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“Don’t. I… uh, did Roman write about me in your journal?” I’d expected this to come up at some point. Drake himself wasn’t human. At first I didn’t believe it, but with everything happening at Dark Haven I couldn’t hide from the reality I found myself in. And Roman would never lie to me.

“He did,” I whispered back. “I’m not scared of you, Drake.”

“Why not?” he demanded as his body tensed. “Everyone else is. I’m a fucking monster, or half of one at least.”

“No, you’re Drake,” I explained, wishing I could see him. “And humans fucking suck, so I’ll take a half demon over a full human any day.”

He let out a shocked chuckle. “I’d call you crazy for that but we’re all a little crazy here.”

“We are,” I agreed, both of us laughing quietly. Drake had always intrigued me but we’d never connected like this, a quiet vulnerable conversation. And I found that I enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed them with Harlow. Both were confident in themselves and who they were. They didn’t hide things from me intentionally, as far as I knew. With her I found solace, a person who could understand and accept me as I was, all of me. And Drake didn't seem to care how I got here or what was ‘wrong’ with me, he for some reason saw me, as Hiro, when no one else really did. He didn’t talk over me or avoid me like others did, in fact, he’d talk over someone else to ensure I wasn’t pulling away or losing myself in our group.

Being seen meant a lot in a world that only saw what they wanted to.

Even now as we sat in silence, his arm around me and demons moving in the halls far away, I felt something settle in my soul.

“I like you, Drake,” I blurted out. “I like Harlow too, but differently. You… I…” I was rambling and lost my train of thought, unable to force more words out as panic started to seize me. Vulnerability and honesty were dangerous and here I was taking chances.

“Hiro!” Drake’s voice was loud enough in my ear that the panic stopped. He let out a slow chuckle before I felt his free hand pull my face gently in his direction. Soft lips ghosted over mine as an answer to my unasked question, and I couldn’t hide the smile that spread over my face. It was the confirmation I needed and Drake’s way of putting the ball in my court.

Now I just had to figure out what I wanted or how to put into words that I didn’t want to let this fade away.

But as something crashed in the distance our moment was over.

* * *

Harlow

Tuesday Morning

Third Floor

“Wake up!”The deep voice that roared in my dream was so intense that I jolted awake in my room. Sweat covered my body and I glanced around, seeing nothing but an empty room and the dim light from the hall. A quick glance at my alarm clock had me groaning. It was barely after four thirty in the morning.

My door creaked open, and my breath caught at the amplified sound of the nightmarish halls of Dark Haven after dark.

Vane’s words echoed in my head. He promised he’d double down on his efforts, was this the product of that?

“Hello there? Are you lost?” The slithery smooth voice had me spinning around to face a large demon whose tongue was flicking out like a snake’s, like he was tasting the air between us.

“No, get the fuck away from me!” I screamed before I was snatched by something behind me and slammed on my bed. The demon’s laughter filled the space before the door closed in his face and a very angry Monty was looming over me.

“I told you to not leave your room at night! Tonight of all nights you disobey me?!” he screamed loud enough my ears rang. The desperation in his voice was unlike him.

“Someone yelled my name, it woke me up,” I argued. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have, I sleep like the dead here!”

“Don’t leave again,” he warned before pushing his shadows at me. I tried to fight the darkness overtaking me but was powerless to fight as it pulled me under.

* * *

The eerie silencethat filled the halls of the third floor had me unsettled. At first, I worried my meds were still adjusting since I’d had the strangest dreams all night. But there was usually some movement around. It took everything in me to convince myself I was overreacting and to go through my morning routine without panicking.

My body felt grimy with sweat so before anything, I had to shower. As I grabbed my designated shower caddy from the desk, I noticed Nurse Drew and the night nurse were nowhere to be found.

By the time I’d taken a full shower and changed, it was still quiet. After depositing my caddy back at the nurses’ desk, I went through the hall, knocking on doors. Every room was silent and locked, which in itself was strange.

“Hiro? Roman?” I called to be sure before moving on to Layne’s. “Layne? Crew?” Again, nothing. Holding onto hope, I called out the last member of this floor. “Drake?” I was still met with overwhelming silence. Every footstep seemed booming in the quiet, and I realized the floor was lacking its usual noises I’d taken for granted, the buzz of the air conditioning, the washer running, everyday noises.

My heart pounded against my chest and dread settled in. Something was wrong.


Tags: Jarica James Paranormal