Chapter 38

“Allie, it’s just not possible, even for you.” Emma shook her head in disbelief.

“I’m serious!”

“I know you think this is happening, but it’s too soon. Like years too soon—decades.”

“I saw the game I just played, in my dreams a week ago,” Allie insisted.

You’re going to have to tell her about our other dreams, Aidan said.

Uh, no, she’s already pissed.

Suck it up, Lex.

“Emma, this isn’t the first time,” she admitted. Aidan was right, she had to tell her.

“What? Allie, you know better than to keep your progress from me!”

“The first dream was just after spring break, and it didn’t seem like a big deal. Aidan and I were meeting Kayla at my house for a school project, and we were running late after training. We heard her crying when we came in, so we peeked into the kitchen and saw my mother comforting her. When we walked in they went back to the polite conversation of near strangers, and Kayla discretely wiped her eyes. It was a stupid dream, but it happened just a few days later.”

“From now on, I want total honesty from you, young lady.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“We’ll discuss this again next week after I’ve consulted with Daniel. You can go now.”

“I’m sorry, Emma.”

“It’s all right, sweetheart,” she said absently.

Why does she always freak when I show progress?

Jin does the same thing. Aidan shrugged. Now, stop distracting me with your crap, I’m getting my butt kicked here.

Oh, my bad. Did I have sex with a random stranger and make you watch? Dude, I’m so freakin’ sorry. Allie immediately regretted the fleeting thought.

I thought we resolved this. How are you still mad? He lost his balance again and fell from the beam. Naomi’s a friend. Pardon me for connecting with the only girl who can stand to be that close to me.

She’s hardly a girl.

Alexis Ann, you’re jealous!

Am not!

You can’t have it both ways.

Aidan, this connection we share … it’s so confusing.

You don’t want me, but you don’t want anyone else to have me either? He stumbled and crashed down on the mat.

I just don’t want to watch.

Neither do I. He rolled onto his back with a groan.

I don’t want to fight anymore, Allie sighed.

Me either, but I would really love to not be celibate at some point in my life, so we’re going to have to deal with this eventually. He climbed back on the beam again.

Having trouble staying on that thing today?

Out! Get out of my head right now!

I’m going, I’m going.

* * *

No dream date? Aidan asked as Allie slid into bed after a very long three-day marathon.

Mmmm, later.

Night, Lex, he murmured, but she was already out.

Her dreams came quickly, filling her with a sense of dread. It was dark, and she couldn’t see. Allie could feel the cold damp earth beneath her. Her breath grew erratic when she realized she was back in the caves—alone. She heard muffled voices above but couldn’t make out what they were saying. She couldn’t get a deep breath as she pounded on the low ceiling, but it wasn’t stone like she remembered. It was wood, like a coffin.

Allie screamed, clawing at her prison, her nails cracking and bleeding as she desperately tried to escape. She hammered her bloody fists against the barrier for what felt like hours and shrieked for help, but no one ever came.

Scraping through the rotten wood with her bare hands, she finally broke free. Earth and rock poured through the opening. Dirt filled her mouth as the weight of a mountain suffocated her.

“Allie! Please wake up!” Aidan begged. “You’re scaring me.” She heard him but continued to thrash in her sleep, gasping for breath, silent tears streaming down her face.

She woke with a start, reaching for Aidan in a total panic, still locked in the clutches of her nightmare.

“Just a bad dream, baby,” he murmured, holding her close. “I’m so sorry we made you do that stupid challenge. I had no idea it would affect you this way.”

She trembled violently, her heart still pounding in her chest. She knew it was only a dream, but it felt so real. Buried alive! She couldn’t shake the horror of it.

“That was some nightmare.” He stroked her back, attempting to calm her with his gift. She wouldn’t allow it, her power raged like a tempest inside her.

“Talk to me, Allie.”

But she continued to shake, her eyes wide and unseeing.

“I-it felt so real,” she finally managed.

“I know. I saw it. But you blocked me right around the time you started screaming and clawing at the coffin. I couldn’t get you to wake up, so I came over.”

“You got here fast.” She still clutched him in a vise grip.

“Allie, I’ve been here for hours. It’s almost morning.”

“Hours?”

“The dream went on and on. I could hear your screams in my head, but you never uttered a sound. I couldn’t wake you.”

“I’m sorry. I’ve kept you up all night, and I don’t feel like I slept at all.”

“Are you okay now?”

“I think so.”

“Then, can you please relax your grip? I can’t feel my arms.”

“Sorry. Thank you for coming, Aidan.”

“I’ll always be here when you need me.” His words echoed Vince’s, but somehow, his carried more weight.

* * *

The dream returned the next night, and then the next, and the one after that, and the one after that. It was different each time. Sometimes, she clawed at a wooden barrier, sometimes stone or brick. Occasionally, she crawled through the tunnels alone and lost, but her terror was always the same. Most nights, she would wake to find Aidan in her room pleading with her to wake up. When she finally did, neither of them could sleep. What little rest she did get wasn’t enough, and they were both dead on their feet.

I’ll stay awake tonight so you can sleep, and then maybe tomorrow we can switch, she suggested.

I’m too tired to argue with you. Aidan sighed.