The Curse of Redwood (Ivy Grove #2) - Jaclyn Osborn Page 0,19

in his cold, dark mansion. He’d told me not to go back to Redwood, but now that I knew he was there, it was hard to stay away.

What had happened to him? If he was Ezekiel, why wasn’t there any other record of him?

So many questions and very few answers.

“Forget about it,” I told myself.

I wanted to go see Ben, but I doubted my presence would do him any good. The guy was close to a damn mental breakdown. I texted to check up on him.

Me: How’s it going??

His response came a minute later.

Ben: I’m ok. Sorry if I worried you earlier. I’m better now. That was just a lot to take in.

Me: I’m here if you ever need to talk, k?

Ben: I know. Same goes to you. My head might be a little all over the place right now, but you can always come to me.

I smiled.

Me: Look at us being all sweet and shit. Next thing I know you’ll be buying me flowers and chocolate.

Ben: You wish.

I laughed and put my phone aside. For the rest of the night, I played on my Xbox. Rich and Taylor were on headset with me as we gamed together, so it helped me escape for a while. They talked crap to each other, then Taylor and I teased Rich about Danielle.

“Girl has you whipped,” Taylor said, after Rich told us he was taking her to the nail salon the following day.

“No, she doesn’t,” Rich denied. “She wants me to get a pedicure with her. Never had one before and it sounded nice.”

“Hey, I’m all for it,” I said, tapping the trigger on the controller to shoot aliens in the game that had just landed and were attacking the troops. “Men can get pampered too. It’s about time we cut the toxic masculinity bullshit.”

“True dat,” Taylor responded. “My feet are too ticklish for that shit, though.”

“Mine too,” I said.

Around midnight, I told them goodnight and went to bed. I fell asleep not long after my head hit the pillow. For the first time since I’d visited the mansion, I dreamed of Z.

He stood by the black gates under a bright moon and beckoned me inside. “Come closer.”

“Z? I thought you didn’t want me here.”

“Shh.” He put a finger to his lips and reached out his other hand to me. “Come with me.”

Once I stepped onto the property and grabbed his hand, the scene changed. Instead of standing in front of the house, I was in the backyard near the stables. It was day instead of night.

The sun hid itself behind a cloud, though I was plenty warm as Ezekiel nuzzled my neck.

“Say you’re mine,” I whispered.

“I’m yours.” He slid his hand to the crotch of my trousers. “Are you mine?”

“Very much so.”

He backed me up against the wall and kissed me. I had never felt so at peace. Ezekiel gripped the side of my neck as our mouths pressed together again and again. For a split second, the scenery changed, going from bright sunlight back to night. Someone yelled in the darkness, begging for mercy. Then I was back by the stable, kissing Ezekiel. It was like a weird dream glitch.

Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe. It felt like someone had their hand around my throat. I shot up in bed, coughing and grabbing at my neck. The pressure lifted and I sucked in a deep breath, staring around the room with blurry vision and trying to make sense of my surroundings.

It was morning.

On shaky legs, I treaded to the bathroom and splashed water on my face. That had been one hell of a weird dream. The sensation of being choked had felt so real. I looked at my reflection in the mirror. Water dripped from the ends of my strawberry blond hair and my green eyes had a wild look to them.

And then I saw red marks on my neck.

I dove toward the mirror to get a closer look. Though faint, I definitely saw them. In disbelief, I lifted a shaking hand and lined up my fingers on the four marks. They fit perfectly.

I had talked in my sleep and even slept-walked a few times, but I’d never freaking choked myself before. I braced my arms on the sink and took several deep breaths. Before I could scare myself, I decided it was best to write it off as my anxiety being wound up. Some people scratched themselves and pulled their hair out when stressed, right? Choking was maybe a bit extreme, but