Page 30 of The Curse of Redwood

“You are no different than I!” The boy lurched forward and grabbed me by the throat. I gasped and slapped at his cold hands, but his hold remained firm. His beautiful face turned sinister, with dark circles appearing around his eyes and cracks forming in his skin. “I wonder if he will silence you as he did to me. Only time will tell.”

I shot upward on the couch,Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hydefalling from my chest and to the floor. I stared at the book in confusion. Hadn’t I already put it on the table? My bleary vision felt like it did when I first woke up from a nap.

“It was a dream?” I snapped my head from side to side, observing the room. There was no change in temperature and no odd apparitions of angry blond men. “This is like someInceptionshit.”

A dream inside a dream.

The pressure on my neck had feltveryreal, though. I coughed and put a trembling hand to my throat. Tears burned in my eyes and slowly trickled down my cheeks. I didn’t feel safe in my own home anymore. Somehow, the nightmares kept finding me.

“What’s happening to me?” I put my arms over my head and just cried.

It was all I had strength to do right then.

***

“You’ve looked better,” Ben said, after answering the door. His dark blond hair had grown longer on top, and he sported a close-shaven beard. His oversized cardigan sweater had a few tiny holes in it, and there was a coffee stain on his undershirt.

“I could say the same about you,” I responded. “Are you going for the hobo look?”

Ben looked down at himself. “I haven’t had a chance to shower yet this morning.”

“Just this morning?” I taunted, curling my nose. “I don’t think you’ve showered in a week. How does Theo stand being around your smelly ass?”

“Simple. I can’t smell,” Theo said, popping up in front of me.

I screamed and clutched my chest. “Ghost boy’s gonna give me a heart attack one day.”

“You’ll live.” Ben stepped aside so I could walk into the manor. “I’d offer you something to eat, but I need to go grocery shopping. All we have are stale crackers and coffee.”

“At least you have the essentials,” I said, trailing behind him as he headed toward the sitting room.

I had visited Ben a few times since the library incident, though I had kept quiet about the last time I’d gone to Redwood. As far as he knew, I hadn’t been back there. Probably for the best. He didn’t need any more dark shit on his mind.

“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” Ben asked, sitting at the table beside the bay windows. The chessboard we liked to play with was on top. “Or will I have to pry it out of you?”

“No need to resort to violence, Ben.” I sat across from him and moved a white pawn forward on the board. He arched a brow at me before moving one of his too. “I don’t want to worry you or make you worse.”

“Make me worse?”

“Yeah, you don’t look like you’ve gotten a good night’s sleep in months.”

“I’m feeling a lot better now actually.” He studied the board after my second turn, then he moved his knight forward. “The book is nearly finished.”

“Really?”

“Yes.” He sharply exhaled and slumped back in his chair. “I’m not sure I’ll even publish this one. It feels too personal. And I still don’t have an ending.”

“It’ll come to you,” I said, taking one of his pawns. He cursed under his breath, and I grinned. “Isn’t that how writing works? You don’t know until you know.”

“Basically.” Ben chuckled. “I usually have an idea of the end, but it’s fuzzy this time.”

“Maybe it just needs to simmer in your mind a bit,” I said, before calculating my next move on the board. “It’ll come to you.”

Theo entered the room and placed a cup of coffee in front of Ben before kissing the top of his head. “Although I dislike you writing about Lady Death, I see how much you needed to.”

Ben had told me Theo flipped the hell out when he first learned what he was writing. I didn’t get all the details, but Ben said he’d had to buy another set of plates—again—because Theo had smashed them all in his anger. He might’ve been over a hundred years old, but Theo still had the temperament of a teenager.

“I’m sorry for making you worry.” Ben kissed Theo’s hand before holding it to his cheek. “Forgive me?”