Chapter 30: Bad Dream
Ben pulled up to the front of the hotel just as I was walking out through the electric double doors. He hurried out to open my door and I got in quickly.
"You look exhausted. You and Mr. Captiville must have had quite the evening."
"Ben I swear that man must be on something. He just would not stop. He absolutely got his money’s worth." I looked out the window. There were still a few aches making themselves known but I would survive.
Ben laughed. "You do have one more client tonight. Why would you agree to see two in one day? You could have always said no."
"I am actually looking forward to seeing Robert. I have missed him."
"Cadence." His tone shifted slightly. "This is a job. I hope you are not catching feelings."
"No no. He is just genuinely a nice person Ben."
"Just remember they can leave at any time. I do not want any of them breaking your heart."
"I will not let that happen. Thank you for the reminder."
He pulled up to the house. "I will be back at eight. Here are your instructions."
I took the envelope and headed inside. I grabbed a bottle of water from the kitchen and found a note on the counter. The girls had gone skating and were shopping after. I would not see them until tomorrow. I needed to carve out real time for them and I made a mental note to actually follow through on it this time.
I went to my room, dropped my purse and the envelope on the bed and laid down. The plush comforter folded around me and before I could form another thought my eyes had closed.
I was running in a huge open field covered in dandelions and wild sunflowers. The sun was setting and a soft breeze moved through the trees. Someone was calling my name.
I turned around. No one there.
"Cadence." The voice again. I turned a second time. Still nothing. The fear started small and grew quickly. I had no idea where I was until I saw a bright light in the distance.
Now. I have watched enough horror films to know that you do not walk toward the light. That is always when someone gets killed. I turned to go back the other way and found an invisible wall blocking me completely. I prayed and kept moving.
I pushed through the trees and stopped.
Three men and a woman. The woman was being held down by two of them while the third had his way with her. She was screaming. Pleading. I ran toward them screaming at the top of my lungs.
"Get off of her."
They did not hear me. I grabbed a branch and swung as hard as I could. It went straight through them like they were made of air. I kicked and my foot sailed through nothing and I fell down hard.
I started to cry right there on the ground. Everything I tried was useless. The woman’s screams continued until her voice went silent and her breathing changed into something resigned and broken. The men switched places. I crawled toward her.
Her long blonde hair was spread across the ground. Tears streaming down her face. Just lying there as her body trembled.
"Damn, this is so good," one of them said. "Tyler you were right. Nice and fresh."
I screamed until my throat hurt and none of them flinched. I tried to run and my feet would not move. I sat there completely paralyzed and watched each one take a turn. When they finished they laughed and walked away like they had done nothing at all.
The woman lay motionless. When I could finally move I crawled to her. She was facing away from me. Her blue dress torn beyond repair. One shoe on, the other beside her. Blood visible on her legs and thighs. I tried to cover her and my hand went straight through.
I wiped my eyes. I was not sure if she could see or hear me.
When I finally reached her she turned her head.
And I stopped breathing.
The face was mine.
She stared into my eyes like she was searching for something she had lost a long time ago. I could not move. Her hand reached toward my face and a shiver moved through me at the contact.
Her lips moved. No sound came out. She closed her eyes and her body disappeared entirely.
I sat in the field alone in the dark trying to understand what I had just witnessed. The ground was warm beneath me. I got up and walked back through the trees until I was in the clearing again.
"Cadence. Wake up."
Hands on me. I opened my eyes. Emily was sitting on the edge of the bed looking at me with concern.
"What is wrong Cad?"
I could not stop the tears. She opened her arms and I went into them and held on.
"It was awful Em. I could not help her. They were... I could not do anything. I just sat there."
"It was just a dream. It is going to be alright."
"But Em I was there. We looked exactly alike. The only difference was her hair was blonde. We could have been twins. They raped her and just left her and I could not do a single thing to stop it." The sobs kept coming. "And when she disappeared I felt different. Like I could actually feel her pain inside my own body."
"What do you mean?" Em said, watching my face carefully.
"I mean when she was gone I felt something shift. Something that felt like a connection I could not explain."
"Chunk it up to a dream Cad. Do you not need to be getting ready?" Emily knew everything about my life including the escort work. She was back in school part time and worked for Lilly on weekends as a cleaner.
"Yeah. I do."
"The girls are staying with Kamica down the street. Her mom was fine with it."
"Thank you Em. Between school and everything else I genuinely appreciate you helping with them."
"It is no problem at all. They are adorable. Plus I fully expect an introduction to at least one of your rich men eventually."
I threw the pillow at her. "Shut up!" We both laughed and just like that the weight of the dream lifted a little.
"You better get ready. Ben will be here soon."
I looked at the clock. Just under an hour. I grabbed the envelope off the bed and read it. A smile crossed my face before I could stop it. I got up and headed to the shower.
Emily picked up the paper after I left and read it. She shook her head slowly.
"Talk to you later Sista," she called out, walking out of the room.
Ben knocked when he arrived and I yelled for him to come in. He had a key and always waited downstairs while I finished getting ready. I trusted him completely and he had never once given me a reason not to. I heard him settle in down below as I put on the last of my makeup.
When I finally came downstairs he was waiting with his usual patience.
"Ready?" he asked.
"As ready as I am going to be."
He opened the door and I stepped out into the night. He opened the car door and I got in.
"Ben," I said as he settled into the driver’s seat, "do you think everyone has a twin?"
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