Chapter 4 - Lily

Pulling up to my family home in Redmond, I feel a smile tugging my lips.

It’s been ages since I visited, thanks to Violet’s insistence that I stay here today.

Brown curls bounce atop a rounded face as she comes rushing down the porch. As soon as I climb out of the cab, Violet pulls me into a hug.

“Lily!” she exclaims as she holds me tightly. “I’m so glad you came!”

Giggling, I let my knapsack fall to the ground to free my arms. I hug my younger sister back, breathing in the scent of her floral shampoo. The one we often shared when I still lived here.

The sense of familiarity comes highly welcomed. These past few days have been torturous to my peace of mind.

All because of a man who exists solely in my fantasies. Ever since seeing him that night at the bar—or at least, thinking I did—I’ve been restless from the dreams growing in passion, to waking up in a cold sweat.

I’ve been tormented by a figment of my imagination.

“I finally had a moment to breathe,” I admit as I pick up my knapsack. I’d only packed for one night. And I can only pray that it’s all I need to regain a semblance of sanity. “How’s Mom doing?”

“Oh, she’s fine,” Violet sighs as we climb up to the porch. She opens the front door, the hinges screeching with rusty terror.

I shake my head as I cross the threshold and enter the house. Dad hasn’t gotten to changing the hinges as he promised at Christmas.

But it’s not like I can blame him.

“She has an appointment with her doctor tomorrow,” Violet adds. “That’s why I was hoping you’d come.”

“I’m here now.” I place a reassuring hand on my sister’s shoulder and offer her a smile. “Let’s get this place cleaned up before they arrive.”

Violet heads off to the kitchen to grab the cleaning equipment. It hasn’t been easy to maintain the house ever since Mom became sick. It’s up to my sister and I to spring-clean now and then. When either of us can get away from college.

As evening draws in, we are seated around the dining table, enjoying dinner. Family tradition calls for buffalo wings from the local diner on a Tuesday night. The spring air folds us in its warm embrace.

It’s definitely what I needed as an escape.

I notice Mom staring at me, her head tilted to one side. Smiling confusedly, I lean in and question her look of curiosity.

“It’s nothing, really,” she smiles and glances at my father before returning her gaze to me. “But something seems different about you.”

Confused by Mom’s strange observation, I frown. “I don’t know what you mean, Mom.”

With a coy smile, Mom places a hand on my thigh. “Is he treating you well?”

An unbidden laugh escapes my throat, prompting silence to befall the room. Dad and Violet pause their conversation and turn their curious eyes on me.

“There is no one, Mom,” I titter nervously.

“Oh, come on, Lils!” Violet joins in. “If you have a boyfriend, just tell us.”

Sighing in disbelief, I lean back in my seat and shake my head. Heat rises on my face as I sit there facing my family’s probing.

Feeling suffocated, I get to my feet. “If you must know…” I take a deep breath, then decide against the admission. “Never mind.”

With that, I flee to my bedroom. Locking myself in the sanctity of the four pink walls I’d grown up in, I fling myself onto the bed.

That was… Embarrassing, to say the least. I’d almost let it slip to my family that I’m still a virgin.

Great.

Hiding my face in the plushness of the pillow, I sigh and shut my eyelids. It’s been a day.

Scratch that.

It’s been a week!

And the cherry on the top comes when Samantha calls.

“Yeah?” I ask reluctantly when I answer the call.

“You won’t believe what just happened…” Samantha says in an urgent tone. I don’t reply to her, knowing she’ll tell me anyway. “That man I told you about the other day… Drake… He was asking about you.”

“Why?” I ask with a frown. Samantha couldn’t shut her mouth about the mysterious stranger she met while she bartended for The Unicorn on Saturday night.

“I have no idea, Lils,” she admits. “I didn’t even think he knew who you were.”

Shrugging as I brush it off, I have no intention of playing detective over Samantha’s handsome stranger. When she finally ended the call, I threw my phone on the bed and shut my eyes again.

All I want to do is not think. Inhale. Exhale.

Inhale.

My next exhale is staggered, my body quivering from the pleasure between my thighs. It’s dark and mysterious; only a husky breath can be heard.

