucking dull sometimes.

My phone buzzed, alerting me to the new post from one of my favorite social accounts, and I pulled up the hilarious story of the “real life” cryptid he’d seen in the woods last night. I chuckled to myself, tossing the thing back on the couch as I imagined him running into a BigFoot in the two-block area of the city that actually contained trees. Yeah, I had a problem, a little obsession with cryptids, but come on, it was harmless.

“Ahh, to be scooped up by the Jersey Devil or something.”

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t often wonder what it would be like to see a real monster, even if I knew it was utterly absurd. But, if my video games and fantasy books were anything to go by, I either needed to shoot it on sight or try to bang it, which were quite opposing options if I were suddenly in that position.

“Good thing they’re not real.”

At that, the electricity in my apartment cut out, and everything went black.

“Fuck.” I grumbled.

“You have no idea.”