myself to think too much about it, I’d let the fear seep in, and then I’d be up all night.
When I was a little girl, on nights I couldn’t sleep, my mother used to tell me to pretend I was floating on a cloud. That my cloud bed would whisk me anywhere I wanted to go, so it was best to sleep on the journey so I would be prepared when I arrived. Silly, but I still used this image to help me fall asleep. So, huddled in my bed, I willed my pulse to slow to a reasonable level and envisioned a white fluffy cloud. Curling up on the cloud, I breathed deeply. It took longer than normal, but I did relax. A few minutes later, I began to fall away.
I hovered, not quite descending off the precipice into deep sleep, and enjoyed the moment. My body seemed weightless; my mind was empty. I sighed, snuggled in, and then, something pushed at me, pulled at me. It was like I’d become a ball, bouncing from one hard edge to another.
Bam. Bam. Bam.
Wide awake, I snapped my eyes open. A blinding light pulsated throughout the room. Chills coated my skin. Sitting up, I exhaled and peered into the light. In the middle of it, the hazy shape of a figure stood, but I couldn’t quite make it out.
“Can you see me, Elizabeth?” I heard Miranda say. Squinting, I tried to focus past the haze, but couldn’t, it hurt my eyes too much. Blinking, they watered and the wetness decreased my vision even more. “Hello?”
Another second passed, and my room returned to its normal quiet darkness. No light. No form. No voice.
Cuckoo land . . . twilight zone . . . what ever I wanted to call it was gone. I sat up and stared at the room. I wrapped my arms around myself to chase the chill away.
“Miranda? Are you still here?”
While I didn’t hear a reply, my room filled with the scent of roses. Ah. I was pretty sure that meant she was still there.
Knowing sleep was now out of the question, at least for a little while, I grabbed my pillow and quilt and went to the living room.
“I don’t think I like this,” I whispered. Well, duh, who would? And, it wouldn’t do me any good to move out, because it wasn’t like it was my apartment that was haunted.
Nope, it was me.
Chapter Twelve
“Why are you so jumpy?” Maddie asked over a bite of her brownie. While she didn’t look as tired today, she still lacked her usual glow. Hopefully, this new magic would be as strong as the Troy magic, just in reverse.
“I’m not.” At her disbelieving look, I said, “Nate is supposed to join us. That’s all. I’m wondering what’s taking him so long.” Not the full truth, but close enough. Besides, I didn’t think mentioning Miranda would help me in the sanity department.“You’re not trying to fix me up with this cop, are you?”
“Absolutely not. In fact, if you so much as blink an eye at him I’ll have to take you down.”
Her startled expression quickly gave way to humor. “It’s like that, is it? Well, good for you. I’m happy to see you’re playing the field a little.” Another bite of chocolate disappeared into her mouth. “Dangerous, though.”
“Dangerous how?”
“Dating two men at once when one of them lives right down the hallway. Most men, no matter what they say, don’t like to share.”
Leave it to Maddie. With virtually no knowledge of my experience the prior evening, she’d hit it right on the head.
“That’s why I’m nervous. He saw me coming in with Kevin last night. Plus, he saw me with Jon on Friday night. I wouldn’t have thought anything of it, but Jon seems to think Nate will take it the wrong way.”
“He probably will.” Her eyes flickered over me curiously. “Why haven’t you mentioned Nate before?”
“There wasn’t much to mention. We haven’t dated yet. There’s just this . . . I don’t know, thing, between us.”
“Things are good. Maybe he’s uncomfortable about coming over after seeing you with two different men on the weekend. Go get him. I’ll help you clean things up. At least as far as Jon goes.” Clearing off her plate, she pushed it aside. “That was terrific, thanks for making it.”
She’d hardly eaten any. I wanted her to eat more. Just to be sure. Not that long ago, she’d told me she missed the old Elizabeth. I missed