Dream Haunter (13 page)

He laughs, even though he was somewhat
uncomfortable with Maude. He jiggles the rusted door knob a few
times before it finally unlocks. Melody reaches through the door
for the light on the side of the wall, flicking it on.

The dim florescent lighting shows the
orange carpeting, drapes and tub, along with one king sized bed.
Sam laughs, dropping their bags on the floral bedding.

“
Don’t get me wrong, I love
orange and all, but this is just wrong,” Sam laughs.

Melody lifts up the comforter,
searching for any critters that might be living in between the
sheets.

“
There could be clowns and
glass dolls in here for all I care. The only thing I'm worried
about is getting eaten alive by a cockroach or something,” she
says.

Sam helps her shake the sheets out,
just in case, before making his way to the bathroom to
change.

“
The toilet’s orange too!”
he shouts in amazement.

Melody rolls her eyes, throwing Sam’s
sweats on under her tank top. She slips under the sheets, confident
that if anything had been in these sheets she had gotten it off,
and tugs on the beaded cord next to the bed to turn the lights
off.

Sam creeps into the darkened room,
taking in the small sleeping figure on the bed, wondering if this
is what Adam looked at every night before bed. He teeter-totters
back and forth on his heels before silently sliding under the
sheets next to her, holding his breath so there isn’t a sound that
can wake her.

She rolls over, nestling her head
against his chest, her legs curling up to her chest, turning her
into a little ball next to Sam. He drapes his arm on her side,
kissing the top of her head as she sighs, falling back into
sleep.

…………………………………………………………

An hour ticks by with Sam still awake,
thinking and obsessing over how Adam could have been holding Melody
the way he is now. She moans in her sleep, flipping over so she can
stretch her legs out from under the sheets, the oversized pant leg
over Sam’s sweat pants roll up to her knee, showing her
goose-bumped leg.

He sneaks out from under the sheets,
tiptoeing his way to the door until he is standing outside on the
other side of the door. While pacing back and forth in front of the
door, opening and closing his phone as muggy air sticks to his
skin, pondering on making this awkward phone call.

“
Tomorrow I should be in the
area any way, there’s no real harm in stopping by to say
hi,”
he thinks to himself.

It’s been a year since he’s talked to
his parents, let alone seen them. But the reasons for their falling
out are understandable.

“
I'm twenty-two years old! I
don’t need my parents ‘loaning’ me money all the time!” Sam shouted
at his parents through the phone.

It was yet another one of
their money arguments. Sam’s father, Keith Winters, is a very
profitable owner of the Last Stand, a steakhouse chain. Mr. Winters
has over three hundred steak houses spread throughout the country,
so he has some extra cash floating around. Mrs. Winters spoiled
Sam, who is their only child, and had trouble with coming to terms
that he is no longer a child.

“
Oh, but Sammy you can’t pay
off bills with your writing and photography, not yet anyway. Please
let us help you,” Mrs. Winters said.

Sam’s head pounded. His
mother has never believed in his writing or photography.

“
No. I am not accepting
handouts from you. I’m living fine over here by myself, I just got
a job at the newspaper and I have an anniversary this weekend that
I am supposed to be taking pictures for. So thanks, but no
thanks.”

He could hear his mother sob
on the phone right before he pushed end.

He finally flips through his contacts,
reluctantly pushing the call button. The phone rings.

Ring.

Ring.

Then stops.

“
Hello?” a woman croaks, who
is obviously unhappy with being woken up at this hour.

“
Hey mom, it’s Sam,” he says
as he nervously runs his fingers through his hair.

“
Oh! Sammy! Why are you
calling so late? Is something wrong? Are you in trouble?” she asks,
her voice mixed with joy and worry.

“
Well, um, in a way, but
it’s nothing for you to worry about. Would you mind if Melody and I
stop by tomorrow? We’re kind of in the neighborhood.”

“
Of course, come on over! We
haven’t seen your pretty little girlfriend in
awhile!”         

“
Thanks mom, I have to get
back to bed. Good night, see you tomorrow probably around noon.
Tell dad and Reese I said hi.”

“
Ok, Sammy. Good
night!”

 
His phone makes a
clicking noise as she hangs up. He sighs, slipping his cell phone
into his sweat pant pockets. Sam sneaks back into bed next to
Melody, pulling her by the waist back to him, before falling to
sleep.

Chapter Twenty-
One

The next morning Sam awakes to find
Melody sprawled out on top of him; her head lay under his chin
while her leg is flopped across his. He rubs her back, slowly
trying to ease her from her slumber. She moans lifting herself up
just enough to look at him.

“
Morning,” she
yawns.

 
He smirks, looking up
at how her bright red hair falls over her face like soft autumn
drapes.
“Have a rough night?” he asks,
tempted to play with her hair.

She sighs dramatically as she flops
down on her back beside him, pressing the heels of her palms into
her eye sockets. “I dreamed all night.”

 
Sam’s stomach goes
queasy as he props himself up on his elbow, peering over her.
“About… him?” he asks.

 
Melody nibbles on her
lip, nodding. “Yes and no, yes he was in them but they were just
your run of the mill night mares, nothing like when Jet is actually
there.”

He nods, hoping now since Adam is in
the real world maybe he won’t be able to steal Melody away in her
dreams. She rolls her head over to look at him, her hair flopping
over her face.

“
Sam, are you ok? You look
like your minds somewhere else,” she asks.

 
He shrugs, trying not
to think too hard about what she could have been dreaming about and
if Jet was in them. “Um, I told my parents that we were in town, if
that’s alright.”

