Dreamers (The Dreamers Series) Read Online Free Page B

hostile?” I ask, with an entirely too full mouth.
    She immediately looks uncomfortable.
    “We will talk about this once, because I want to make things right with you. After today, I want it to stay in the past where it belongs, okay?”
    “Absolutely,” I promise.
    “It’s about Lana.”
    I lean into my knuckles, holding up my face as I listen attentively. “Okay, go on.”
    “She and I had a short fling, and it ended badly. That’s all.”
    “No honey, I don’t think so. You said you would explain. That is not an explanation.”
    Silence follows for what seems like ages, until she finally speaks. “She fucked with my head—a lot.”
    “Why would she do that?”
    “Well, everything started off fine. My mother asked if she could stay with me for a while so Lana could get on her feet. Since she was a friend of my mother’s, I agreed. She seemed normal enough—at first. Everything changed when she began tinkering with weird shit.”
    “What kind of weird shit?”
    “Ouija boards, tarot cards, having séances in my apartment—stuff I wanted no part of. That’s taboo shit that I don’t mess with, and it freaked me out.”
    “Did you tell her not to do it in the apartment?” I quiz.
    “Well, no—not at first. I was….preoccupied.”
    “By what?”
    She bites her lip nervously, as she continues. “This is embarrassing, Sydney.”
    “Awe, come on! You walked in on me naked. Don’t talk to me about embarrassment.” I lift my eyebrows smartly.
    “Fine. She started coming on—strong. I wasn’t really interested. She’s not really my type, ya’ know? Not to mention, if it had ended badly we were stuck. She lived with me.”
    “I know what you mean.” I listen attentively.
    “She was so damned cocky. I think she even commented that I was an idiot for passing her up. It got awkward. I still took no interest, so she worked harder for it.”
    “What do you mean she worked harder for it?”
    “She began playing games. Walking around half dressed, accidentally forgetting a towel when she took a shower, sabotaging the few dates I had by hanging all over me when I brought a girl home. One night, I had too many shots and she took advantage. She kinda…seduced me.”
    “Seduced you?” The corners of my lips lift slightly, aching to unleash a full outburst of laughter. The word seduce makes me think of cheesy G-string panties and thigh-high stockings. If I’m to keep a straight face, I will have to erase the image from my mind.
    “Yes, and we began dating--kind of.”
    “Kind of?”
    “I wanted to get to know her better, on a relationship level; see if I could feel anything—she wanted something else.” She looks up at me over her dark-rimmed glasses, as her eyebrow raise slightly.
    “Ohhhh…bedroom friends,” I reply.
    “Something like that.” She continues slowly. “She started asking me to do weird things. I don’t want to go into details but she wanted me to—ya’ know…” Embarrassment paints her face red. “She asked me to get rough—hurt her.”
    “Hurt her? Like smack her around—kinky shit?” I smirk.
    “Try cutting, choking, burning—hardcore freak shit. I wanted to please her; I just couldn’t get into it. People like that just ain’t right.”
    “Honey, that’s not all that unusual; a lot of women are very adventurous,” I shrug casually.
    “No, it was more than just being adventurous. She was off her rocker, a fucking nut job.”
    “What do you mean?” I ask.
    “Remember what I said about the séances and Ouija boards? Well, she stared withdrawing, staying in her room constantly, talking to herself—or someone else, as she claimed. She called him Dominick—the ghost in her room. She was obsessed with him. She thought the only way to be close to him was to inflict pain on herself—or have me do it. She was trying to bring herself as close to death as possible.”
    My mind whirls at the new information. This Lana character was either very disturbed mentally