Run Away From Me

Selena’s POV

I couldn’t breathe.

I didn’t know if I was screaming or not but my chest felt like it was caving in.

The nightmare was worse tonight.

I saw him again. Like every other time.

Dominic.

He stood there, his face twisted in pain. There was blood on his hands. My blood? I couldn’t tell anymore. It was always the same — he struck his sword through my chest, my heart bursting in my ribs, his cold eyes watching me fall.

But this time… it was different.

He was crying.

Tears — no, blood — ran down his face.

“You fool,” he said, his voice cracking and broken, “don’t you know I’ll kill you again?”

I froze. My feet wouldn’t move.

“Run,” he sobbed, his hands shaking, the blade still glinting in his grip. “Run away from me. Please… run away from me.”

I tried to speak but nothing came out.

Then the sword flashed again and pain ripped through me and everything went black.

I bolted upright in bed, gasping, clawing at my sheets like they were choking me.

My whole body was shaking, my hair stuck to my damp forehead, my heart racing so fast I thought it’d stop.

I was freezing. Absolutely freezing.

And yet my shirt was soaked through, my skin clammy and hot.

I clutched my chest, half-expecting to feel steel piercing it.

And then I saw her.

A shadow outside my window.

I gasped and nearly fell off the bed, but then the figure moved into the light.

It was Glendolyn.

She stood there like she’d been there forever, her long hair swaying in the breeze, her eyes dark and unreadable.

“You had another nightmare,” she said softly. It wasn’t even a question.

My teeth chattered when I opened my mouth and I couldn’t make words.

She stepped through the open window and walked over, wrapping her arms around me before I even thought to ask.

“Skip school tomorrow if you want,” she murmured into my hair. “You look like hell.”

I stiffened, but she just hugged me tighter, resting her chin on my head.

“Don’t let whatever nightmare you had ruin you, Lena,” she said. “Don’t let it make your life hell. You hear me?”

I swallowed, my throat tight and dry.

“How… how do you know?” I croaked.

She didn’t answer. She just held me there. Her hands were cold but her hug was warm.

I was too weak and feverish to fight her. My head hurt, my chest still ached like something really had stabbed me.

So I just leaned into her and let her hold me.

That night, I hardly slept.

When morning came, Glendolyn tried everything to get me to stay home.

“You can’t even stand up straight,” she told me, crossing her arms while I sat on the edge of the bed, trying to lace my shoes with shaking fingers. “You’re pale as a ghost. You’re burning up, Selena.”

“I just got elected,” I muttered. “I can’t miss a day.”

“You can barely walk.”

I didn’t care. I got up anyway.

I felt like a mess.

I looked like one too.

When I got to school, Sarah practically ran at me.

“You look like crap,” she whispered when she grabbed my arm.

“Thanks,” I said weakly.

She rolled her eyes and actually took my bag for me, like she could tell my arms felt like jelly.

All morning my chest throbbed faintly, right where the blade always struck me in the dream. Every step reminded me of his voice… run… run away from me.

I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

If everything Dominic had said before — before he forgot everything — was true, then that dream…

It meant I really did have a past life.

And Dominic… he really had killed me.

But why?

Why did he have to?

I was still lost in my head when I saw him.

I froze when I caught sight of him walking toward me and Sarah down the hall.

My stomach flipped.

I ducked my head, pretending to fix my sleeve and moved to the other side of Sarah.

I avoided his eyes.

I avoided him all day.

Even when I sat through his hockey practice, scribbling stats, I didn’t dare look at him.

Every time he skated past, my whole body tensed.

And when it was over I was the first out of the rink, stuffing papers in my bag and bolting before he even got to the bench.

By the time I got home I felt worse than usual.

I was hot and shaky and my throat hurt and my head spun.

But I stopped dead on the corner of my street.

Because he was there.

Leaning against a streetlight.

Dominic.

Waiting.

I panicked.

I turned back, but before I could even make it two steps, his hand grabbed my arm.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, his voice low.

“Let go,” I muttered, trying to pull away.

“No. Not until you tell me why you’ve been avoiding me all day.”

I froze. Then I laughed bitterly under my breath.

“You’ve done it before,” I said, not looking at him. “Why are you making such a big deal about it now?”

His grip tightened and he swung me around to face him.

His eyes flashed.

“What?” he asked.

“You heard me,” I snapped, though my voice cracked halfway through.

He frowned. “What about the kiss we shared?” His jaw tensed. “Did that mean nothing to you?”

I glared up at him, my whole body hot and frustrated and scared and dizzy.

“You were just joking with me,” I said, my chest heaving. “That’s what you do, isn’t it? Play around. Tease me. Make me feel…” My words caught in my throat.

He stared at me like he didn’t know what I was talking about.

And maybe that made me even madder.

I shoved his chest weakly but he didn’t move.

“You’re making me crazy,” I whispered, my eyes burning. “And you don’t even care.”

His brows furrowed and he tilted his head, his hand still gripping my arm.

“Selena… are you okay?”

I scoffed and rolled my eyes.

Now he noticed?

“Does it look like I’m okay?” I snapped, though my knees were already starting to wobble.

I tried to walk past him but my vision blurred.

“Selena—”

“I don’t feel well, Dominic,” I mumbled, my voice shaking.

And then my legs gave out.

Everything tilted sideways and I felt myself falling.

But before I hit the ground, his arms caught me.

His scent hit me all at once, like ice and heat at the same time, his breath warm near my ear as he cursed softly under his breath.

“You stubborn, stupid girl,” he muttered as he lifted me into his chest.

I didn’t have the strength to argue.

I just let my eyes close and felt his heartbeat against my cheek as he carried me away.