Page 28 of Hell House
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Salem
It’s the middle of the night and I find myself thrashing against my threadbare blankets. A scream is lodged in my throat only this time thankfully, there’s no smoke. A light sheen of sweat clings to my skin even though my room in this god-awful tower is freezing. The nightmare was the same as it always was but since arriving on campus, they’d become more intense. I try to brush it off as stress, but I can’t stop the images from replaying in my mind.
A woman, who looks like a younger version of my grandma is wearing a long white dress and a crown of flowers. She gestures for me to follow her. I do without question, stepping through a tucked away path in the dense woods. She moves gracefully, smiling back at me with reassurance, checking to see if I’m still following. I feel an icy chill as we make our way to a hidden cave. I know what awaits me here, but still my feet keep moving of their own volition. A low thump fills the air around me that matches the steady beat of my heart. We reach the back of the cave, the cold seeping into my bones.
“Fix it Salem.” My grandmother’s voice pleads. Her scent of rosewater and lavender envelops me as I walk past. I step until I’m almost flush with the back of the cavern wall. It’s dark, staring down at me like it knows a secret I haven’t been privy to. I ignore the sense of foreboding and do what I know I must, what my body urges me to do. My hands reach up to touch the wall and a flash of light jolts out, searing my hand. My flesh burns, and I let out a scream. The scent of charred meat fills the air as a pattern emerges on my palm.
“You have to fix it Salem!” My grandmother’s voice calls again, this time more insistent, laced with fear. But I don’t know what to do. I cradle my burnt hand.
“What do I need to do?” I yell out, but my words are eaten away by a whooshing noise.
Suddenly a hooded figure is standing before me, gripping me by my wrist. I can’t make out their face, but they’re strong. The thump thump thumping becomes more frantic as I try to yank myself away from this man.
“You cannot win this fight, Salem. Yield!” The man yells, the deep growling of his voice so familiar but I can’t seem to place where I’ve heard it before. He kicks me from behind my kneecap and I falter. He lets out a cruel laugh as he places my palm against the cavern’s wall.
A loud boom pierces my ears and I see a crack forming from the bottom of the wall, making the earth quake beneath us. The man releases my wrist and slams my head into the jagged rock so hard I see black spots before collapsing. It’s then that I notice the cavern is filling with water, but my body is unable to move. I wake right as my mouth begins to fill with salt water, entering my lungs as I struggle to breath.
I wrap my arms around myself and try to take a deep breath, it was just a dream. I could still feel the man’s boney fingers wrapped around my wrist. I run my own frozen fingers over the area, desperate to rid myself of the night terror. I flip my hand over tentatively half afraid that I’ll find my skin burned into whatever pattern that was. I let out a sigh of relief at seeing my unblemished skin with its familiar lines right where they should be.
A knock comes from my door and has me gathering the tiny slip of a blanket up around my body before I shuffle to open it. My hand shakes ever so slightly that I chide myself for letting my nightmare rattle me. When I open the door, a shirtless Pierce, bane of my existence, is standing there arms crossed over his sculpted chest. My God, did everyone in this house have to be so damn attractive? I could barely get through dinner without drooling over the multiple men that were surrounding us. But this asshole? He was getting my body reacting in a way that was making me mad. Out of all the people, I had to be attracted to this one.
“I heard a scream, are you okay? Holy fuck it’s freezing up here!”
“No kidding.” I say clutching the blanket tighter. It wasn’t this bad when I first went to bed, but the temperature dropped drastically in the night.
He scratches at his slight dirty blonde scruff on his chin before responding. “I could invite you to my room, but Garrison snores, I don’t think we have any extra blankets right now.”
I scoff at the thought of going into his room.
“Or I could keep you warm?” He says, his lips curled up into a smirk.
My mouth drops open at his suggestion. On the one hand I hate him. On the other I don’t want to end up with hypothermia again and I’m still feeling shaky after that nightmare. I squint my eyes at him. “Ok, Ledger, on one condition.”
“Name it.” His grin spreads wider like I just told him I bought him his favorite candy.
“You keep your hands to yourself.”
“Afraid I’m going to feel you up in your sleep, witch?”
I scowl. “Never mind, I’ll freeze.” I say, going to close the door, but he catches it in his strong fingers.
“I promise, I won’t touch you. Pinkie swear.” He removes his hand from the door and lifts a pinky to me. It should be illegal how well manicured this man’s nails are. I let out a noise of frustration, still frowning at him, but I lift my own pinky the black polish chipping at the ends. He wraps his pinkie around mine and stares down at me, his eyes gleaming with mischief.
“I’m just going to go grab my blanket and I’ll be right back.” He leaves me standing in my room alone. Goosebumps dot my flesh as I settle back into my bed. Was I really letting Pierce Ledger sleep with me in my bed? I briefly thought about finding Skye and asking her to keep me company, but I didn’t want to bother her, or subject her to the frozen tundra that had become my room. Pierce might be an asshole, but he could have just let me freeze... both times. And, fine if he wants to offer me some body heat, who am I to turn that down? I’d pass on the frostbite look, thanks.
He’s only gone a few minutes, but it seems even colder when he gets back.
“Jesus, how were you sleeping in here? Forget the Rapunzel idea, I’m going to have to start calling you Elsa.” He sits on the edge of the bed, making it dip where his weight settles. He covers us both with a thick quilted blanket that is so soft I have to stop myself from caressing it.
“Really like those Disney references, huh?”
“What can I say, I have great taste.”
“I thought the end of that sentence was going to end differently.”
“What did you think I was going to say?”
