Welcome To Branshire

MILES

I woke up drenched in sweat.

The nightmares had started again. It was always the same thing. I would be on the edge of my freedom, and then my feet would get stuck to the ground. When I looked down, inky, blackness bubbled at my feet, pulling me in. I would sink until I was fully submerged and would start to suffocate, the ink filling my lungs, becoming my blood until I was darkness itself. I was trapped.

The clock on my nightstand read 4 a.m. I went ahead and dragged myself out of bed. I might as well stay awake. Today was Monday, which meant it was the first day of university, and I'd be riding with Dom. I had stayed out of his sight the rest of last week, my mother's too, using the excuse of having a stomach bug. I was able to avoid dinner as well.

Maverick himself brought up soups for stomach aches.

"You should still eat," he'd tell me. "Give your body the strength it needs to fight the sickness."

His kindness still threw me off. I didn't know how to react but to give