Embraced By Darkness ~ Chapter 4

Who is the dark figure haunting Emily's dreams?

CHAPTER 4


Over the next week, Emily tried her best to forget the disturbing dreams. She found that by focusing on her dream man before she went to sleep, she was often able to control her dreams and avoid the nightmares.

She would picture herself and the man, lying on a blanket in a meadow, his strong arms wrapped around her or running on a beach with him, splashing around in the waves, his tanned chest glistening in the sun.

It all felt so real. She could feel the warmth from the sun on her body and his hot breath on her neck.

“So tell me”, Emily said while visualizing the two of them lying on top of a mountain staring up at the stars, “Where did we meet?”

“Here of course” , the man laughed, as if it should have been obvious to her.

“Here on the mountain?” Emily asked, confused.

“Here on the mountain, Over there in the meadow and over there on the beach. These are your memories of us.”

“Where is this place?” Emily probed.

“It’s home.” The man answered.

“Home,” Emily repeated as she looked at her surroundings. For the first time she realized that she could see the meadow and the beach in the distance. The white snow tapered off into sandy white beaches in one direction and soft green meadows in the other. Everything was so perfect. The colors were so vibrant. Like the pictures she used to draw as a child with her bright colored markers. Blues bluer than blue, greens greener than green and she realized that the pure white snow she was lying on wasn’t cold. They were laying on the snow in their shorts and t-shirts and they weren’t cold!

“If this is home,” she continued, “Why did I have to leave?”

The man didn’t respond. Emily turned to look at him and saw him staring off into the distance, tears welling up in his impossibly blue eyes.

“Enough questions.” He replied. “Let’s just enjoy this moment.”

Emily lay back against his chest and watched the stars until they began to fade and she awoke in her bed.



* * * * *



That Saturday was Emily’s eighteenth birthday. She stood in front of her closet, looking for something appropriate to wear to the club Josh and Jen were taking her to.

She sighed and picked up her cell phone, dialing Jen’s number.

“I have nothing to wear!” She cried when Jen picked up.

“Relax.” Jen laughed. “Come on over. I’ll lend you something”

Emily drove over to the apartment Josh and Jen shared. Jen was waiting for her when she got to the door.

“Come on Hon, I’ve got just the dress for you. You are so going to knock them dead tonight.”

Emily followed her into the bedroom. “Jen! Couldn’t you have put away Josh’s dirty underwear before I came over?”

Jen laughed. “Sorry Em, I don’t even notice it anymore. He just leaves them where he takes them off. I’ve given up on nagging him about it. It’s just a guy thing, I guess.”

Emily rolled her eyes. “Glad it’s you living with him and not me.”

Jen pulled a short blue dress out of the closet and held it up to Emily. “This is perfect! It matches your eyes perfectly and will really compliment your blonde hair. I think it will look better on you than it does on me!”

“Are you serious?” Emily replied, with a laugh. “I highly doubt that anything could look half as good on me as it does on you.”

Jen was 21 and two inches taller than Emily with long shiny dark hair, skin the color of caramel and large striking green eyes.

Although Jen and Emily were close enough to the same dress size to share clothes, Jen was curvier with a chest a cup size larger than Emily’s and wider hips. In Emily’s opinion, that was far sexier than her leaner build.

Jen cocked her head to the side and gave her that irritated look she always gave whenever Emily was hard on herself. “Hon, you know you are beautiful. You have that kind of body that doesn’t put on a pound no matter what you eat and trust me, I would trade with you in a heartbeat. I just look at a cookie and I gain ten pounds.”

Emily went in the washroom to try on the dress. She looked in the full length mirror on the door and was surprised at how much older the dress made her look. It brought out curves she never knew she had. She opened the door and walked out to show Jen.

“What do you think?”

“Wow girl! You look hot! We’re going to have to keep an eye on you tonight.”

Emily blushed and pulled on the hem of the dress. “It’s so short though!” How am I supposed to bend over?”

Jen laughed and winked. “Very carefully.” She demonstrated how to bend down like a lady.

Emily was always impressed by how cultured Jen was. She had toured Europe with her parents and learned the “proper” way of doing things.

“So do your parents know about Josh yet?” Emily asked with a sly smile.

“Heck no!” Jen laughed. “I’m putting that off for as long as possible.”

Emily couldn’t help bursting into a fit of giggles when she pictured Jen’s wealthy, straight laced parents coming face to face with their future son in law.

