Chapter 51 THE BOY FROM MY NIGHTMARES
MERRIELYNN.
I shook myself free from the riot of my thoughts, forcing my breathing to steady.
Cormac was gone, and Valtor’s unreadable expression had been the last thing I’d seen. I needed to ground myself. To focus on something normal.
The first thing that came to mind was finding Emorie and Tobias. I didn’t trust Emorie to stay out of trouble for long, not with the amount she’d had to drink. Pushing off the wall, I made my way back toward the main part of the house.
The music was still loud, the lights still flashing, and people were packed into every room. I squeezed past groups of laughing strangers, trying to spot Emorie’s fiery red hair or Tobias’ unmistakable grin. But they were nowhere in sight.
I wandered into the backyard, where the noise was a little softer, muffled by the sliding glass doors. The air was cooler here, and it felt like a relief against my skin. I stopped for a moment, breathing it in. That’s when I saw it.
A pool.
It was massive, shimmering under the glow of the outdoor lights. People were lounging on the edges, their legs dangling in the water, while others splashed around inside.
As soon as I laid eyes on it, I froze.
My chest tightened, and my heart started to race in a way that had nothing to do with the cold air. My throat went dry, and I took an instinctive step back.
I had a sudden resentment for water.
No, more than that—I feared it.
The scar on the back of my neck suddenly tingled, a fierce, sharp sensation that made me wince.
My hand flew to it instinctively, my fingers brushing against the raised skin. The scar was old, but every now and then, it seemed to come alive like this, a burning reminder of something I couldn’t explain.
I turned sharply, intending to leave the backyard and get as far away from the pool as possible. But before I could take a second step, I found myself face-to-face with Juniper and her friends.
Juniper was the kind of person you couldn’t ignore, no matter how hard you tried. Tall, with sharp features and an even sharper tongue, she was always surrounded by her little group of followers, who laughed at every cruel comment she made.
And tonight, it seemed, I was her target.
A-fucking-gain.
“Well, well,” she drawled, her voice dripping with mock sweetness. “If it isn’t Merrielynn Forbes.”
“Juniper,” I replied, keeping my voice neutral. I didn’t want trouble. I just wanted to leave.
“What are you doing out here all alone?” she asked, stepping closer. Her friends followed, flanking her like a pack of wolves.
“I’m not alone,” I said, though the words felt weak even as I said them.
She laughed, a cold sound that sent a chill down my spine. “No, I guess you’re not. You’ve got us.”
Her tone shifted then, becoming harder. The playful smirk on her face turned into something darker, more dangerous. I tried to step around her, but she blocked my path.
“What’s the rush?” she asked.
“I’m looking for my friends,” I said.
“Oh, we’ll help you look,” she said. Her friends snickered, and unease settled in my stomach like a rock.
The next moments were a blur. Juniper said something—I didn’t hear what.
She shoved me, and I stumbled backward. Before I could regain my balance, I felt hands on me, pushing harder this time.
And then I was falling.
The water swallowed me whole, cold and unforgiving.
The world went silent, the noise of the party replaced by the deafening rush of water in my ears. I opened my mouth to scream, but water flooded in, choking me.
Flashes of something—memories, maybe?—hit me like lightning.
A voice screaming my name.
The sensation of sinking, of drowning.
Hands grabbing me, pulling me under.
A younger face, blurry but somehow familiar.
It all came so fast, too fast to make sense of.
I thrashed, kicking and clawing at the water. My chest burned, my lungs screaming for air. Panic overtook me completely.
It was just like at the beach.
And I wanted it to be over.
I needed it to be over now!
Then, suddenly, strong arms wrapped around me.
The next thing I knew, I was being lifted out of the water. The cold air hit me like a slap, and I coughed violently, gasping for breath.
The arms didn’t let go. They carried me away from the pool, away from the staring faces of the crowd that had gathered. I didn’t have the strength to look up.
But every single atom of my being knew who it was.
Cormac.
He didn’t say a word as he carried me through the house. My wet clothes clung to me, and I shivered uncontrollably. My chest was tight, and my breaths came in shallow gasps, too fast and too uneven.
“Can’t… breathe,” I managed to choke out.
“You’re fine,” Cormac said, his voice low and steady. “Just breathe. Slow.”
I tried, but my body wasn’t listening. The panic was too much, suffocating me.
He carried me all the way to his car.
The one I didn't destroy.
The irony didn't escape me as he got in next to me, starting the ignition, while his other hand found a home at the nape of my neck. His grip was firm, soothing.
He'd barely said a thing and just like that, the attack was ebbing.
How we got to the campus so fast I wouldn’t know.
But the car was off and Cormac was picking me up again, holding me closer to his chest as he pushed open a door. I realized, distantly, that we were in my dorm now.
He set me down gently on the edge of my bed, but his hands didn’t leave my shoulders. He crouched in front of me, his dark eyes meeting mine.
“You’re safe,” he said firmly. “Breathe, Merrielynn. In and out.”
Somehow, his voice broke through the haze of panic. I focused on him, on the calm in his expression, and tried to follow his instructions.
In.
Out.
Slowly.
It wasn’t easy, but eventually, the tightness in my chest began to ease. My hands stopped shaking so much, and the room stopped spinning.
Cormac didn’t move. He stayed there, crouched in front of me, his hands still steady on my shoulders. He didn’t speak again, didn’t press me for answers or ask me if I was okay. He just waited, his presence grounding me in a way I couldn’t explain.
When I finally felt like I could speak, I whispered, “Thank you.”
He gave a short nod but didn’t reply. Instead, he stood and grabbed a blanket from the foot of my bed, wrapping it around my shoulders.
“You’re freezing,” he said quietly.
I pulled the blanket tighter around myself, still trembling. My mind was a whirlwind of emotions—fear, confusion, exhaustion. But underneath it all, there was a strange sense of rightness.
It didn’t make sense. Cormac wasn’t the kind of person you trusted easily. He was unpredictable, intense, sometimes terrifying. But tonight, he’d been my anchor.
I didn’t have the strength to fight it, to push him away. So when he gently guided me to lie down and tucked the blanket around me, I didn’t argue.
“Rest,” he said softly. “I’ll stay.”
And he did.
That night, the nightmares came.
They always did, but this time, they were different.
More vivid.
I was underwater again, but it wasn’t the pool.
It was deeper, darker.
Shapes moved in the shadows, and I felt the same panic I’d felt earlier that night.
Then, out of nowhere, a hand reached for me.
I grabbed it without thinking, and as I was pulled toward the surface, I caught a glimpse of the person reaching out to me.
His eyes a broken, vivid green.
He was a boy.
Cormac.
But... not Cormac at the same time.
I woke with a scream, bolting upright in bed.
My heart was racing, and sweat clung to my skin.
The room was silent, and Cormac was gone.
For a moment, I wondered if I’d imagined everything. The pool, the scar, the panic attack—had it all been a dream?
But the blanket around my shoulders and the damp clothes on the floor told me otherwise.
I lay back down, staring at the ceiling.
Suddenly I felt this deep sense of familiarity to the boy who saved me.
Or... the man?
And then it hit me... I didn't know who I was referring to at that moment;
Cormac, or the boy from my nightmare?