"Shake me from my sleep,
whisper in my ear,
tell me it was all a dream,
and you are here to make the nightmares disappear"
- Unknown
After dropping Hails at her store I head home, I was surprised when I walked through the front door I see Stephan slouched on the couch.
"Hey", I say
"It's 8 pm", he replies, texting furiously on his phone.
"You are here", I sit beside him, still wonderfully amazed.
"As you can see", his green eyes glance briefly at me, "Are you okay? Why are you so stunned?"
"I thought you'd still be out with Cole"
"We decided to call it a day. We went to various places, we found some really good places offering a wide range of cocktails, we tasted some, but we just want to be thorough to make sure to pick the best"
"So you guys made progress"
"Progress?", he scoffs, "Of course we made progress. I am just glad you set me up with Cole, he is a really cool guy and I can easily get along with him. He doesn't behave like a self-sufficient idiot with a superior complex" I easily knew he was throwing a low jab at Noah.
"So you guys had fun together?" I ignore his insult.
"Yeah" he smiles, "We even decided to hook up this weekend"
Stephan continues to tell me about what happened during their outing as I wonder when Stephan will finally get all his memory back, up until now, all he has remembered is his full name.
"Well, you been with Cole, has it spiked any new memories yet?"
"No, it hasn't, is it supposed to?"
"Not really", I say, "Cole was only, what, your best friend in high school"
"He was, wasn't he? It'll come back to me, Thanatos promised, oh yeah and speaking of Thanatos he dropped by"
"What did he want?", I suddenly feel uncomfortable hearing Thanatos was snooping around here.
"Nothing. actually, he just dropped by to give me that", He points to the centre table.
There was a yellow file, I pick it up and pour out its content. Birth certificate, elementary, high school diploma, University diploma, driver's licence, national card, they were all in his name, Stephan Ashe Stones.
"So, according to this, you studied sociology", I squint at the paper then at Stephan, "Thanatos has got to be joking on that one"
"You don't think I am social?"He looks at me with an 'I am bored' expression written all over his face.
I laugh, "I don't know, are you?" I sigh and sit in front of the table, "I am grateful for this though, I have been really stressing out about how I was going to get you all these documents, It's not everyday person falls from the sky"
He was still texting on his phone, "Who are you texting to? You've been in that position for a long time"
"What are you jealous of?", he asks without lifting his eyes from his phone.
I blush, "It's just weird seeing you text like that, It's only been a week you've been here. Is it Jasmine?"I am glad that he was not looking at me so he doesn't see how flustered I was.
"It's Cole, we are talking about sports. I guess helping won't be such a pain in the ass after all"
"Stephan Ashe Stones, did you just say you are grateful that I included you into my tiny circle of friends?"
"Don't push it", he gruffly replies, going back to his phone.
I finally leave him there to check on my brother and I found him glued to the computer screen he seemed to have set up in a hurry. He is armed with all his control pads and headphone. It was obvious that he went home to get his reinforcements, I close the door, hoping to catch him at a better time. Usually, once he starts gaming, the whole world doesn't exist. I do hope he spoke and made up with his mom and, in due time, he moves back home.
Thinking of our parents, I make a mental note to text them about the progress we made fr their wedding. I was glad that everyone was joining in o help, two weeks tops and we should have a small but pretty wedding to go to.
I head to my room and change into my sweat pants and a sweatshirt, my usual fit. Normally, I would be working, but since I signed a contract with my boss, as an Author working for him, I kind of get a lot of free time to just think and stare into space. Clyde is still short on staff so I am still working as his editor. Another positive thing is that my salary has increased, I am definitely happy about that.
I sit down on my desk and finish some editing work and submit the work to Monique. After wrapping up with work for the night, I collapse into my bed, suddenly feeling the day's stress weigh on me. I was asleep before I knew.
***********************************************************************
I open my eyes, suddenly awakened by something.
12:34 am
My throat feels severely dry, I stand up, half-asleep feeling my way through the darkness to the kitchen to soothe my thirst. I was on my second glass when I heard a low grunt
Suddenly wide awake, I feel my heartbeat picks up. You would think that by now, with all the supernatural occurrences that have been taking place in my house that I would be used to.
Another grunt.
"Thanatos", I whisper scream, my hands scrambling desperately for some light. "At least have some decency not to scare the living daylights out of me"
I finally found the kitchen light and I turned it on, expecting to see the devil smoking some high glass weed in front of me with arrogance and superiority written all over his face. There was no one in the kitchen with me.
A moan followed.
Suddenly remembering that Stephan was in the living room, confused as to why he was making a lot of noise.
He is tossing violently on the sofa-bed, murmuring fast nothings into the air.
"Don't-, stop, wait, please-".
He was sweating with his eyes screwed shut, I put my hand on his forehead and my other hand on his shoulder, getting scared with his reaction.
"Hey Stephan, wake up", I shake him.
"No, please wait", he kept mumbling over me.
I start to hit him softly, scared that he would hurt himself.
He suddenly opens his eyes.
Green. Just for a moment or two, his eyes were electric green, just like before. But when he blinked they turned back to the dull grey.
He sits up, slowly and very calmly.
"Elizabeth?", he says my name, slightly disoriented. He rubs his eyes, "What are you doing here?", he touches his hair, "Why am I soaked?"
"You were sweating so profusely, you don't remember?", I ask him, kneeling towards him. "You were having a nightmare, you kept shaking and talking in your sleep"
"I was?"He asks, raking his hand through his damp hair.
I nod my head, "Can you tell me what it was all about? I think it's a traumatic memory from your past, maybe it's connected to your death"
His face turns to a mask of concentration, and he thinks for a while, "I don't remember", he says after a while.
"I have a really have a bad headache", he rubs his head.
It was obvious now that there's more mystery to his death than just suicide.
"Do you want something?", I ask him.
"Just water, please", he replies softly.
I get up and run him a glass. Giving it to him I sit by his side.
"This just makes me more curious and frustrated", he says after finishing the glass of water.
"Well, that makes both of us", I smile at him.
We sit in silence for a while then he asks me, "What type of person was I when I was alive?"
"Hmm", I hum, trying to look for words to describe him. "You were aloof and cool. it was like you had your emotions on a pedestal. You could turn it on and off easily. You were not mean though. You were just- standoffish and weary"
He did not say anything, "So I wasn't evil or anything?"
I laugh, "Is that what you are worried about? No, you were not. You were a playboy though. You changed your girlfriends like you change your underwear"
He looks in my direction, "Did it bother you?"
I was going to deny it but I figured since we were both being honest it was okay to admit.
"Yes, it did bother me; we were not friends or anything but it did bother me that you never really made a real connection with anyone. From the outside, it seems like you only open up to Cole, anyone else, it was like you were this 60ft brick wall. I could tell that there was more to you, I first had to gather the courage to talk to you"I feel my face warm, "and then I tried to get to know you to see why you were so closed off, but"my voice gets cut in my throat, remembering the day Catherine told us Stephan was dead. "But before I could get to you, you were gone"
"You were in my business much?", he stares me down, "Why do you know so much about me? are you a psycho something?"
He destroys the comfy mood that was setting in.
"Me?", I scoff, "No, of course not, I am just really good at reading people"
He smiles, then he takes my hand, squeezing it slightly.
"I'm here now Elizabeth. I am not dead anymore. I am here now"