“What?” Jen asked

Emily told her and they both fell on the bed laughing.

“What’s going on in here?”

Josh was standing at the bedroom door with his arms crossed over his chest.

Emily and Jen fought to catch their breath. “Just girl talk.” Jen said. “Doesn’t your sister look hot?”

Josh rolled his eyes. “I’ll be out there if you two need me.”

Emily and Jen burst into another fit of laughter.


* * * * *


At 9:00 that evening, they left for the club. Jen had curled Emily’s hair and did her makeup, bringing out her eyes and her full lips. Even Josh admitted she looked good.

Jen was dressed in a short red dress that showed off her curves and wore her shiny black hair hanging loose halfway down her back

When they arrived at the club, it took awhile for Emily to adjust to the loud music, the flashing lights and the large crowd. “How can you have a conversation in here!” She yelled.

“Clubs aren’t for talking, they’re for dancing!” Jen yelled back. She handed Emily a drink. “Have some fun! Josh and I will be on the dance floor if you need us!”

Before Emily could stop them, they headed off into the crowd.

Emily sipped her drink, cringing at the bitter taste and scanned the room.

“What’s a lovely lady like you doing all by yourself?”

Emily looked up to see an attractive man with shoulder length curly brown hair and a sexy smile looking down at her.

“Uh It’s my birthday and my brother and his fiance are off dancing.”

“Well then why aren’t you dancing?” he asked.

“I don’t really know how.” Emily said, blushing.

“Aw come on,” he said putting his hand on her back, “It’s easy. Just follow me.”

Emily followed him onto the dance floor and did her best to move her body with the beat of the music. She thought she looked ridiculous but he didn’t seem to think so.

After dancing for a few songs, they walked over to the bar. “See, you’re a natural, he said with a wink.”

Emily smiled. “You were pretty good yourself. What’s your name anyway?”

“I’m Justin. My father owns this bar. What’s your name?”

“Emily.”

“Well Emily, why don’t you let me get you another drink and we can go somewhere a little more quiet to talk.”

Emily hesitated, “I don’t know, I should probably stay here in case my brother is looking for me.”

“Come on,” he said with that sexy smile, “We won’t be long and it’s only 10:00 they will be here for another couple hours at least.

Emily scanned the room but couldn’t see Josh and Jen anywhere.

“I guess we could for a little while. It is pretty loud in here and I am getting a bit of a headache.”

“Great!. I’ll go grab you a drink. Something fruity. I saw you cringing on that rye and coke. Don’t move a muscle.”

Emily waited while he went behind the counter to mix the drinks. When he returned, he took her hand and led her to a back room. It was much quieter when he closed the door. He led her over to a large white leather couch. “Have a seat. I don’t bite, unless provoked of course.”

Emily sat down next to him and sipped the peach flavored drink he had mixed for her. “Mmm. This is much better, she said.”

“Has anyone ever told you how incredibly beautiful you are?”, he asked, his hazel eyes staring intensely into her blue ones.

Emily looked down at her drink shyly, nervously stirring it with her straw.

He brushed her hair away from her face with his hand, leaning in closer. “Your skin is exquisite, flawless, the color of pure ivory.”

Emily tingled from head to toe. This was the first time any boy had ever given her this kind of attention and she was starting to feel uncomfortable. She nervously took another sip of her drink.

“Maybe we should head back out there,” she said, trying not to meet his eyes.

“Just another few minutes. It’s so loud out there. Damn, you’re beautiful.” He whispered, leaning in and brushing his lips against hers. Electricity shot through Emily’s body from head to toe at his touch. She couldn’t deny it felt good, but it also felt wrong. She didn’t know this guy. It was moving too fast!

She tried to push him away but was suddenly lightheaded. The room started to spin. She felt his kiss become more passionate and his hand grazed her chest. “Nooo! She cried against his eager mouth. Let me go!!!” She tried to push him off , but she felt so weak. He was kissing her neck and she began to feel herself drifting off. She fought to stay awake. She didn’t want to think about what would happen if she let herself pass out.

She opened her eyes and screamed. Standing behind Justin was a man, but he wasn’t any ordinary man. He was deathly white with pale blue eyes and a tattered white shirt and pants. He looked…..Dead! And she had never seen anyone look so full of rage in her life!

“What the hell is wrong with you!” Justin hissed, turning to follow her gaze. All the color drained from his face and he let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Just then, everything went dark.