I awoke gasping, hungry for air. I lunged forward as my eager breaths turned into coughs... Hard, painful coughs that shook my entire body, trying to expel water that wasn't there. My vision went blurry as tears formed from the force of it.

It only took a single minute for the fit to pass, but that was enough. When it was over, m throat was tender, raw, like I had swallowed steel wool. Blinking away the tears, I tried to get my bearings of where I was... And a coldness creeped in on me when I realized just where I had landed.

I was back in the den, laid out on the couch, just like before.

Just like in my dream...

A shiver passed through me.

Deja vu.

The lingering memory of the dream sent more shivers up my spine, like I was still submerged in that dark, cold water. Though I had plenty of nightmares, this one felt... Different. It couldn't put my finger on exactly why... It wasn't just the fact that I had drowned in it. No, there was something else...

It felt...

Something clattered behind me, off in the distance of Polly's sprawling house. I froze. I wanted to turn around, to look, but...

What if the foyer was dark again?

What if I was back at the beginning of the dream?

My hands shook in my lap, but I had to look. I turned, slowly, and my breath caught in my still aching chest, half-expecting that strange impenetrable darkness...

It wasn't dark. The lights were on. The held breath escaped, rushing out of me in a relieved sigh.

Just as I wondered what the sound had been, more sounds echoing through the house. More banging, more clattering, but also footsteps and... Tory's usual incessant chatter.

He's okay, I thought with another rush of relief, pushing myself off the couch. Though I'd never admit it to him—or to anyone—I had been worried. Sure, he was an annoying puppy, but no one wants a puppy to get hurt.

I headed for the foyer, following his voice—then. Knowing him, he was probably with Luc, and I had questions. A lot of questions, actually. Mostly about what had happened after I passed out, but also my strange new dream. My lingering feeling was quickly turning into a theory...

Just I reached the entrance, another voice joined Tory's. Ethan was talking, too.

No, wait. Not talking. Arguing.

"—and after everything that just happened, why would you want to stay?" I heard Ethan snap just as they came into view, walking out from the corridor under the stairs. Ethan had his coat on and his bag in hand; he looked ready to leave. Tory had his back to me, facing his angry partner.

"Because he needs me!" Tory shot back. "This is my job, remember?"

"No job," Ethan spat the word, his face scrunching like it left a bad taste, "is worth getting yourself killed!"

"I'm fine," Tory said. "Luc said he'd heal me, which is another reason I need to stay here..."

Ethan muttered something under his breath that I couldn't hear.

"Hey!" I called, striding over.

Apparently they hadn't even noticed I was there; Ethan's head snapped up, and Tory jolted before he turned to look at me.

"Hey, Rach!" he said cheerily. "Nice to see you up!"

My mouth dropped open and I took a step back.

Holy shit.

Tory's eyes shone bright red, like rubies. The whites had flooded completely with blood and against the dark brown of his irises, it looked like the blood had stained them too, taking over his whole eye.

"Oh calm down," Tory said, rolling those bloody eyes at my shocked expression. "It's not that bad."

"Are you fucking nuts?" Ethan protested furiously behind him. "Yes, it is!"

Tory ignored him. "Don't worry about me, Rachel. Luc's gonna take care of my eyes after he's done cleaning everything up."

"You'd think the well being of your employees would be a higher priority than cleaning," Ethan said, muttering again.

Tory gave him a sideways look, but didn't respond. "How are you feeling, anyway? Gave us quite the scare when you keeled over like that."

"I gave you a scare? You were the one writhing around the floor and... Your eyes! Your eyes changed colour! And I don't mean..." I motioned towards his horror-movie stare.

"Oh, you mean the green? Yeah, don't worry about that." Tory waved his hand dismissively. "It's totally normal for a possession. When someone enters you—," he waggled his eyebrows, which looked more sinister than playful when paired with his bloody eyes, "—you take on some of the features of the person inside you. It's just temporary."

"Possession?" I echoed, my eyes bugging out of my head. "Is that... Is that what happened? Who possessed you?"

"I don't really know," Tory continued, rubbing at the back of his neck. His tan cheeks flushed. "I wasn't in control. It wasn't supposed to happen, but I let myself get overwhelmed and bam!" He shook his head. "I don't remember. I just need more practice, I guess."

"You don't remember?"

Tory shrugged. "All I remember was waking up as you were passing out. And that was all." He shrugged again, like it was no big deal.

No big deal that a ghost he doesn't know took over his body!

Idiot!

"That wasn't all," Ethan interjected, his voice sharp. "What about the shockwave?"

"What shockwave?" I asked, my eyebrow arching as I turned back to Tory.

Tory glanced between our intense gazes before throwing up his hands with exasperation. "It was nothing!"

"It didn't feel like nothing," Ethan fired back.

Tory rolled his eyes again. "It was just the 'door' slamming shut! I said I was inexperienced, didn't I?"

"Door?"

