Sunlight from a newly risen sun leaked through the windows of the cozy bedroom. Rays made pinstripes on the earth tone walls and the queen-sized bed. Denver calmly sighed as he felt the heat of the sunshine on his face. He stretched his arms without opening his eyes then flipped over on his side trying hard to get a couple more minutes.

A loud crack came from downstairs and he popped up. The white linen comforter fell from his bare chest as he perked his ear toward the closed door a couple of feet away from him. Nothing but silence enveloped him and an eeriness took hold of him.

Denver contemplated falling back on the bed, going back to sleep and getting a full eight hours. Unfortunately, something told him to get up. Check it out.

He threw the covers off him and rolled his well-rested body out of bed. He planted his feet on the rug cover floor and read the time on the alarm clock on the nightstand. "9:15." His head slightly tilted. He had a feeling he was missing something. 

"Don't I have a class?" He asked himself but was unable to answer.

The framed photo perched next to the alarm clock puzzled him even more. The sepia-toned woman with endless raven curls that had her arms draped around his shoulders seemed foreign to him. He rubbed his face roughly and refocused on the photography. The picture was the same and his confusion didn't falter.

"What's wrong with me?" He scrapped his feet across the rug and to the door.

Soft music and sizzling filled the space when he opened the bedroom door. Strong coffee and maple swirled up his nose as he jogged down the stairs and trotted to the kitchen.

The same woman he saw in the picture was standing in front of the stove. In nothing but a t-shirt and panties as she flipped over a pancake. He must've been staring hard because she turned her head his way and lightly smiled. Her honey eyes sparkled as the corners of her mouth stayed up.

"Did I wake you?" She sat the spatula on the counter and completely faced him.

Denver was frozen. He had nothing to say. He didn't know who she was. He was sure a face that breathtaking would be hard to forget but he was drawing a blank and the confusions didn't just pertain to her. He couldn't call any memories of this house he stood into the forefront of his mind. The granite countertops, stone floor and bay windows all were strangely unknown to him.

Her smile faded, "What's wrong?" A crease slithered across her forehead and her tone heavy. "Did you have another one of your dreams?"

"Dreams?" Denver found his voice. "What do you mean dreams?"

She closed the distance between them, "The one you get just before your birthday every year... where you are chased by some.... strange organization—"

"Spring Break in the woods." His eyes begin to dance as memories rushed through his mind. "They killed my girlfriend. I was with my friends. Where's Leslee and—"

"Shhh," She cut him off placing her finger to his lips. "I'm your girlfriend." Her finger left his mouth as her hand smoothed his cheek. "And I'm not.... dead, Ryder."

Denver pulled her hand away from his face, "Whose Ryder?"

"Y-You are."

"My name is Denver." He took another step back, out of the kitchen and into the hallway. "Denver Perkins."

"No." She followed him. "You're Ryder...Ryder St. John." She placed her hand onto her chest. "And I'm Lucy...your girlfriend and soon to be wife."

Denver backed up more as he shook his head but all the pictures that were erected throughout the living room proved her to be right about their relationship.

"Th-This is wrong. This is wrong." He repeated on a loop as he yanked to pictures of him and his fiancée off the wall and dropped them to the ground.

"This is right!" She shouted at him. She pushed him hard, stopped the words from coming out of his mouth. "You will let me in!" She shoved him harder, disrupting his balance. The force sent Denver falling backward into a coffee table. The wood table snapped under his body. "Don't resist. It will only make it painful. Give your subconscious to me." She dropped to her knees in front of him. "Let me give you what you need."

She reached for Denver and he let out a guttural screech.

Is Denver okay?