Haunted

Five

When I wake, there's a warmth pressed against my side.

I'm lying on my stomach with a hand wrapped around my upper arm. Only the hand isn't mine. I stiffen, and my ears catch the sound of someone breathing beside me. Their gentle exhale brushes against the back of my neck.

What the fuck?

Who the hell is sleeping with me?

Terrified, I jump up onto my arms and immediately regret it. My memory rushes back as my muscles strain, and a soft moan escapes me as my entire back flares with agony. The pain is nothing like it was last night, but I still feel a couple of the gauze pads on my back get damp with fresh blood as my spine stretches.

Weak, I limply fall back onto the bed.

"Bria?" someone whispers.

I rotate my head to find a green-eyed girl curled up beside me on the mattress. It's her hand that is curled around my arm, and when she lifts her head to inspect me, I notice that her hair has flattened to one side of her head.

It's cute.

I wince at the ache that surrounds my back and frown, trying to remember what happened last night. "Myka?"

My voice is raspy, and my throat feels like I was recently screaming bloody murder.

Oh wait.

Myka shakes her head and the grogginess in her eyes disappears. "How do you feel?" Not bothering to wait for an answer, she moves to peek at my back. With the hand that isn't on my arm, she lifts the edge of one of the gauze pads and lets out a gasp.

"Whoa. How?"

"I dreamt I was swimming in a cloud with a hedgehog," I say, closing my eyes. When she doesn't respond, I open them back up and see her still staring at my back in wonder. Then what I said registers and she looks at me in confusion.

"You what?"

"Dreams," I remind her. "Dreams speed up the healing of supernatural wounds."

Myka nods and returns her gaze to my bandages in awe. "That's amazing." She presses the gauze back into place before resting her head on the pillow we're sharing. Her eyes look back and forth between mine, and for a second they lock onto my lips. Then she's right back to meeting my stare.

I shiver slightly and notice the corner of her mouth twitch up.

"What happened to Caleb?" I decide to ask, purposely avoiding what may or may not have just happened.

Without removing her hand from my skin, Myka lifts her free arm and points behind me, angling her finger down. I follow it, rotating my head around to face the rest of the room.

Caleb lays sprawled across the carpet. He looks younger without his glasses on, but still just as handsome. A plaid blanket covers half of his body, and his mouth is wide open in deep sleep. I smirk, having the sudden urge to find a marker so I can give him a temporary goatee. My amusement turns to surprise when I feel Myka's thumb begin to stroke my arm. I turn my head back around to face her.

As soon as I glance at her hand, her thumb freezes.

Meeting my eyes, she mimics my startled expression and clears her throat, like she was unaware that she had been touching me. Slowly, her fingers unwrap themselves from my arm and my heart pangs at the loss of contact. It's been so long since anyone has touched me without destructive motives that I forgot how nice it is.

And now it's gone.

Myka clears her throat again before pushing herself into a sitting position. I brace my arms underneath my torso and prepare to do the same, but her hand on my shoulder stops me.