A Surreptitious Relationship

:A Surreptitious Relationship: Chapter Twenty-Eight

Something sharp was pressing into the soft skin on my stomach. The stinging pain triggered a memory within me. I remembered that feeling. It was hard not to recognize. It was definitely a knife. No, it had to be more than one knife. Someone was pressing multiple knives into my stomach; not deep enough to cause damage, but deep enough for it to start to tingle. Panic welled up in me. My eyes shot open and I wasn't surprised when I came face-to-face with Shawn and Mikey. Immediately I reached for Chris, but found he wasn't lying next to me anymore. 

"Hello, Holly," Shawn started, a grin I remembered far too well on his chiseled face. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" 

My mind was racing. Mikey and Shawn should've still been in jail. I knew for a fact they were in the prison for an extended length of time for attempted murder. How had they managed to escape? And where was Chris? How could he not have noticed them coming in? Well, that was a little bit hypocritical. I hadn't noticed either. 

"Cat got your tongue?" Mikey guessed, his eyes narrowing into evil slits. 

When I tried to respond, I found my voice wasn't working. In fact, nothing was working- my body was suddenly immobile. The knife tips continued to push into my tender skin and then pull back in a constant motion. Mikey mumbled something to Shawn and they both retracted their weapons. Relief washed through me. At least for a brief second. 

"I might as well continue what I started before," Mikey mused, examining the honed tip of his blade. "I hope it hurts." 

He raised the knife over his head, intending for a deep plunge. I struggled to gain control of my body but found my attempts completely useless. Scream after scream rose in my throat, but nothing was released. My vocal cords refused to work. Just like the time before, time was thrown into slow motion as the blade was thrust down, ready to bite my skin. Just before it reached my skin, time resumed to normal pace. My eyes snapped shut. The blade touched down, pricking the skin. This time I managed to scream. 

Sitting up, the pain worsened and I screamed again, struggling to throw the comforters off of me. As my hands gripped the edge of them, the pain suddenly disappeared. I threw them off me, my eyes opening and searching for the wound on my stomach. Instead of blood and gore, I found my hand covering the logo of the shirt Chris had put on my last night. 

"Holly?" 

The familiar voice registered in my head and I turned my head slowly to look at Chris. Confusion swept through me. "Chris...?" 

His worried eyes searched my face and then swept over my body. "What's wrong? Why are you screaming?" 

"Wasn't Shawn...? A knife...? Mikey?" I mumbled, unable to form a full question. My eyes scoured the room, looking for any signs of the two predators. Everything was the way it had been when I went to bed. I returned my gaze to Chris, my heart gradually going back to its normal pace. 

Chris's arms shot around me and he roughly pulled me to his hard chest. "Holly... It's okay, no one is here." 

"But what about the prickling on my skin?" 

"That was Milkshake kneading your chest before you flung him halfway across the room. Shawn and Mikey are in jail, remember?" 

Embarrassment washed over me when I realized I'd been dreaming. My arms snaked their way around Chris's waist. "I'm sorry. It was just a dream. I guess I was kind of half-asleep and half-awake." 

"Don't apologize," he scolded quietly. "I should be the one saying sorry. I didn't realize you had nightmares about them." 

"I don't usually," I murmured, pressing my face into his smooth shoulder. "It hasn't happened in at least a month."