Melody tilts her head, her brow
furrowing. “Are you sure you’re going to be ok? I mean the last
time you saw them…”

“
I know, I know. But they’re
my parents; I can’t let one fight cut them off from my life
forever.”

Melody pulls his face close to hers,
kissing his nose before standing up. “Just remember that if things
get too stressful for you, we can leave,” she reminds
him.

She grabs Sam’s hands, pulling him to
his feet. He rests his hand on the small of her back, leaning down
to help Melody pack the few belongings that they have been lugging
around for the past few days.

……………………………………………………
..

They leave the bright orange motel room
around seven in the morning, glad to be rid it.

Sam insists on driving the whole way
there, even with Melody bribing for the steering wheel. She climbs
out of the car at one of the many rest stops lining the interstate,
only to come back and find Sam dead asleep in the driver’s seat.
She leans in the driver’s side door, pushing his hair off his
forehead.

“
Sam, just let me drive,
you’re obviously tired,” she commands.

He moans, crossing his arms at his
chest. “I just need a little nap, I’ll be fine.”

She rolls her eyes, walking
across the graveled parking lot to the vending machines that are
conveniently nestled in-between the men and women’s bathrooms. She
riffles through her pockets, finding a crinkled ten dollar bill in
her right pocket, buying three
humongous
bottles of caffeine filled
soda, taking the change from that and buying a few  big boxes
of some off brand hot candy in the vending machine next to
her.

She balances the bottles in-between her
index and middle fingers in each hand, holding them by their
plastic necks, while she grips the boxes of spicy candy under her
arms. She places one of the black-brown bottles on the roof of the
Station Wagon, which has become covered in dirt and dust due to
their days of travel.  She taps her index finger on the window
closest to Sam. He jerks awake, rolling the window down.

“
What are you doing…?” he
begins to ask.

 
She hands him one of
the pop bottles and a few of red, spicy jelly beans.  Sam
raises his eye brow, scratching the side of his face as she drops
the bottle on to his lap then holds her palm out with the little
red bean shaped candy resting onto of her skin.

“
I don’t want you falling
asleep while you’re driving,” she explains.

 
He rolls his eyes,
twisting the top of the soda bottle, letting the fizz ring out
before he unscrews it the rest of the way, taking a quick slurp
before, unknowingly, taking the red beans. His eyes water as he
steals the box from Melody’s hands.

“
Seriously?
Gawww
! Melody!” Sam shouts
as he scrapes his tongue with a napkin.

Melody skips to the other side of the
car, plopping down in the passenger seat. “Well, you’ll stay awake
now!” she laughs and kisses Sam’s burning lips.

He starts up the car and they drive for
another six hours with Melody handing Sam spicy jelly beans and
pop.

…………………………………………………

Sam pulls into the looped driveway that
sits in front of the brown brick house that his parents had moved
to when he started high school. He stretches his neck to check his
reflection in the review mirror, making sure his mother won’t
complain about how tired or mangy he looks. He walks around to the
passenger door; the smell of barbeque hangs in the air, as he opens
the door for Melody. She steps out, linking arms with
him.

“
You ready for this, Sam?”
she asks.

He kisses her cheek. “Yes.”

 
They venture up the
stone walk way, daises line the outside of its dark pavement
surface. Sam has never really liked the fact that everything has
been handed to him, so even though his parents are the ones paying
for his aristocratic apartment, he still works hard and pays for
everything else, or if he doesn’t need anything he gives it
away.

“
Oh Sammy, you’re looking so
grown up!” Sam’s mother, a short blond woman with curly hair that
rests at her shoulders and the same leafy green eyes that Sam has,
greats.

She attacks Sam’s unguarded face with
kisses, her soft pink lip stick marking his cheek. He slips away
from her grasp, wrapping his arm around Melody’s waist.

“
And you remember Melody,
right?” he asks.

His mother nods, flashing a forced
smile, full of perfectly straight white teeth, at Melody. “Yes your
girlfriend! How are you doing Melody?” his mother
chirps.

Sam walks his mom to a white suede
chair, not wanting to put off what he needs to say. “Mom, Melody
and I need to tell you something,” Sam begins to say.

 
His dad walks in the
room, with their old yellow lab Reese on his heels, and sits down
next to his mom in a matching white arm chair.

“
What’s going on?” he asks
as he eyes the space in-between Sam and Melody.

“
Sammy was getting ready to
tell me something,” Sam’s mom says.

Mr. Winters rolls his eyes,
letting out a huff, “Helen, the boy’s twenty-three years old! Stop
calling him
Sammy
.”

Sam looks at his embarrassed mother
with sympathetic eyes. “I don’t mind being called Sammy,
mom.”

She pats his cheek. “Now, go on, what
were you going to tell me?”

He smiles, lacing fingers with Melody.
“Melody and I are in love, and we plan to get married
soon.” 

Unfortunately Sam’s mother gives him
the reaction he was praying he wouldn't get.

She jumps up, her chair falling to the
floor behind her, as she points a purple finger nail at Melody.
“What have you done to my Sammy! You’ve brainwashed him or
something?” she shouts before she starts to charge at Melody, her
fists clinched and ready to attack.

Sam puts his arm around Melody, pulling
her close. “Mom! I love her; just as much as you love
dad.”

His mother unclenches her fists, eyeing
Melody with rage as she pleads with Sam, “Are you sure you’re
making the right choice? I mean you’re young and…”