Meant to Be (The Saving Angels 1)

Sam sighed, “Krista, come on, do you really believe that? If I’m right, that’s what Mark meant in his note. He can explain. He already knows who you are. That’s what I think, and he knows it. Think about what he wrote in the note. He’s your dream guy.”

Dream guy. I rolled the words around in my head. I had always hoped the dreams meant something, that I would someday meet the guy of my dreams. Could all of this be real? I shook my head. I just couldn’t believe it. We weren’t some characters in some B-rated Sci-Fi movie.

“Are you feeling better?” Sam asked, interrupting my thoughts.

“Yes.”

“I’m going to call my foster dad to come get me so you can rest,” Sam said. “I really am sorry, I know how badly you’re feeling. I just didn’t know how to bring it up. I know it’s freaky, but I am glad that I’m not alone.”

“It all just seems so strange, that all of us would meet on the same day,” I mused, almost to myself.

“It is strange, but to add more craziness to this whole mixture, when I woke this morning, I had the strangest feeling that something was going to happen today.”

“What do you mean you felt something?”

“I don’t know, I just felt an odd sense of anticipation I guess, like a premonition or something,” Sam said as she dialed her foster dad’s number. She rattled off the directions to my house for him and then hung up. “He’ll be here in fifteen minutes,” she said, perching on the on the edge of the other chair to wait.

While we waited, we discussed our common bond a little bit more, but didn’t mention “dream guys” again. My emotions were a wreck and I needed time to allow them to recover.

Our conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door.

I was feeling a little better, so I walked Sam downstairs.

I opened the door to a distinguished looking gentleman. He was of medium height, but seemed taller by the well cut suit he was wearing. With just a few gray streaks through his hair, I would guess him to be about my mom’s age.

“Hi. I’m Tom Harrison. You must be Krista. My wife Karen and I were thrilled when Sam asked if she could come over to your house today. We’ve been concerned that Sam hasn’t made any friends since she moved in with us.”

I heard Sam groan, obviously wishing he wouldn’t have added that last part, the pained look on her face made that clear. I smiled; I could relate.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay,” Sam said, giving me a quick hug.

I locked the front doors behind them and headed up to take a quick shower before bed. I paused by a table at the foot of the stairs to scrawl a quick note to my mom.

Mom had a great day at school. I’ll tell you about it tomorrow morning. Love Ya.

I knew I was taking the chicken’s way out, but I wasn’t ready to face my mom. I had already decided that I was going to keep her in the dark as much as I could. I was sick of being the constant source of worry for her. It was time for her to have the freedom to focus her energy on things that mattered to her, instead of always having to worry about my problems.

It dawned on me as I headed upstairs that I didn’t even ask Sam about the guy that was supposedly her dream guy. I hope he wasn’t some freak that had preyed on some young girl who might have confided in her dreams, too. I felt a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. What if Sam’s theory was wrong? I felt a wave of grief approach at the thought that Mark was just a regular person. I didn’t want to admit it to Sam, but a small kernel of hope had awakened in my heart that Mark might somehow be the person I had been dreaming about for years.

With a million thoughts swirling through my head, I twisted the shower nozzle all the way to hot. The hot water helped to ease away the chills that always followed an attack. Once my shower was over, I blow dried my hair and put on warm comfy pajamas before I headed to my room.

I took a few moments to give Feline the attention he craved. After petting him for a few minutes, he settled down on the bed beside me. I reached over and flipped off the lights. The emotional upheaval of the day had left me exhausted and I fell into a quick slumber.

I knew I was dreaming. It was the same as always. I walked to the edge of the tide line where we always met. He was already there waiting in the shadows, but as I approached; he stepped out of the shadows for the first time. My breath escaped me. How had I missed it? Of course I knew him. Hadn’t he visited me every night? Wasn’t it his hand that I had held thousands of times in my dreams? Even though I had been expecting it, I was unprepared for the emotions that assaulted me when our eyes met. All I could think was, IT’S HIM.

Chapter 4

I woke to my own sobbing. I stuffed a hand over my mouth so my mom wouldn’t hear. I didn’t know how much longer I could take this heartbreak. The dreams, that for so long were my only source of comfort had now become nightmares.

I sat up pulling my knees tightly against my chest, rocking back and forth. My swollen eyes were sensitive to the touch as I wiped away the warm tears.

Feline jumped up beside me on the bed. He could always tell when I needed comfort. His soft fur and the mild vibrations of his purring were soothing.

I glanced at the clock, 4:00 a.m. He had left me earlier than normal. I sat on my bed contemplating how well things had gone, especially since his face was no longer hidden by shadows. We still were unable to talk in the dream but it didn’t matter, somehow we could sense what the other was feeling. The reflection from the moon had danced on the waves, and I had felt his heartbeat against my back as he gently stroked the side of my face. Then suddenly, he was abruptly jerked away, leaving me feeling like my own limbs had been taken with him.

My throat was as dry as the desert from the sobs that had torn through me. I walked as quietly as I could to the bathroom for some water, deciding when I got there that a nice warm shower would be the best way to wash away the chilling side effects of the dream.

I stayed in the shower for a long time, letting the warm water gently massage my aching body. When the warm water started to run out, I twisted the nozzle to turn it off and stepped out of the shower. After drying off, I headed to my room to throw on a sweatshirt and jeans. I still had almost three hours until I needed to get ready for school. The sun was just barely beginning to rise over the horizon.