The words registered but didn’t enter Scarlett’s blanked out mind. She turned eighteen with the vision of being able to do as she wished. Traveling the world and meeting other people. Instead, she was in Ever Realm, being treated like a child because she’s the least experienced. She doesn’t know anything so she had to attend schooling and get ordered around.
As far as she was concerned, her Earth life was completely put on the back burner. Over.
Everything hit Scarlett. The seriousness and what being a part of this world meant.
Ever Realm, the nightmares, Dreammares, her parents and… Cain.
Especially Cain.
‘Who even was he?’
The person she’d met on Earth had been much more charming than the one she met moments ago. He was more of a serious ass. But she could also see why. This world sucked the life out of things. How her parents managed to juggle Earth's life and this one was beyond her.
As her parents discussed their next moves for Scarlett, something Cain said came to the forefront of her mind.
“Who is coming?”
Her parents stopped talking and turned their full attention to Scarlett. They briefly glanced at each other and shared a thought.
“Who are you talking about?” Roger asked as his eyes scanned her face.
Scarlett gathered that he automatically knew who she was asking about. She knew her father.
“When you were talking with Cain, he said that he was coming. Who is ‘he’?” Scarlett pressed. Her father clenched and unclenched his jaw before lifting his chin towards her mother.
Cher must’ve caught on to whatever her father tried to convey. “No one you should worry about Scarlett. You focus on your training and learning at Youth Dreamers.”
Scarlett slightly narrowed her eyes at her mother’s final tone but didn’t dig anymore. She knew when to stop and her mother wasn’t going to budge.
She nodded an ‘okay’. Her mother suggested that she go up to the room and get her rest, she needed it. Retreating to her wake-up room, Scarlett left her parents. They were hiding something. She knew it. She also knew she’d find out soon enough, either directly from them or someone else.
In the yellow bedroom, Scarlett headed straight for the giant window in front of the bed and looked out. Putting her hand on the cool glass, she searched for the Dark Realm. It wasn’t visible from where she was. Only a starry dark space met her every view. Scarlett let out a sigh and turned her back to the glass.
A chill met her back and she stiffened. She quickly turned around and spotted a dark figure that stood in the far distance.
“Cain?” she called out. The figure was closer than it had been when she first saw it in Ever Realm. However, having been close to Cain not too long ago, Scarlett deep down knew it wasn’t him. That realization chilled her to the core.
What was out there wasn’t anything that felt friendly… It felt like a nightmare.
Thirteen
Scarlett found herself back under her parents’ bedroom ceiling. It felt like it’d been days since she’d been back on Earth. Turns out, it’d only been a night.
As Scarlett got out of bed, she realized that Dreamers don’t get much rest at all. From being mentally and physically awake in the Earth Realm and only mentally awake in Ever Realm; their minds were constantly up.
How was she supposed to continue back on Earth? She had few relationships and could easily cut those connections off. But what about the rest of her life? How did her parents and Jenna do it?
Scarlett made her way back to her bedroom and changed into a pair of ripped jeans and a baggy oversized T-shirt. At the moment, her appearance was the least of her worries. A knock came from her door and she turned to find Jenna entering her room.
“Hey,” Jenna softly greeted. She walked towards Scarlett’s bed and sat on the edge. “How are you doing?”
Scarlett grabbed her unruly hair and threw it into a bun.
‘I’m great! I only got lost in the Dark Realm, almost eaten by a nightmare, saved by a friend who happens to be a Dreammare. Oh, wait! Turns out I’m one too! Half ugly Nightmare and half Dreamer! A wonderful combination, wouldn’t you say?’
Scarlett settled for, “I’m fine.”
Sensing there was more, Jenna hesitantly pressed. “How’d your second night as a Dreamer go?”
Scarlett inwardly shook her head and wanted to scream.
‘This sucked.’ She opted for something she knew would drift her sister’s attention.
“It was good. I went to the Youth Dreamers and talked to Chad for a bit. He’s not all that bad.”
A big smile spread across Jenna’s face at those words. As shitty as Scarlett was feeling, she warmed at her sister’s happiness. “He helped me around and trained with me.”
Jenna narrowed her eyes. “Trained with you? With your bad arm? How? Didn’t you have your sling?”
Scarlett stiffened and thought back to when she’d gotten rid of it in Ever Realm. Her supposedly broken arm didn’t hurt at all anymore. She’d have to ask her mother or Cain about how quickly it healed. For now, Scarlett thought of another response.
“He trained with another Dreamer and I watched, and if I did want to try something, he went slowly with me. Also, my arm doesn’t bother anymore.” Scarlett moved her arm to emphasize. “Like seriously, I don’t think it was broken because I feel completely fine.”
Jenna skeptically looked at Scarlett before nodding slowly. “Okay, well since we’ve got a day to kill, I thought we’d be able to go over more things about Ever Realm, and if you had any questions I could answer them over a drink down at the café?”
Scarlett vigorously nodded at the offer. A sandwich and a cup of coffee sounded amazing.
∞
Jenna and Scarlett left their ranch and went to the nearby town. The two sisters chatted like never before. Scarlett missed this feeling– normal. Well, somewhat normal. They talked about Ever Realm but went about it as normal as possible. Jenna told Scarlett of when she first met Chad and how they became partners. In Ever Realm, when Dreamers found their partners it happened to be a serious thing. A sacred bonding of sorts. Scarlett simply nodded as Jenna explained it all. She had no plans of partnering up with anybody anytime soon.
Yet, as much as she pushed it away, a pair of grey eyes came across her mind during the topic. She’d blushed and shaken the thought. Jenna briefly caught the look and raised a brow as she smirked.
Scarlett laughed at her sister’s suspicion.
“So, you’ve already found someone?”
“What?” Scarlett shook her head and rolled her eyes. “No, no I did not. There’s no one.”
“Uh-huh, sure. Keep trying to convince yourself that.” Jenna leaned back in her seat and took a sip of her iced coffee. “I know a lie when I hear one.”
Scarlett barked out a laugh and stuck her tongue out at her sister. Scarlett loved this. The sister talks, shopping, and being back on Earth. It felt like cloud nine.
Jenna shifted in her seat and placed her drink on the table. Her eyes fell over the people walking throughout the small plaza. It wasn’t much, but it was a nice spot for the townspeople to enjoy an evening walk. Potted trees dotted the walkway and in the middle of the center was a water fountain. The best feature of it all that never failed to catch everyone’s eyes. A statue of a woman sat in the middle of the water. