Page 92 of The Devils Melody

That voice. Slithering over my skin like a slug, making my whole body lock up in response.

Why does this keep happening to me? Why can’t I get out?

A shadow moves in the far corner and I know he’s there. Watching me. Tall, faceless, a dark blur where his features should be. His features that look just like mine. But the gold watch on his wrist glints under the flickering light as he steps closer.

“You can run,” he coos, walking circles around me like I’m his favorite prey, “but you’ll never leave me.”

“Stay away from me!” I scream, but my voice sounds small and weak. Just like the child I used to be.

He laughs maliciously, the sound piercing my ears like shattered glass with jagged edges. “Oh, Wrennie. You don’t get to tell Daddy what to do.”

My stomach lurches, trying to expel the filth that lingers deep within me. I run as fast as I can, bare feet pounding against the tile, lungs burning. Door after door, my hands claw at the handles fighting to escape, but every door I open leads me right back to where I started.

“NO! LET ME OUT!”

The man tilts his head. He may be faceless, but I can feel his grin.

“You’ll always come back to me, little bird.”

Little bird.

No. That’s what Kage calls me. That’s safe. That’s not this. No!

Arms wrap around me, warm and solid, the cold grey room I was once in before is nowhere to be found.

“Baby, it’s me.”

The hum of the fluorescent light morphs into the sound of frantic heartbeats and heavy breathing in my ear as my body rocks gently against another.

“It’s just me, baby. You’re safe.”

“Safe,” I repeat, but I don’tfeelsafe. Not when my pulse is still hammering and my skin sticky with sweat. However, Kage and Nox are the closest thing I’ve had to ‘safe’ in a while, so I cling to him. Clutching him close and sobbing into his neck, trying my best to separate the nightmare from reality.

It takes a while before the world around me sharpens enough to make sense. I’m in my room. My room in Nox and Kage’s house.

Nox crouches down beside me, brushing damp strands of hair away from my face. “Same nightmare?”

Nodding, I press my face into his chest, hoping the darkness has finally faded away.

“Talk to us, little bird,” Kage urges, tilting my chin so my eyes meet his. “We need to know what’s going on in that beautiful head of yours. You don’t have to go through this alone.”

My lips part but the words won’t come out. If I tell them…if I say it out loud, then maybe it becomes a reality. Maybe he becomes real.

“Please, Wrennie, I?—”

“Don’t!” The scream rips out of me before I can fully stop it. My entire body jerks back, away from his touch. “Don’t fucking call me that!”

The room goes quiet, Kage freezing as guilt flashes across his face. He has no idea what he’s done, but I can’t bother to feel bad for him. Not when it comes to that name.

“S-sorry,” he stammers. “I’m sorry, baby, please. Please don’t shut us out.”

Shut them out?

That’s not what I want. That’s not what this is. But I can’t help the tightness and panic that wraps around my chest. I glance between them, the two men who have given me nothing but safety and security, and yet for some reason, I can’t make myself see them as such.

When I see Kage’s arms open in silent invitation, I crawl back into his embrace like I’m on autopilot. My sobs shake us both as I sob into his chest, his heart beating wildly against my ear.

“I don’t understand why,” I choke out. “Why do I keep dreaming about him? I thought it was finally over!”