Chapter 6 - Dreams Vs. Reality

I jolted up from the bed immediately, drenched in sweat.

No way in the world would Asher ever say that. He would rather kill me first than give Mia a chance.

That had been a horrible dream.

I looked at the time. A few minutes past five.

I got down on my knees to pray. I was barely done when my door flung open. It was Regan, already dressed for school.

“Are you still in bed? Hurry, let’s go.” She walked in and pulled me up. “I need to see Logan before the first period. I don’t understand everything he taught yesterday.”

“Logan?”

“Yeah. I can’t go alone, and we both know Lisa isn’t an early bird. Besides, you’ll benefit too since you missed school yesterday.”

I tried to shake my head, but it felt heavy and ached. “I’m very good at Algebra. I can help us.”

She rolled her eyes. “Stop acting like you know it all. This particular topic is more complicated than you think.”

Let me guess. Asher would be early for practice this morning, and she was hoping to see him.

“What do you think of Logan? I heard he flirts,” I remarked casually.

Her eyes lit up instantly, and she sat on the bed beside me. “Who told you? Do you know who his girlfriend is?”

It was on the tip of my tongue to mention Mia. But the thought of Regan blackmailing me later didn’t sit well, so I simply shook my head. My dream was the only place I had gotten that impression. “I don’t know,” I shrugged.

“Come on, Grace. Stop stalling.” She dragged me toward the bathroom. “You said yesterday you wished you could be early enough to finish your notes before school started.”

Had I really said that? Now I had a very bad feeling about this. What if Regan had teamed up with Mia to hand me over to Logan? Did I mention Regan was a chameleon? Whenever Lisa wasn’t around, she acted super sweet to get my help. Once she got it, she dumped me and treated me like trash again. The only reason I put up with her wasn’t because I was stupid or daft. It was because I hoped she would come to understand that I didn’t hate her as much as she hated me. I hoped it would soften her.

But I doubted it ever did.

When she brought me home the previous evening, I realized why she had been in such a hurry. The house was a total mess, and the cleaner hadn’t shown up. The sink was overflowing with dishes. There were piles of laundry. The house was dirty.

She barely vacuumed the living room and left the rest for me. I also had to cook dinner.

Yet she didn’t think I deserved proper sleep this morning.

If I didn’t care so much about my grades, I would’ve skipped school today. We left the house before six. The school was about a ten-minute walk away if you took the tricky shortcuts. Just like in my dream, the classrooms were dimly lit when we stepped in.

All my instincts screamed no.

I stretched my hand to switch on the light, but Regan grabbed my wrist.

“Wait. Can you hear that?”

My pulse raced.

No way I was walking from my dream straight into reality.

“I don’t want to hear anything,” I muttered.

“Just listen,” she insisted.

My breathing quickened. I suddenly wished the sun would rise faster and the hallways would fill with students. If I made noise and it really was Logan and Mia, they could easily spot me. And if I hid, would it even make a difference?

“You hear it now?” Regan asked.

I nodded weakly.

Loud moans.

My bladder filled instantly.

“I think I need to use the restroom,” I said quickly, turning toward the door.

"No! Wait!" Regan whispered harshly, but I paid deaf ears and pulled away when she tried to grab me. I hurried out of the class noiselessly, while she followed, still calling me. 

We had barely gone a few steps when we ran into Asher. 

“Hey! What are you doing here so early?” Regan asked, dropping her whisper and speaking in her normal voice.

I glanced back in fear, half expecting Logan and Mia to walk out any second. Honestly, I was ready to hide in the restroom until sunrise. It would do me a lot of good and I could catch a little sleep if possible. 

I tried to walk past Asher, but he grabbed my hand and pulled me back. I held my breath. He smelled way better this morning. I resisted the ridiculous urge to wrap my hands around him, bury my head in his neck and inhale all his good smell.

"What are you up to? We need to talk." He said firmly. 

My eyes wandered to Regan. Even in the dim hallway lights, I could see the hard stare she gave me. 

"If this is about your..." I was interrupted by fresh footsteps as they emerged from the class behind. The exact class we just heard the noise from.

Logan and Mia. 

If I was able to make it to the restroom now, I might as well avoid my entire dream. I figured. 

"Let's talk later please." I pleaded desperately, trying to free my hand from his strong grip. 

"Talk about what?" Regan demanded darkly. 

Lord have mercy. I would never ignore my dreams next time or let Regan cajole me into something I didn't desire to do. Before I could respond, Asher pulled me away with him.

"Asher Thorne? What's going on?" Logan came into full view now. 

"I'm sorry, I just need a moment with her. It's gonna be a quick one." He flashed Logan a wink. 

"What? You wanna make out this early morning?" Logan flared in total disbelief. 

"Hell no! He... " I tried to speak. 

"No big deal. We did it long and hard yesterday." He tugged at my arm. "You too Logan. You're still on it as we speak." He added as he hurried me out with him. 

I looked back to say something in defense, but the look I saw on their faces scared the life out of me and for a moment I forgot what I was going to say. Did they really believe this jerk?