Dream of Me by Magenta Phoenix Read Free Book Online

someone that didn’t even exist. Taking a step back from him she squared her shoulders.

    “You’re not real, Kieran. I created you in my mind because I was desperate and lonely. I thought I needed someone to comfort me. Anything you say or do is because my mind makes you. You’re an illusion and you always will be. I need to accept my mother is gone and move on.” She blinked back the burning tears that threatened to choke her. Deep down the thought of never feeling his warm touch again hurt.

    His look of painful sorrow slowly melted away into something else within the depths of his eyes. Something that was dark and dangerous. “I will destroy any male that thinks to take you from me. If your intention is to challenge me into winning your affections, you have my complete attention.”

    “What are you talking about?” she yelled frustrated. “It doesn’t matter! You’re not real. Just stop! Leave me!” she shouted covering her ears. Moving forward, he gripped her wrists firmly before jerking them down from her face.

    “I will never leave you, nor will I let you go. I will always find you,” he swore as his face tightened harshly.

    She couldn’t stop the tears then. If this was all in her head, why did it have to hurt so badly? Jerking away from him she wiped furiously at her fallen tears. Pointing a finger at his stubborn expression, her voice whispered low with warning, “Don’t come for me again. In my world or in my dreams, you are not welcome in either.”

    After the words left her lips she felt herself being pulled away from the dream world around them. She closed her eyes at the last instant as Kieran rushed to grab her, but his hand passed through her fading form.

    * ~ * ~ *

    Jerking upright as she suddenly awoke her arms sent waves of the cooled bath water over the edge of the tub. Pressing a shaking hand against her chest she struggled to stop the pain that radiated from there. It felt like her heart had been ripped out. She was certain if she’d looked down she would have seen a huge gaping hole in her chest. She hadn’t felt pain like this since she’d first been informed about her mother’s death. Why did she feel like this over a figment of her dreams? Dreams weren’t real and now she was finally free of her own delusions.

    Draining the cold water from the tub, she slowly stepped onto the soaked floor. Shrugging into her red bath robe she moved in sluggish steps as she made her way across the hall to her bedroom. With a tired sigh, she weakly collapsed on top of her bedspread. She didn’t try to sleep. Instead she simply stared up at the chipped ceiling above. For a strange reason, she couldn’t shake the feeling like she’d lost something inside her, something that she knew she couldn’t survive without. What was it?

    Scoffing, she shook her head in disgust. It was a fantasy, for goodness sakes! Why was she mourning it like she did when her mother died? Silently she vowed to wipe it from her mind. She wouldn’t think about it anymore. Tomorrow was a new day. A fresh start and she intended to make the best of it.

    * ~ * ~ *

    Leisurely her hand stirred the contents of her quickly thrown together dinner as it bubbled around the edges of the pot. The warm scent of her soup made Elena’s stomach clench painfully with hunger. It was as though her stomach was getting back at her for going without food for most of the day. She had no one to blame but herself. Earlier that morning she’d called in sick at work — not that she was sick at all. Something just felt off about herself, silently she chalked it up to depression due to her mother’s recent passing.

    Though Angel had no issue covering for her at the shop, Angel did promise that she’d be coming by in a few days to check on her. Not that she’d let it come to that. Listening to Angel’s suggestion about allowing herself to grieve properly she spent the day doing just that. After visiting her mother’s grave for the