Free Saving Cassie (Fairfield Corners) by L.A. Remenicky Page B

sputter.
    Logan looks over at me
with that lopsided grin, “You’ll change your mind, Darlin’.  You’re going to
realize you can’t live without me!”
    “Yeah, when pigs fly!” I sputter.

Chapter 19
    I am running down the
hallway, trying to find somewhere to hide. All the doors are locked, there is
no escape and I can hear him coming up the stairs after me.  Oh God, what am I
going to do? I keep trying all the doors until finally one of them opens.  I
rush in and close the door, looking for the lock.  I’ve got to keep him out.  He’s
not himself.  I don’t know what set him off but there’s no calming him down
this time!  Oh god, someone help me, he’s coming!  I hide beside the dresser,
holding my breath, I don’t want him to hear me breathing.  He finds me anyway
and grabs my arm and pulls me to the center of the room.
    “Why do you try to hide
when, you know I will find you?  Come here.  It’s time for Cassie to die.  I
begin to scream and scream and scream.
    ”Why do you always scream
like that?”  Suddenly, there is a knife in is hand.  I look up at his face.  My
God, those aren’t his eyes!  His eyes are brown, not green!  Why is this
happening?
    I try to pull away but he
is too strong; I can’t get away!
    “I’m sorry Cassie, it must
be this way.  You must die!” he says as he stabs me with the knife!  I can feel
it; the burning pain.  I scream and scream and scream…
    “Cassie!  Wake up Cassie.  Come
on Darlin’, it’s OK.  It’s just a dream.  You’re going to wake the whole
hospital.”  Logan’s voice finally gets through, pulling me out of the
nightmare.
    I start to sob, clinging
to him.
    The floor nurse opens the
door.  “Is everything OK in here?”
    “Yes, it’s just a
nightmare.  I’ll get her calmed down in a minute.  Sorry if she woke anyone.”
    “Let me know if she needs
something to help her get back to sleep.  Poor thing.”  She closes the door and
we are alone.
    Logan hugs me tighter,
pushing the images in the nightmare away with his presence.  “My god, Cassie. 
That must have been some nightmare.”  He says, obviously shaken.  “Tell me
about it.”  He hands me the box of tissues, letting me get myself under
control.
    “I thought I was done with
the nightmares.  I’ve relived the night Matt beat me up so many times but since
I’ve been back in Fairfield Corners the nightmares have gotten worse.  The
dream starts out just as it happened, up until he catches up to me.  In the
dream, he has a knife and tells me that I must die and then he stabs me, I can
even feel the knife going in.  Why am I dreaming this?  That isn’t how it
happened, he just beat me up and pushed me down the stairs, no stabbing.  I
feel like I’m losing my mind.” I sob, covering my face with my hands.
    Logan pulls me into his
arms again, “Shhh, Darlin’, it’s OK.  No one is going to get to you tonight.  I’ll
make sure of it.”
    I am finally starting to
calm down, burrowing my face into Logan’s shirt.  “Don’t you get any ideas, I
still only agreed to one date.”  I feel so safe in Logan’s arms that I finally
start to relax.
    “Sure, Darlin’, whatever
you say.”
    The next time I wake, it’s
morning.  I am curled up next to Logan wrapped in his arms.  Just like last
night I feel so protected.  He stirs and says, “Hey there, Darlin’, feeling
better this morning?”
    “I am not your ‘Darlin’’
so don’t get any ideas.  It must have been a momentary lapse in judgment due to
my head injury.”
    He chuckles, “You believe
whatever gets you through the day, Darlin’.  I’m willing to wait for you to
realize what is right in front of you.”  As he kisses me on the forehead, James
walks into the room.
    James is smiling until he
sees me lying in Logan’s arms.  “What the hell is going on here?  Logan, you’re
supposed to be protecting her, not taking advantage of her!”
    James looks like he wants
to take