The massive oak tree shuddered against the cold November wind. The few leaves that still clung to the branches were plucked off one by one, each spinning harder than the last as it skittered down the street in front of my car. I parked across from Dr. Freeburg's office again.
What I was hoping to learn from showing up here, at this point, I wasn't sure. I just wanted to talk to Freeburg. Mia had made it very clear in our conversation earlier that she already thought I had, so I might as well try. Maybe I could get a clearer idea if he was actually as creepy as he seemed to be. Maybe he had some of the answers that were out of my reach. After my plan to talk to Mia had crashed and burned, I desperately needed to cross a name off my suspect list, and if it couldn't be mine . . . well, then maybe it could be his.
I leaned the driver's seat back and closed my eyes to rest for a few moments, but it didn't help much. My headache was every bit as bad as it had been earlier, and it was getting worse by the minute. Each time I shut my eyes, I saw Darkness following Mia down the hallway. I'd seen occasional weird things before, but usually they were while I was in someone else's dream and were followed by a pink unicorn wearing a pin-striped suit.
This wasn't a dream, though. My mind had become my worst enemy. It was playing morbid tricks on me, and I didn't know how worried I should be. Blowing it off was the obvious option. It was easy. I was good at it. But I had a nagging feeling that seeing the shadow of me meant things were getting worse—more serious. As if losing time at night wasn't bad enough, full-blown hallucinations weren't something I felt prepared to deal with. Not now, not ever.
It was bad enough to see Darkness in Mia's nightmares, but to have him following me into reality wasn't an option. Yet what I'd seen wasn't real. I didn't want him to be.
He couldn't be.
I'd avoided thinking much about the e-mails, mostly because it confirmed my fears. Either someone wanted Mia to think I'd sent the messages, or I'd sent them during my lost time. I winced and focused on the first option. Who would want to frame me, though? Who hated me enough to destroy my life like this? I'd been thinking about it for a few weeks, but still didn't feel any closer to the answer. We had no real suspects there. Thor, Matt, and Jeff made more sense than anyone, but would they really be okay with terrifying Mia in the process of making me look bad? Worse still . . . what if it was my name on that e-mail because I was the monster who set up the account? What if Mia had been right about me all along?
Mia finally walked out of the office, chatted with Dr. Freeburg for a minute, and waved goodbye. He went back inside as she climbed in her purple truck on the other side of the parking lot. Ducking low in my seat, I closed my eyes and didn't move while she drove past. I didn't release the breath I was holding until after I heard her turn the corner. I was pretty sure she hadn't seen me. For the hundredth time in the last month, I was grateful my car was small and too boring to draw attention. Things were tense enough already.
I waited until I couldn't hear any more traffic before I sat up. The moment I did, I saw Blind Skull climb on his motorcycle, look straight at me, and peel out of the parking lot. I scrambled out of the car, but he was already so far down the road I could barely make out his receding figure.
I couldn't find him when I looked for him, but here he was in Dr. Freeburg's parking lot at the same time as Mia? That was just too much of a coincidence. A trickle of fear froze me from the inside out. If I hadn't already added him to the suspect list, I'd be writing his name at the top of it right now. I could think of only one reason for him to be here.
Dr. Freeburg caught my attention when he began shuffling around the reception area. Grabbing a coat, he flipped off the lights. I rubbed my hands together to warm them and crossed the street. I couldn't think about Blind Skull now. I had to find out everything I could about Dr. Freeburg and Mia before he left too. I'd just stepped up onto the curb when he pulled a small key from his pocket to lock the door.
YOU ARE READING
Insomnia
Mystery / Thriller"It's been four years since I slept, and I suspect it is killing me." Instead of sleeping, Parker Chipp spends each night trapped in the dream of the last person he's made eye contact with. Every night he is crushed by other people's fear and pain...
