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Chapter 24

Chapter 24

After another week had passed in a blur of apprehension and uncertainty, Delaney decided it was time to do something. She wasn't sure what, but the fitful nightmares she'd had the past week had made resting unbearable, setting her nerves on edge more than they already were. There were three baseline dreams she kept having over and over. One was where she sat in an airplane en route to a tropical destination, attired in a flirty floral sundress and flip-flops. She was seated a few rows behind her significant other, both of them in the aisle seat. He kept looking back to check on her, but his face was completely obscured in a blur that seemed to only cover his distinguishing features. It was as if his skin was pixilated. He unbuckled his seat belt to come check on her. As he became closer and closer, his features becoming more defined, the airplane suddenly lurched. There was a rough bump followed by a severe decline of the nose of the plane. Being untethered by a seatbelt, he flew up and smacked against the ceiling, leaving a large crimson stain. As the plane continued to plummet to the ground, the blood from the ceiling dripping onto her face and chest, she screamed wildly while waiting for her death to come.

The second one was shorter and less vivid. She was on her way to meet him for a romantic dinner on the top floor of the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit. She anxiously awaited the breathtaking views the panoramic windows offered of the skyline of Windsor, the Ambassador Bridge as well as the sparkling Detroit River. She watched the digital display climb upwards towards the seventy-second floor where he was waiting. And every single time the elevator would reach the floor below, there was rattling followed by a loud snap. The elevator would plummet down the shaft, a deafening roar filling her ears. She would always awaken, covered completely in sweat, moments before the crash.

The third dream that was most recently added into rotation occurred for the first time after binge watching a popular television series that she'd hoped would distract her from her own life. The mainstay was that she was trapped in a house during a zombie apocalypse. Every time it replayed she was pregnant and trapped in a tiny house, all alone with rapidly declining supplies and a hoard of zombies pressing in at every possible entrance. The phone lines were always dead, her cell phone outside in the yard, just out of reach, and the electricity would go out about the same time she'd begin having contractions. She would scream and yell hysterically for help, but it would only serve to incense the flesh eaters more. The dream would end with her cowering in the bathtub, a heavy contraction upon her as they finally busted through the doorway, moaning and screeching on their way toward her. She would wake up in a start, the bed covers soaked through and tears streaming down her face.

She knew it was all to do with the lack of control she felt, as if every ounce of power and free will had been leeched from her body. However, the one with Fin cutting her in half with a heavy, rustic Celtic sword—that one was simply too much to bear. Every time that particular nightmare resurfaced, her body would slip into an almost convulsive state of shivering, and she was left wondering what part of her subconscious mind had her rendering thoughts of Fin wanting to see her dead.

"You ready?" Genna called as she slipped her head around the doorway.

"Yeah, let me grab my purse," Delaney said. She reached out a shaking hand to secure the strap. She didn't know what she hoped the doctor would tell her—except that it was all a big misunderstanding, and of course she wasn't pregnant. After all, how could she be? She was extremely careful and always took her pill on time. Well, almost always. But, in her defense, she'd heard of couples who'd tried for years to have a baby, only to be met with heart wrenching disappointment. Surely it wasn't as easy as a couple of missed pills to produce a till-death-do-us-part kind of bond, right? Apparently, she was wrong and learning the lesson the hard way.