Heart of Stone (Parts I & II)

II. Chapter 5 | Part 1 - Aubree

The darkness was consuming her. Normally, the darkness of sleep didn't bother Aubree but something shifted during the night. The warm embrace of sleep turned cold. Her skin crawled and she couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. A chill shot through her as if someone with icy cold breath blew down her neck.

When the red eyes appeared, she tried to scream but couldn't.

The forest materialized but it was too dark to see anything. She didn't need eyes to see it though because she could feel it. The sinister feeling dissipated when a feeling of warmth and calm began to spread through her. The eyes faded when a soothing voice began to drift in through the darkness.

"Aubree?" It was Gwen. Her voice was louder and clearer the second time she said her name. "Aubree?"

Light broke through the darkness, dissolving the forest around her and the dread that gripped her. She squeezed her eyelids together before opening them.

Rain splattered gently against the window and although the room was blanketed in darkness, she could almost make out Gwen's silhouette. Sitting by her side, Gwen rubbed her shoulder the way a mother would comfort a child having a nightmare. Aubree squinted at her, wondering why Gwen was in her room when she remembered that Gwen was staying with her.

Before she could ask, Gwen said, "You were tossing and turning a lot in your sleep. I didn't mean to wake you."

Pressing the heel of her palm to her eye, she rubbed each one with a groan. Were these nightmares going to be a frequent occurrence now? "It's okay. This one wasn't as scary as the last."

Gwen's eyebrow peaked. "Oh?"

Aubree looked away, her cheeks growing warm at the thought of Stone entering her last nightmare and killing the vampire and waking up next to him with her hand in his.

As if somehow reading her mind, Gwen asked, "Do you want me to send for Papa?"

Aubree could feel her cheeks heat up even more. As tempting as it was to see him again, she didn't want to be a nuisance.

She shook her head. "No, it's okay."

"You sure? He's not too far. I'm sure he won't mind. He has to come back soon anyway for the car."

Aubree caught herself chewing on a fingernail and jerked it from her mouth. Why was he still in the city?

She glanced at the alarm clock next to the bed. It was shortly after five in the morning. Was he in the city hunting vampires? She was afraid to ask and shook her head instead at Gwen.

"You sure?"

Aubree nodded.

After a few more reassurances, Gwen left her alone to sleep but she couldn't. Her mind kept flitting from one thought to the next. Stone. Dan. Vampires. The accident. The cycle repeated.

She remembered all the good times with Dan. Their first summer together filled with picnics, bonfires with college friends, and trips to Michigan Lake complete with sand castles and beet-red sunburns.

Then there was their first fight. How stupid it seemed afterward.

How insignificant all of it seemed now.

Soon, the gray sky began to lighten between the crack in the curtains and the red numbers on the digital clock glowed seven in the morning.

She couldn't pull herself out of bed. It felt like everything that had happened in the last few days had finally caught up with her. Her body ached, especially her head and her heart. It was all she could do to lift her head when she felt that all familiar presence sending tingles up her spine.