I gasped myself awake, my haunting dreams chasing me into consciousness. The movie Cora had picked out had been about a girl who’d tried to leave her abusive spouse, but ended up being chased down by him.
So, of course I had to dream that my father had chased me down and caught me here. Arms prickling with goose bumps, I sat up in bed, breathing hard. It was the dead of night and I felt like I needed to check the front door, just to make sure it was still locked. After finding my glasses on my nightstand, I crawled off the mattress and tiptoed down the hall.
But I still felt jittery after finding everything bolted properly in place, so I stopped by the kitchen and got a water from the refrigerator. I was unscrewing the cap when a voice from the table said, “Hi.”
I yelped and whirled around, dropping the bottle and spilling water all over the floor.
“Sorry.” Quinn popped up from the table and dashed to the paper towels sitting on the counter. “I thought I’d scare you more if I didn’t say anything before you saw me.”
I retrieved the bottle, grateful not much had spilled. As Quinn wiped the floor clean, I cradled the water to my chest because I realized I once again wasn’t wearing a bra under my nightshirt...in Quinn’s presence.
“Can’t sleep either?” I asked, not sure what to say, or if I should say anything. Maybe I could just slip back to my room and leave him here alone.
He shook his head and sent me a look after he tossed the used paper towels into the trash. “I hate those stupid scary movies.”
A smile burst across my face. “I do too. I have no idea why Cora loves them so much.”
“And that she doesn’t like quality shows like Psych,” Quinn added, smiling back.
“Clearly, she has issues.” Unable to stay away, I wandered to the table to see what he’d been reading. When I realized it was the notebook I’d given him, I sat, wondering which one it was. I’d been too nervous earlier; I’d just picked out the first one my fingers had touched and shoved it his way without seeing the title I was handing away.
Tucking my feet up on the seat with me, I rested my chin on my knees and read a few words. Ahh. This one was about the dragon slayer who ended up making friends with the dragon. Very How to Train Your Dragon like. I know, I was so original. Except they weren’t Vikings in my story, the main character was a girl, and the main dragon was not named Toothless.