The next morning, I woke up with the sun. I had tossed and turned all night, haunted by the thoughts of men lurking in alleys, just waiting to attack harmless girls. And when I had finally drifted off, I dreamt about my date with Nick. It was a lovely dream at first. We sat across the table from each other, cracking jokes and generally having a good time. He tried to spoon ice cream into my mouth, but missed. It spilled all over my face, which just made us laugh harder. Nick went to eat another spoon of ice cream, and out of nowhere, Lydia suddenly appeared behind him. She grabbed his shoulders, and sank her teeth into his neck. She made eye contact with me while she stole Nick's life away. I could still hear the clatter of Nick's spoon hitting the ground when I woke up gasping.
I ran both hands over my face and flopped my arms back onto the bed. I turned to the left and looked out the window at the bright morning sky. It was a gorgeous day, without a cloud in the sky. I could hear the sounds of early morning traffic as commuters made their way to work. I sighed and yanked the covers off of my bare legs.
The wooden floor was cold on my feet as I walked to my closet and slipped on some leggings and a loose fitting T-shirt. Putting my hair up in a bun, I walked to the bathroom. After I washed my face and brushed my teeth, I felt slightly more awake. I grabbed my cell phone and plopped back on the bed. A text from Rachel was waiting.
hey girl, text me when you wake up
I shot her a reply, and within two minutes there was a short rap on my door. I opened it to a beaming Rachel.
"Soooo, how did last night go? With-- what was his name again? John?"
"Jack," I corrected.
"Oh, yeah." Rachel walked past me and made herself at home on my bed. "Anyway, you need to tell me all about it! Oh my Poseidon, I need to tell you about Aaron last night, he was so freaking--"
She stopped talking when she saw my face.
"Oh, hon, are you okay? You look like you're about to cry."
My face crumpled despite myself. The tears were hot on my cheeks.
"Oh no," Rachel said, leaping up and enveloping me in her arms. "You know what I think you need? Some hot coffee and a warm breakfast. I'm going to call room service."
* * *
I shoved another bite of chocolate chip pancakes into my mouth, feeling much better. Rachel was right, I had needed some hot food to clear my head. While we ate, I explained to her everything that had happened. I started by telling her about how Nick and I had met, and our failed first date. Then I explained what had happened when we went our separate ways last night, and what Jack had tried to do in the alley.
"You know, if I ever see him again, I'm going to rip his man parts off," Rachel stated matter-of-factly.
I laughed. "I don't think that will be necessary. I gave him a pretty good knock to the head last night."
"Good. I hope he has a concussion."
"Me too." I held out a hand to her, and she high-fived me. We burst into a fit of giggles. "Wait," I said, "you never told me what happened last night with Aaron."
Rachel waved her hand dismissively. "It's nothing important. You already know the basics of what happened." She pointed her fork at me. "The important thing is making sure that you feel better and get access to some fresh meat." She speared a strawberry and munched it thoughtfully. "A few of the girls and I got invited to a house party last night, and we were gonna go this afternoon and scope out some potential guys for some of the younger members. Wanna join?"
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The Switch
الخيال (فانتازيا)For one week every year, mermaids are allowed to walk the earth with humans. They look just like normal women, with added beauty, cunning and charm. They seem harmless enough, but once a man goes home with one of them, it's likely he will never been...