"Not a real door," Tory quickly explained. "Just the metaphorical 'door' we opened to... you know, to the other side." He wiggled his fingers at me like a cartoon ghost. "Usually it doesn't slam shut like that, but—like I said—I'm inexperienced. It's nothing to worry about."

"It didn't feel like nothing!" Ethan said again, his voice getting louder. "It felt..." He shuddered, pulling his coat closer around himself. "It felt... Off. Strange. Wrong."

That same shiver from before shook through me when I heard the word. It hit me like a well aimed hammer, sending the the nail straight through with one hit. Wrong. Wrong. Yes, that was it. There was something about all of this—the seance, the dream—that just felt wrong. Like something out of place but no one had noticed.

But what was it? I shuddered.

Tory shot an angry glare at Ethan. "Will you just cut it out? You're just being dramatic! And look," he swept his arm out at me, "you're scaring Rachel!"

"I'm not scared," I lied.

"It's really nothing to worry about," Tory assured me confidently. "You can ask Luc if you want, and he'll tell you the same. This one," he jerked his thumb at Ethan, "doesn't know what he's talking about. Everything feels weird to him because he resists his gifts."

Ethan bristled, his mouth setting into a scowl. "Excuse me?"

"What? It's true. You barely use your powers, so you don't understand how these things work—"

"You know what, Tory?" Ethan said, his voice all low and breathless. "Fuck. You. You can stay here forever for all I care. I'm out of here." He stormed past us both, knocking into Tory with his shoulder as he passed.

"Leaving already?"

Ethan skidded to a stop, then shot a glance over his shoulder. Tory and I followed, turning towards the voice.

Luc was leaning against the entrance of the dining room. In one hand, he had a small bundle that was still letting off a thin billow of fragrant smoke. Unlike the rest of us, he didn't show any wear from the seance. His face was easy, untroubled; he was even smiling.

Under the weight of Luc's green eyes, Ethan straightened up and turned around. "Yeah, it seems I'm no longer needed," he said icily, shooting a dark look at his boyfriend. He shifted, about to turn away again when...

"Wait."

Ethan stopped and obeyed, but kept himself half-turned towards the door.

Luc strode across the room. As he passed by me, he wound an arm around my waist and pulled me along with him. I was about to object when he came to a stop in front of Ethan.

"I wanted to say 'thank you' for helping us," he said, pressing me to his side. "I can't imagine that was a pleasant experience, but your work was appreciated. The drawings were very helpful."

Though Ethan maintained the coldness in his eyes, his pale cheeks flooded with pink. He cleared his throat and shook his blonde bangs in front of his eyes, shielding himself behind them. "It was n-no problem," he mumbled.

Luc smiled at the obvious lie. "Even so, thank you."

"Yeah," I added. "And sorry that you had to deal with all of..." I did a tiny, inconspicuous nod towards Tory, "...that."

Ethan's mouth flickered into a small smile of his own.

"You know," Luc continued. "If you stay with Tory, there are spare rooms here. I'm sure we could set you up in one for the night."

His eyes were hidden beneath his hair, but I could catch a sliver of angry grey between the strands. "Thanks, but no thanks."

Luc nodded knowingly. "Well, I figured I'd offer all the same. But if you don't mind, I have a favour to ask."

Ethan seemed unsure, peering out from under his hair at Luc. "Depends on the favour."

Luc released my waist, and placed his big hands over my shoulders. "If it's not too much out of your way, would you mind driving Rachel back to our apartment?"

"Wait, what?" I cried, starling everyone.

"Is there something wrong with that?" Luc asked, a single brow arching.

"Why don't I get to stay?" I replied.

Luc just blinked at me. "Well, I didn't think you'd want to..."

"And why not?"

"I thought you hated this house," he said, looking at me like he was confused. "But, of course, if you'd really like to stay, you're welcome to. Would you like to?"

The warmth in my face drained away. If I was being honest with myself... "No, I don't," I said, glancing away from his intense eyes. "But it still would've been nice to have been asked."

Luc's face went blank for a half second before it softened into another smile. "You're right, I shouldn't make assumptions. I'm sorry."

My shoulders shifted awkwardly under his heavy hands. "It's okay."

"Now, would you like Ethan to drive you home, or would you rather I do it?" he asked pointedly.

Even though he was doing as I wanted, for some reason it made my demands feel petulant. "Driving with Ethan will be fine," I mumbled. "I mean, if it's okay with him."

"It's fine," Ethan replied, a curious look on his face. "I'm happy to do it."

"Then I'll let you two get on your way," Luc said, squeezing my shoulders. He leaned down to give me a swift kiss on the cheek, then let me go.

Ethan gave me a nod and headed for the red door and I trailed after him, grabbing my bag from the side table as I passed. As I reached the threshold, I paused, turning to give one last look back at Luc.

He was walking towards the dining room, Tory following dutifully behind. I lingered , hoping he'd look back, but he disappeared from view without a single glance.

What do you think is happening with Rachel's dreams? 🔮

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