"Mer are you ok?" Dave and Jax stood beside him. "What the actual hell Cason! Why didn't you get out of the water? And where the hell did you two go?" I tried to change the topic because a gut feeling told me not to tell Cason about the man. His stare burned through me but I didn't break.
"I-I need to go." I pushed Cason aside walking past him but he put a hand on my shoulder. He glanced at his watch and cursed. "What is it?" "I didn't even realize how late it got." I tilted my head to the side and took his wrist to look at the bright screen of his apple watch. 12:03 "Oh my god." I had to get home to Cal.
"Mer you don't have a ride." He said in back of me as I walked away. I snatched my sandy clothes and pulled them over my still damp swimsuit. After what the man said I didn't want to be around Cason. Something was telling me his nice guy attitude was off.
"I-I'll call an uber." I snatched up my phone but it was dead. If Cal had been calling me, if he was in trouble-
I didn't let myself get that far.
"You sure you don't want that ride?" Cason unlocked his Jeep and it let out a honk which made me jump. "Fine." He turned on the blasting heat noticing i was shivering but i just stared out the window. These past years of my life have been filled with nothing and now after my mom's crazy idea thinking we can be normal is stirring me into something I didn't want to be a part of.
"You know maybe you should have been eaten by the shark. All of you." I said. Dave and Jax openly laughed but Cason bit his lip to stifle his. After minutes of silence Cason finally said "Mer are you sure you are ok?" Did he see the man pulling me aside?
"Ya im fine. But don't think i'm going into the ocean anytime soon." The car stopped and I quickly exited. I rushed into the apartment and immediately went to Cal's room. We was crossing his arms.
"Cal-" "You didn't say you would be this late." "i'm sorry." "How was your business meeting." He added an exaggerated amount of sarcasm in the words 'business meeting'. "What can i do to make it up to you?" "No more lies Mer. You promised no more lies. We promised." I sat down next to him and he poked the side of my hip which was wet from the bathing suit underneath.
"You went swimming?" He gave me the death stare when I opened my mouth to lie. Because my life was built on lies. Lying was like my religion once my father left and I lied to survive. But I didn't want Cal to be like me.
"My friend dragged me to the beach." "Well then to make it up to me, you have to bring me to the beach." He said crossing his arms. "Ok deal." But there was no way i was getting in the water. "Now go to bed i have to wake up early for work."
He left my room and i changed not bothering to wash my sandy mess of hair. I passed out right when I hit my bed and the dreams came like usual. But of course my stupid life couldn't give me a break and this dream upped the rest of them. My eyes flared open and i was on the grass. The woods were bright and the smell of wild flowers overwhelmed me. My head was pounding and I moved my hand up to where a bump formed. Then the trees rustled and a hooded figure appeared. I turned and jumped to my feet. Then i started to sprint. But right when i started to run i stumbled on folds and folds of a dress. The figure got closer so I started yelling for help.
Every dream felt so real but this was a whole new level. But then i thought. "This is just a dream." I whispered. "This isn't real." But then hands grabbed me and the calluses scraped beneath my skin. Under the hood I was a fanged mouth breath so close to my trembling face. I was too scared to breath. "You will stay here." The mouth whispered and then once i shut my eyes I woke up in my bed trashing.
The bed was soaked from sweat and my entire body was uncontrollably shaking. I looked at the clock and saw it was 4am. I still had a few hours of sleep but i got up anyway and showered. After, I wrote a note for Cal and left. I needed fresh air. I pulled on my work shirt and blue jeans and left the hotel.
I have never voluntarily ran. The only time I ran was at volleyball practice in high school. I was always that mediocre player that ended up still having to run the sprints even if the mistake wasn't my fault. In that life which wasn't mine anymore. And then I thought of the running in my dreams. The scar I got which still ran down my arm.
My headphones blasted Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer and the dressed up workers setting up looked at me but then quickly looked away. The fresh cool air felt reassuring but I still felt like I was suffocating with every breath.
That dream felt too real. I felt the hands on my bare shoulders. I shook at the thought and stopped by a bench panting. Then I can't explain it but I felt the presence of someone behind me but this time was prepared. I snatched the swiss army knife my father got me when I was 10 out of my small hand bag and was facing a very scared custodian. His hands were up and the broom dropped.
"Please don't knife me." He said. His black hair was short and cropped which only highlighted his deep grey eyes.
"Sorry." I put it down and don't think I have even been so embarrassed. And even more embarrassed at the thought that I probably wouldn't have lowered the knife if the man wasn't so attractive.
"Well I wouldn't want to be on your bad side." He said grinning. I let out an awkward smile I will kill myself later for becasue the man took the seat next to me.
"I love Bon Jovi." He said and took the earbud from my ear.
"Wow some guts considering I just pulled a knife on you." "Well I did sneak up on you and you never know what happens in Cali." "Do you know what? Your right." I don't know why that was so reassuring but it made the things happening to me feel a bit more normal. Anything can happen in California. Who knows? Maybe things like this are happening to other people.
"Do weird things happen around here often?" "We are in Disneyland. Of course they do." I couldn't help but smile and the guy just stared at the trees.
"You know what? Thank you."
"For what? Stumbling into a janitor man who stole your earbuds?"
"Ha! Ya sure. I just needed to hear that." He grinned and gave back her earbuds and the song Highway to Hell was blasting. "You know my life was hell before I came here. No pun intended. And now that I'm here, part of me is just dying to get back to my version of normal. And now look at me talking to a stranger."
"Well happy to be a cute girls therapist any time." I couldn't help but blush a little. He got up and picked up the broom.
"If my boss sees me he'll fire me. Nice talk. But I couldn't leave without getting your name." "Mer." He just nodded and then just walked away. Things can't get any weirder than that can they? But I was so wrong. I stood up deciding to walk to my job and felt a little pat on my shoulder. I turned around and was face to face with the mysterious man. He was in some kind of old fashioned suit, midnight black, except for the pin on his right bicep. Some kind of crest.
"Why are you dressed like that? Do you work here because the FBI wouldn't waste their time on me."
"I am a stranger following you and you wonder about my outfit choices?" "So you admit you were following me." "Yes dear, pulling out that knife on that man was very entertaining."
"I should call the police on you."
"Ha! The police couldn't catch me." "And why is that?" "Because I am a Draxin." "You expect me to know what that is? What is it part of some disney movie I never bothered to watch?" "Oh no this is very much reality Mercury. And you will soon just have no choice but to face it because you have many targets on your back." "What?" "You need to watch your back Mercury because one of the 5 kingdoms will surely snatch you up soon."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean."
"Stay away from that little friend you trust so much. And if I were you I would leave this city. Go far, far away." "What do you know about Cason?" I'm not going to leave just because you tell me too.
"Oh yes that's the name he is going by." I didn't even realize how close the man has gotten until he reached out and took a strand of my hair. He played with and looped it around his fingers. I swatted him away and was about to pull out my knife but he took my wrist.
"I will scream if you hurt me." I said looking into those hazel eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you Mercury. But I will also not just watch by and let them smuggle you into our world."
Our world.
"What do you want from me?" "Stay away from Dazian. Oh i'm sorry. I mean Cason." An evil grin appeared on his face which gave me the chills and then one second later he was gone. I looked around for places he could have gone but he just....
Vanished.
I couldn't help but blink a few times to make sure I was awake and even gave myself a pinch to prove it.