I opened up the door quickly. It was an empty bedroom. There was no one there. I scanned the room and then stepped into it. I first checked the closet, and under the bed, and then the small bathroom. Nothing.
Next I scoped out the small, den area, and then the main bathroom. So far, I had not seen anything. I was starting to feel pretty silly that I’d spooked myself so much. It was understandable, given the events of the past week, but I was still a grown woman who was made better than that. I was not the type of person who scared easily.
As I rounded the corner into the kitchen all of those affirmations about my courage, and my inner strength flew out the window as I came face to face with a large man wearing a black ski mask and a black jumpsuit. He was holding a large club, smacking it into his other hand menacingly.
Where had he come from? How did he get in here? Was Toby alright? I couldn’t see him.
All of these thoughts bombarded my brain as my body stayed frozen in place. I’d never been more frightened. Nothing in my body would work or respond, even though I was certain I was commanding myself to move. I had to get off this floor and get some help. Where was Toby? Where was that sweet, little boy…? Surely they would never hurt him… no…
Mason would come back to find…what? Oh, God… I couldn’t let myself imagine the horror.
I tried to scream, but my throat was paralyzed. I couldn’t make a sound.
The man leapt at me just then. Miraculously, my body jumped out of the way and I turned to run towards the door. It was locked. Shit! I’d forgotten about the keycard. I quickly fumbled for it in my pocket. Once I located it I slid it into the slot to open the door.
Nothing happened. I tried it again. And again. Nothing. The card wasn’t working. The door stayed locked.
I could hear the man behind me running at me. He was going to get me.
This wasn’t happening… no… this couldn’t be it.
I spun around and watched my doom fast approaching.
***
I leapt out of bed, a raw scream erupting from my throat. The maniac was going to get me. He was right behind me. I could feel him. That club was coming at me!
Except I was on the floor in the bedroom suddenly. And the only other person there was Mason, who was now sitting up in bed trying to shake the sleep from his eyes and wondering what all the commotion was about.
I was safe. It was a dream. A nightmare. I’d had a damn nightmare… wow…
“Are you ok?” Mason asked. “Baby, what’s wrong?”
“I… I don’t…” I was completely out of breath. My body was shaking. I was on the floor and I was scared out of my mind.
Mason rolled out of bed and knelt down beside me. He wrapped his loving arms around my shoulders and held me close. “Are you alright?” He asked.
“I…I don’t know…” I said.
“What happened?”
I told him about the dream.
“It’s ok,” he said. “Come on.”
He helped me to my feet and we climbed back into bed together. He snuggled up close to me and I put my head on his warm, muscular chest. I tried to take slow, steady breaths and calm myself back down.
“It was so real,” I said. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“I’m tired of feeling this way,” I said. “You know, like I have no control over my life or what is going to happen to me. That’s exactly how I felt in the dream, like all of those things came together to create the perfect terrifying reality for me.”
“I’ve never done much dream analysis, but I’d say you hit the nail on the head there, Dr. Freud.”
I smiled at Mason’s joke. “That’s not funny. I’m serious. I don’t know how much more of this I can take. I want it over. I’m starting to unravel.”
“I know,” Mason said. “You know; we can still go to the police about it. It’s never too late for that.”
“I’m sure your friends in the Zeffaris would love to know that you got the cops involved,” I said.
“Well, I’d just blame it on you,” he teased. “They’d understand that.”
“Right, they seem like such understanding people.”
“Well, that’s not fair,” Mason said. “They’ve saved your bacon a time or two.”
“And I’m grateful,” I said. “But I don’t need two pissed off mob families after me. The one has been more than enough.”
“I think it will blow over soon,” Mason said.
“You aren’t just saying that? You really believe it?” I asked curiously.
“I do,” Mason replied.
I wanted to ask him what he was basing this evaluation on, but I decided to just not push it right then. I was still exhausted. The dream had taken a lot out of me and I just wanted to get back to sleep and let my problems be worried about by tomorrow.