I shook and shivered as I sat on the bed, looking at all of the corners of my room. Not a single shadow remained from the blinding bright light. No one was hiding, but every time I turned, I saw things in the corner of my eyes. Logically, I knew there was no one, but my brain and my body were having a war.
With a deep breath, I stood and trudged out to the living room to mindlessly scroll through the multitude of offerings on my tablet. I lay on my back, leg swinging off the edge of the couch, and absentmindedly stared at the tablet, not truly seeing anything. I wasn’t even thinking about anything, just existing. I didn’t want to think. I didn’t want to feel.
There was a guaranteed way to do that.
With a frown, I glanced at the dispenser. I could drink myself to oblivion. No nightmares. No thinking. No feeling. Nothing.
A chime sounded, and I ripped my gaze from the dispenser to shift it to the door. I stood, my toes curling on the mossy floor. “Come in,” I called out, voice shaking and hands fisting the thighs of my sweatpants.
The door slid open with a low whoosh, and Don stood on the other side.
I sagged, releasing a huge breath. “Donny, you scared me.”
He cocked his head, sending his purple hair tumbling. “Why?”
“You should know that.”
“I only know if you think about it, Vince.”
My eyes ran over his plain red shirt and black trousers. “Why are you here? I didn’t have a nightmare.”
Don tapped his temple with one of his claws. “I can feel you panicking, though I’m not sure what about.”
I waved him in. Tension ramped up in my gut and made my spine straighten, but I forced it away. I truly didn’t think Don would harm me. He’d already had ample chance if he’d wanted to attack me.
“I will not,” he said in response to my thoughts, and I grinned. I had no idea why I liked his ability as much as I did, but I didn’t bother to question it. I liked it. His mind reading was convenient, to say the least.
He wandered around my room, taking in all the shit I had synthesized, from blankets to books to beaded pillows to pretty shit that made me feel better. Don glanced at my deck of tarot cards. I hadn’t touched them since I’d made them. They sat there on the table taunting me.
“I was curious about the power usage for your quarters, and now I know,” he commented.
Guilt curled cold and hard in my gut, but I crossed my arms and snapped, “Here to punish me? Can’t spare a little bit of energy?”
Don glanced over his shoulder. “Hardly, Vince.”
I looked away from his intense green eyes, running my tongue over my teeth. Why did his fucking eyes have to be so expressive and lovely?
“Thank you,” he whispered before continuing his evaluation of my room. He paused near the table and looked at the cards. “What are these?”
“Tarot cards.”
“What do they do?”
“Provide insight into the past, present, and future.”
His brow furrowed as he looked up at me. “You can do this?”
I shrugged. “Some people don’t believe, but I’ve always found them helpful.”
“Would you do this for me?”
I bit my lip, then nodded. “Why the hell not?”
Taking a seat on one side of the table, I gestured to the opposite for Don. I shuffled the cards. “Take a deep breath.”
He did with the utmost seriousness, which made me smile.
“Again.” When I couldn’t find any tension in his body, I fanned out the cards. “I’m going to do a three card draw. Think of a question, or even say it out loud if you desire.”
