Dream Haunter (8 page)

He remembers how they have recently
fought, the surprised look on Jet’s face when he noticed that he
can no longer beat Sam up. His heart swells and contracts as he
worries for Melody now that he knows what Jet is capable of. He
runs his fingers across his keys, getting ready to hunt Jet down,
but holds himself back. How is he going to stop him if he didn't
even know where he is? Sam types in both his name and Jet’s, after
deciding that his address wouldn't come up.  An article of the
near death fight opens up across Sam’s screen:

Revengeful fight almost
kills fifteen year old boy

Late Tuesday night Samuel
Winters and Jet Kits got in a fight at Ripple Park. We are told
that fifteen year old Samuel was involved in the death of young
Jet’s mother, though he did not kill Mrs. Kits in the pedestrian,
car accident. She was already dying before the crash, but it was
enough trauma to kill her faint heart. When Samuel came to his
friend to confess that he was involved, young Jet became over
whelmed with rage, giving Samuel numerous blows to the head and
burses all over his body. Samuel passed out from the pain and lack
of oxygen due to Jet almost strangling him to death. Jet left
Samuel at the top of Ripple Hill until a grounds keeper found him
and took him to Trinity Hospital.

“
If he had been left up
there a little longer we would have completely lost him,” Doctor
Jackson said.

He says that Samuel will
live a normal teenage boy’s life, just with a few extra scars. No
one knows were Jet is; a search is currently undergoing for him.
Samuel remembers nothing of the fight
.

Sam lets out a low whisper as he leans
back against the grey office chair, “That was over eight years
ago.” He searches for information on whether or not they ever found
him; nothing comes up.

Chapter
Fifteen

“
I love you,” Adam whispers
as he holds Melody’s hand in his.

Melody blushes, angling her face down
in embarrassment. “I love you too.” But deep down, she’s
empty.

Adam showers her with kisses and gifts,
but all she feels is empty. He kisses her so sweet and delicate,
whispers that he loves her, softly and true, but something isn’t
right. All Melody wants to do is kiss him and not stop, and
sometimes she does, but is usually followed by them fighting at
least twice a day. They fight about nothing, yell at the top of
their lungs for no reason, but no matter how bad they argue he
won’t leave her alone. He follows her everywhere; she can’t look
over her shoulder without seeing him watching her. Sometimes she
feels like she is being held captive, and other times she feels
like she is the one holding him captive, in her heart.

She still wears the gold chain necklace
with the heart on it, because it reminds her of how Adam saved her
from Sam’s lies. He was protecting her from getting hurt… right?
Yes he’s protective, but that’s what was wrong with Sam, he didn't
protect her… he didn't even come here to rescue her! Yes, Adam is
way better toward her than Sam ever was.

…………………………………………………
.

Sleep refuses to grace Melody with its
glorious presence, leaving her to toss and turn in the thin grey
sheets while her mind eats away at her.

The door creaks open, letting a beam of
light cast a long shadow as Adam comes in the room, deep in the
black night like he usually does. He slides into bed next to her,
wrapping his arms around her waist as he kisses the back of her
neck. Melody rolls over to face him, tears glistening against her
cheek.

“
Oh what’s wrong,
beautiful?” Adam asks, brushing the tears off of her
cheek.

She pushes his hands away, sitting back
so she can face him. “I’m so torn… I know you love me but I keep
finding myself thinking about Sam…”

He shakes his head, leaning in to kiss
her. “You’re just scared and trying to find holes in something that
is perfectly wonderful,” he says, brushing away her words like
they’re nothing more than smoke

Melody presses her hands
against his chest, keeping him at arm’s length. “I know how
you
feel but I don’t know
how
I
feel.”

He smirks, dipping his head
to kiss her arm. “You
hate
Sam and you
love
me.”

She rolls her eyes, yanking her arms
away from him. “You’re doing it again! You’re telling me how to
feel!”

He brings her hands back to
his mouth, disregarding the weight of the conversation they are
having. “This
is
how you feel. You’re just confused right now.”

She gives a curt
“
Ha!”
before
climbing out of bed, tears starting to sting her cheeks again.
 “Could you just leave me alone for awhile?” she tells him
more than asks him.

 
Adam stands to face
her, only an inch or so between the two of them, his perfect eyes
flashing. “No.” 

He flashes his unruly smile. She steps
back, something is wrong; she can feel a thick veil being lifted
from over her eyes.

“
Please! I just need to be
alone!” she shouts. 

He rubs his thumb across her cheek.
“No.” his voice remains low and seductive.

Melody’s stomach knots up as
she pushes his hand from her face. “Just leave. Me.
Alone
.”

The sparkle in Adam’s eyes vanish,
replaced by something cold as stone, right before he throws a punch
to the side of her cheek, sending Melody to the cold tile floor.
She lays there, her cheek throbbing as the room spins into a mix of
colors around her. He leans over the top of her, dropping his lips
onto hers, giving her the most amazing kiss he’s ever
given.

“
I love you,” he whispers,
dragging his lips over to her ear as he speaks.

 
The room blackens as
the trauma of being struck finally takes hold of her.

……………………………………………………

Sam wakes himself up from another heart
wrenching nightmare about Melody, his heart pounding hard in his
ears; he can still hear her screaming. His pulse calms as he stairs
up at the lightless ceiling of his bedroom, suddenly hearing the
extra breaths accompanying his own. Sam rolls his head to his
right, his sweaty hair sticking to his cheek. There’s something
lying next to him, something breathing heavy and trembling. It only
takes a few seconds for his eyes to adjust and recognize
her.

