3|Bed Bugs

After a rough first day at the station, I was finally able to return to my place. The bottle of Sauvignon Blanc on the edge of my bathtub is my company. I shifted to take a sip of my wine. The bubbled water sang as I moved. Lavender and jasmine filled the air with a relaxing fragrance as I closed my eyes.

There’s nothing better than a relaxing bath after a crazy day like this. Paul kept his stand firm about the Čuvari Tribe, although it only stayed between the two of us. For the sake of his sanity, I agreed to take his opinion into consideration.

I’m still a putty for him, dammit, and it’s affecting my job.

He believed his family was a descendant of the Čuvari Tribe, and he studied them for years when he accidentally found his great grandfather’s journal when he was fifteen. Being in law enforcement, we cannot jump to any conclusion unless the evidence tells us otherwise. Even our own opinion and beliefs didn’t matter.

This bothered him beyond any murder case we solved before - I can tell. While the investigation is still on the roll, he’ll be staying here in Salvatore Hills. Chief Perez and dad agreed to his request.

The reason I left Seattle followed me here because of his suspected tribe ritual. Lucky fucking me.

I didn’t want to work with Paul, honestly I still love the guy. I cannot throw away our seven years of romance just like he did.

It still hurts inside. It’s like an itch I can’t scratch because it’ll bleed, and in the end, I’ll be left with a searing pain in my skin or worse, a permanent scar. That is my experience with heartbreak, and I hate it. It’s a crime I cannot solve, and he’s a culprit I cannot put behind bars for murdering my heart.

Sighing, I finally found the courage to stand up and dry myself. After getting dressed in my sweats and hoodie, I brought my glass of wine to the balcony, aiming to get some fresh, chilly air before heading to bed. I slumped down on the outdoor chair, my phone in my hands as I set the glass down on the coffee table, the heater as my only company.

I browsed through my phone, looking over my social media accounts, which I only used to communicate with my college and high school friends. There was an invitation from Eloisa, my best friend, to come over to her place on the 26th. She and her husband are back from their honeymoon and hoping to catch up.

Calling it a day, I checked all the locks in my place before getting under the covers.

For a while all I could see in my sleep was darkness, and endless abyss of serenity. A familiar scene I grew accustomed to until I tilted my head to the sky where stars filled the dark canvas and the full moon glowed like a silver gen dusted with gold sparkles.

The air temperature was perfect for my taste, just like how summer and autumn would haggle in September. It was a fine evening. I strolled under the shadows of trees as they swayed with the gentle breeze, that is until a cool wisp of cedar and pine breeze caressed my cheeks.

A drastic drop in temperature followed, and the silver glow of the moon suddenly turned red. The stars vanished in the sky and a vermilion shade cloaked the large moon.

The watching eyes that followed that wisp of cool air were there again, but this time it’s so close. It was right behind me; I knew because I saw two silvery gems glowing when I looked over my shoulder. It’s as though the silver moon fell from the sky to the forest, and its beauty turned into a danger - a threat that I felt seeping through my core.

My feet moved on their own. I stepped back when the pair of silver glows moved to where I was. The sound of snapping twigs, crushing leaves, and tree branch breaking is getting closer.

It was never my instinct to run away from danger; hell, I’m living and breathing danger with my job but the need to run consumed me. I almost tripped on my foot with the fast spin of my heels. I held my balance before I dropped to the ground, and soon I was moving - surprisingly fast.

The air slipped into my clothes like raging water stroking the grass on the riverbanks. The forest disappears from my sight, turning into strips of shadows as if I was driving over the speed limit. However fast I was moving, the silvery eyes remained close, the danger remained close.

I was gaining speed, my fear and instinct to run forcing me to do so. My heartbeat was deafening, like the bass on full volume pressed in my ears. I shook my head, urging my brain to work and calculate all the possible outcomes of this escape. I was so focused on the silvery eyes chasing me that I forgot about the cliff waiting at the edge of the trail until it was too late.

The Salvatore bay that reflects the red moon glistens in front of me. I was moving so fast with no breaks. I tried holding onto the disappearing shadow of trees, but it was a futile attempt.

My heart rose to my throat; I was holding my breath as I closed my eyes, preparing myself for the hundred meters drop that was about to come.

I cursed under my breath, still trying to hold on to anything, not wanting to give up just yet. The lash of air where the bay meets the cliff embraced me, but the water didn’t follow. I was anticipating the fall, ready to take a swim for my dear life, but when I opened my eyes, a pair of blue irises met my gaze.

The owner of the blue eyes roared; its breath was chilly, and his scent forced my head to spin further. The myrrh was pungent, just like on Rivera’s crime scene, but stronger.

It was a beast, a giant wolf that had fur like a moonless sky. I’d never seen one like it before.

I lost the ability to speak. My throat was tight and parched, worked up lungs chasing air as my heart pumped faster than it ever did. The cold ground against my skin was the last of my concern as I looked into the eyes of the beast. I could only see death… my end.

Its fangs, sharp-looking and long, elongated further as it growled, its paws fencing my body on each side, pinning me down. Eyes held satisfaction in my understanding that I was at his mercy stared deep into mine. A string of its saliva dripped from its open mouth as it growled, ready to attack.

A rustling above my head grabbed its attention. The large wolf looked up as the sound of snapping twigs came closer. Its fearless facade suddenly faded. His paws began to move backward while it whimpered, shaking its head, fighting off the urge to retract its attack. The wolf was gone as quickly as it came. Its black fur camouflaged in the darkness, leaving no trace apart from the fear it inflicted on me.

I was losing my consciousness, eyes drooping from fatigue and fear that coursed through my body.

Someone lifted me from the ground, sinewy muscles kept me from falling, and the scent of cool cedarwood surrounded me.

“Don’t be afraid, luce mia,” that voice… [my light]

Drenched in sweat, I shoot up from my bed, gasp-coughing. I looked at my hands, a bandage was wrapped around my wrist, and I wasn’t in last night’s clothes as well. I’m wearing an oversized white shirt that clearly belongs to a man.

“What the hell?”

.

.

“Rough night?” My ever-supportive partner, Officer Miller, greeted me as I stepped inside the station. He didn’t even bother to hide the mockery in his tone.

He isn’t wrong, though; I haven’t slept a wink since I woke up at two a.m... In my twenty-four years of existence, only now did I realize how frightening it is to have dreams. I threw away all the dreamcatcher I had in my room. Even the ones my parents gifted me.

There’s always an explanation for everything. And I was hoping the CCTV footage of the apartment complex would help me understand why I woke up in my bed in a man’s dress shirt, which, by the way, smells so damn good, with my wrist wrapped in a bandage. Oh, and there were scratches all over my body. Like I indeed ran in the woods… just like in my dream. But the cameras showed that I didn’t leave my unit until this morning.

I’ve always loved solving mysteries, but this is something I cannot even begin to produce a theory or a hypothesis over.

I guess Martha from sixth grade was right when she named me a weirdo.

“Bed bugs,” I replied curtly, walking past Officer Miller to my office.