Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 34680 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 173(@200wpm)___ 139(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34680 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 173(@200wpm)___ 139(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
“You don’t ever come into Vivian’s bedroom,” Griff growls, the sound rumbling through his chest. I keep my eyes closed and don't point out that a few people had been in my room yesterday.
“Sorry, we’ve been trying to get hold of you. I think your phone isn’t working.”
“I turned it off. Leave,” Griff orders.
“Sir, it’s important.” The room grows quiet, and Griff strokes my hair again.
“I’ll come down to my office shortly.”
A moment later, I hear the door close. I expect Griff to move, but he keeps stroking my hair for a few more minutes before he finally shifts me. He’s handling me so delicately. I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing at how slowly he slips out from under me.
Then he tucks the blankets all around me and places pillows next to me on each side. Does he think I’m going to roll off the bed or something? I reach out, grabbing on to one of the pillows and pulling it closer to me. I wrap my arms around it, loving that his smell lingers on it.
I assumed he left the room since it grew quiet, but then his mouth brushes across my forehead. He pauses, his breath tickling my skin before he kisses my cheek next. His fingers start stroking through my hair again, gently petting me. I have no choice but to drift back to sleep again. The lure of comfort is too strong to resist.
I wake suddenly. My eyes flutter open to a completely dark room. I sit up, my body feeling heavy. There’s not even a sliver of light, and I’m unable to see anything. “No,” I whisper. Fear threatens to overwhelm me. I almost panic as my mind searches to remember where I am. My light. Where is my light? I always leave it on. I reach for my nightstand but find nothing. “Where are the lights?” I start to get a bit frantic.
“No, no, no no,” I say over and over again. What did I do? Why am I here? My mind spins as I try to remember. I must have broken some rule. But I don’t think I did. I’m always so careful not to break any of them because I hate punishment.
Griff. My mind pulls him to the surface. I run my fingers through my hair. I have Griff.
“Griff?” I call out into the darkness, but there’s no answer.
“Anna?” I call out to my roommate next. “Please turn on the lights!” I beg. She must have forgotten and turned my light off. I put my hands over my face. Anna wouldn’t forget. Which tells me what I need to know: I’m stuck. Again. I’m not in my dorm room. I’m in the quiet room. “Please, turn on the light.” I pull my knees to my chest and start to rock. “I’m in here!” I shout. “Don’t forget me!” I scream. Not again.
“Meow.” Soft fur brushes against my arm.
I gasp as everything comes flooding back to me and I’m thrown into reality. My eyes start to adjust to the darkness, and I notice a sliver of light peeking in under the thick curtains that cover the window. The room suddenly floods with light as I grab Mama and pull her into my chest.
“Vivian.” Mrs. Putnam stands in the doorway to my room. “What happened? Are you okay?” She rushes over to the side of the bed. “Look at me.” She cups my face in her soft warm hands. “Did you have a bad dream?” Her thumbs swipe at my cheeks, wiping the tears away. I hadn’t even realized I was crying.
“It was dark,” I manage to get out. My heartbeat is finally starting to slow down.
“Are you afraid of the dark?”
I nod.
“Have you always been afraid of the dark?”
“No,” I whisper.
“You want to tell me what happened to make you scared of it?” She drops her hands from my face.
“It’s fine.” I shrug, not wanting to get into the details of my past. “I forgot to unpack my light. I usually keep it on my nightstand. When I woke up, I was a little disoriented.” It must be in one of the boxes still. When I’d gone to bed last night, I’d left the bathroom light on and the door open. I glance over and see the door is still open but the light is off. “Did Griff sleep here?” Or had that been a dream also? I’m just grateful that I’m at Griff’s house and not back in that dreaded room at boarding school.
“He was here for a while.” She smirks. He must have turned the light off. “We’ll get your light out of the box, but I’d still like to know why you’re scared of the dark. I heard you shout. You said ‘Don’t forget me.’”
My eyes fill with tears again.