Sam’s breath catches as he looks her
over before quickly wrapping Melody in his arms; she does the same
to him. A fountain of tears pour from Sam’s eyes on to her
hair.

“
I thought that I-I lost
you,” he stammers.

Sam gently places kisses on her face,
softly brushing Melody’s hair from her forehead while his thumb
rubs across her other cheek. He pulls his hand away from her face,
the sickening feeling of warm blood running down from the cut
smears off onto his thumb.

“
Did he
hit
you?” Sam asks, his stomach
turning in disbelief.

Melody drops eye contact
with him, nodding as she runs her fingers across her bruised cheek.
“But he didn't mean to,” she smiles as her heart flutters,
“he
loves
me.”

Sam sits up, rubbing his
face against his palms,
Is she blind to
what he did to her? I love her… and he hurt her… I’ll
KILL
him
. He looks down at where Melody
still lays, playing with her lips, her eyes glossed over in some
dreamy haze. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.”

Sam’s body feels heavy as he guides
Melody down the hall to the bathroom, his skin prickling with a
nervous anger that scares him.

 
Once the florescent
lights of the small bathroom are flicked on, Melody stares at her
bruised cheek in the mirror.

“
He does love me, you know,”
Melody says, as she gently touches the bruise on her
cheek.

 
Sam gently grips her
by the waist, lifting her up on the counter. He pulls a rag from
the rack next to the shower, remaining silent while he looks at the
cut, occasionally dabbing it with the wet rag. He gently wipes the
blood off her cheek, his throat starting to close up as he tries to
get the words out.

“
Do-do you love him?” he
asks.

Melody’s eyes stare down at
the mess of towels on the bathroom floor, thinking to
herself
,
“
Do I? Adam did hit me and left me on
the floor, he didn't even care. But he said that he loves me. And
those eyes…”

  
Sam grabs her
face, placing both of his trembling hands on either side of her
face, his eyes franticly looking her over, almost pleading. “I love
you, Melody. Please don’t do this.
Please
,” he pleads.

Melody’s eyes hold his for the briefest
of moments before watching Sam’s hand slide from her right cheek,
dropping down to lace fingers with her, holding her shaking hands
in his. She moves her mouth, trying to say his name but she just
croaks, her voice wavering with emotion.

Sam leans forward and kisses her
un-bruised cheek, the minty smell of Adam/ Jet still lingers on her
skin. Something inside of her breaks as she falls forward on him,
her lips trembling as she presses her face against his chest, tears
are rolling down her cheeks.

“
I know…” she
whispers.

Sam’s neck bends down so his lips can
kiss her forehead, a mixed pool of muddy emotion sticks to his
throat. “I need to tell you something about Adam,” Sam wraps his
arm around her shoulder as he lifts himself up on the counter next
to her.  “Adam… well that’s not his real name. It’s…” he
starts to say but something bangs on the front door, loud, angry.
Sam holds a finger up as he goes to answer it.

He leaves Melody sitting upon the
counter, holding a wash cloth to her cheek. His lips are set to sad
smile, so grateful to have Melody back to himself but beyond
heartbroken that she’s hurt. He grabs the door knob, not bothering
to check the peephole before opening the door.

His blood chills as he recognizes the
face on the other side of the door. Adam, well technically “Jet” to
Sam. Sam staggers backwards, ready to run and get to Melody before
Adam does. He turns to run for her, to protect her, but she’s
already jogging down the hall way but before he can make his way
back to her. She runs past him, jumping into Adam’s open arms.
Sam’s hands fold into fists at his side as Adam holds Melody
tight.

He touches the bump on Melody’s face,
making an apologetic face before kissing her intensely. Sam stands
there, wanting to scream until his lungs explode into a bloody mess
as Adam slides his hands up the back of Melody’s shirt.

“
I… Love… You…” Adam pants
in-between kisses.

Sam’s temples pulsate, ready to take
Adam to the floor; if Melody wasn’t in his way, Adam would be sorry
he ever came here. Adam presses his lips against Melody’s, pulling
her out of the door frame and down the hall, away from
Sam.

Pounding, wild and erratic
pounding, in Sam’s chest keeps him grounded to the floor in front
of his door. He took her. Adam just took her and she went
willingly. How can she
do
that? Sam runs down the long, carpeted hallway
after them, but they are already gone. Sam’s legs give way as he
catches a glimpse of something red on the floor next to his feet.
He drops to his knees, plucking the golden chain from the carpet,
running his finger across the engravings, praying,
“
God please don’t let anything happen to
her! Bring her back to me, God, please!”

Chapter
Sixteen

Adam and Melody lay wrapped in each
other’s arms on the sticky leather couch, eyes clinched shut, and
lips moist. That night Adam did the worst thing he could do to
Melody or even Sam. And she didn't even tell Adam to
stop.

The next morning, Melody’s skin stinks
with guilt. She sits up, holding the sheets to the bed they had
moved to last night close to her chest.

“
What have I done? What have
I done to me… and Sam… oh Sam…”
she thinks
to herself as Adam moans and wakes up beside her.

He snakes his arms around
her waist, kissing her bare back as Melody’s eyes begin to
tear.
She slides away from him, her skin
squirming at his touch. “You were wrong. I hate you and me,” she
says, dryly.