Chapter 3
I dreamt of Celeste again.
One moment, we were sitting side-by-side by a quiet lake, her eyes looking at me, filled with crushed starlight and intense, almost possessive affection.
“I’ll wait for you forever,” she said, gripping my hand, her voice soft yet firm, like a vow carried on the wind.
But the next second, the scene shifted.
In a dark room, she was fiercely choking my neck, her cold lips pressed against my earlobe, her breath reeking of blood.
“Why did you run away? Why did you leave me?”
In the endless darkness, her face was shrouded in a sinister gloom, her gaze fierce and fixated, like a dying beast.
“I wasn’t leaving you, I just wanted to go home.”
Tears streamed down my face, the air slowly draining from my lungs. “I won’t run away. Can you… can you please not lock me up again? I’m scared.”
Celeste let out a soft chuckle. Her hand finally moved from my vulnerable neck, and instead, gently stroked my hair, over and over.
Like calming a frightened pet.
“Julian, I know you’re the goodest boy,” her voice was hypnotic. “Just stay here with me, don’t go anywhere.”
“If you don’t answer me again…” she paused, her tone suddenly chilling, “I’ll turn you into a beautiful dried corpse, to keep you by my side forever.”
I shivered, then, with all my might, I trembled out those words.
“I’ll… I’ll stay with you forever.”
“Good boy.”
…
I woke from the nightmare, cold sweat soaking my back.
Celeste’s scorching, possessive breath seemed to cling to me, branded onto my skin, sending shivers down my spine.
I was terrified she would regain her memory and drag me back into that hell.
That month was a gaping, bloody wound in my life, and I never wanted to look back.
Thankfully, in just one more month, I’d be off to college in another city.
I would leave this place forever and never cross paths with her again.
I clutched my pounding heart, gasping for air.
But then I looked up, and my eyes slammed into a pair of dark eyes silently watching me from the shadows.
I instantly lost my voice and screamed.