I gasp in the darkness, the sound mellow as it whispers through the air.

“Shhh…” the low, baritone voice encourages me to remain quiet. Why, I’m not sure. But the secrecy of these passionate trysts is mine to keep. My loyalty toward it is why I don’t say a word. And why I gnaw on my bottom lip to stifle my moans.

Another dream… I know that. It’s something I’ve been aware of these past few nights. I’ve grown so accustomed to these visions, which have become strange lately.

The moment I await is the one after I’ve reached orgasm. When my eyelids open, I find my vision veiled by golden threads. I’m never able to see beyond that silken web. I only feel my body defy gravity as I’m lifted into the air.

The dream stops when I allow fear the liberty to dominate my feelings. If I could only hang on a little longer… I could probably see beyond the gold veil.

Allowing the dream to take its course, I feel large hands grip my thighs. In the darkness, I can barely anticipate his next move. It’s thrilling and scary at the same time, filling my core with an adrenaline rush.

I startle when my legs are tugged, and I’m pulled to the edge of the bed. Predicting a powerful thrust, I frown when I lose the mattress behind my back instead.

It’s unexpected. Parting from gravity usually comes after the orgasm. This time, I’m wrapped in arms that don’t feel like human arms. They’re tough and rubbery. Coarse and scaly as they clutch my frame. It’s like I’m as light as a feather.

Suddenly, the darkness opens up to a bright light filtering through the ceiling. Brilliantly white, it mimics the light described biblically. But my life doesn’t flash before my eyes. I’m not dying. Instead, I’m soaring heavenwards into that light.

The adrenaline coursing down my spine gives me the courage to open my eyes. The first thing I see is the aerial view of my parents’ home in Redmond. As fear replaces the adrenaline, trickling like molasses and settling in the pit of my belly, I refuse to look up.

It’s only when I catch the sight of the arms that hold me that I’m convinced I’m at death’s door. Reptilian-like, the scales are golden and glittery, magnificently yellow like the precious metal in its purest form. Tracing the arm with wary eyes, I follow the path made of ruby-colored crystals. Like spiked teardrops along its arm, I trace it all the way to its shoulder.

I’m about to look further, past the bladed ruby crystal on its shoulder, when my vision is snatched. The golden web covers my eyes, only this time, it feels real as warmth radiates from it.

Gasping, panic rises like acrid bile in my throat. My initial instinct is to kick and writhe in the reptant arm until I’m released. I begin screaming, nails scratching at the scales that are anything but cold.

“Let me go!” I yell, using all my might to wrestle at the thing that keeps taking me higher into the air. My thrashing works when, finally, the veil is removed. I look up, and to my horror, I’m met with the face of what can only be described as a dragon.

A creature that exists only between the pages of mythical books and folk tales. With a protruding muzzle and sharp nostrils from which fire can be exhaled, it stares at me with ophidian eyes. Ruby red slits for pupils swim in a golden pool and condemn me for looking up.

The heat that exudes from the creature’s being is all I need to experience to know this is not a dream.

“Wh-what are you?” I breathe frightfully, the air in my lungs freezing over as panic sets in.

The terrifying beast flaps its wings in the air, lifting us higher. I recognize the golden veil as the webs of those wings. The dragon stares into my eyes, and I’m compelled to remain unmoving.

“What I am doesn’t matter. This is for your own good,” comes the husky voice I recognize from all my dreams. The dragon’s lips don’t move, but his voice enters my mind. This is not a man but a frightful creature of urban legends.

There’s no way this is real. And when the dragon’s warm breath fans my face, the dream ends.

That was a nightmare of petrifying intensity. Opening my eyes, I cup a hand over my mouth as I yawn loudly.

Blinking as I adjust my vision to the powerful rays filtering from the blinds, I frown. I turn my head to the left when I remember that there aren’t any blinds in my bedroom in Redmond.

Pink organza curtains should be covering the windows.

Looking around me, I heave an unsteady gasp as I clamber to my elbows. The room is unfamiliar, and my ears begin to buzz as panic rises again. Quickly climbing off the bed, I run to the door and try the handle.

Only to discover that I’m locked in.