Blythe Tatum expected her freshman year at university to be nerve-wracking, though nothing out of the ordinary. The beginning of her school year starts off as averagely as possible, though Blythe soon finds herself caught up in an unexpected and ine...
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I wake up with a jolt, heaving as I try to breathe.
I'd had a nightmare as realistic as the hallucinations I've had in the past, though this particular scenario seems to have freaked me out more than the others. I can remember every detail, from the weight atop my body pinning me into a hard surface, to the hands around my neck robbing me of oxygen.
I sit in bed for a moment, clutching my neck before rubbing my throbbing temples. As I struggle to breathe, I shake as terror circulates through my veins. With a start, I realize that this is too much for me to keep to myself. I have to talk to someone about what has been happening to me, no matter how badly I dread doing so.
I grab my phone from the nightstand next to my bed and send Ben a text, asking him to meet me in a half hour. I then rise from my bed with purpose, hoping that sharing these strange dreams I'm having with someone else will be the key to getting them to stop.
Of course, Ben meets me right on time, per usual. He has yet to let me down once since I first met him, and part of me knows that he never will. Maybe that's why I chose him to share this personal information with. He's always so understanding and reliable. I don't know who else I could possibly go to with something like this.
"Hey," Ben greets as I approach him, offering a bright smile in my direction. "You wanted to talk?"
I nod as I take a seat at our usual table in the café—as where else would we meet up? I fidget as Ben slides an iced coffee across the table toward where I sit, showing off his generosity by proving he has already been thoughtful enough to order and pay for my coffee. I thank him with a tight-lipped smile, hoping he doesn't mistake my nervous behavior for rudeness.
"What's going on?" Ben questions after a moment, studying me carefully. His hazel eyes gleam with concern, wrinkles etching onto his features as he frowns over at me thoughtfully. Clearly, Ben can sense that there is something bothering me.
I hesitate, pursing my lips as I try my best to come up with a sensible explanation as to what I've been dealing with. The first two times I blacked out while I'd been with Jacob I thought nothing of—in all honesty I can hardly remember those situations actually happening. However, I've experienced more hallucinations as time has gone on, each more disturbing and detailed than the last. I'm not sure I can keep acting as if everything is fine if I don't talk about this with someone.
"I've been having these . . . dreams," I tell Ben cautiously, unable to look at him as I speak. I hesitate for a moment before continuing, gripping the coffee cup in my hands tightly. The autumn air ripples around me, ruffling my hair around my shoulders and sending a few unruly strands flying toward my face. The sun shines through the clouds brightly, casting a warm glow to the ground. Yet the mood in the air doesn't quite match the sunny scene up above. My surroundings feel ominous, as if evil is nearby. I wonder if Ben feels it too.
"Not even dreams, really," I add as I find my voice once again, shaking my head as I try to find the words to explain my thoughts and what I've been experiencing. "They're more like nightmares. Except sometimes they take place when I'm awake . . . like a hallucination. I've blacked out a few times. At first, I thought nothing of it. But . . . it keeps happening, Ben. I don't know what's wrong. And I'm scared."
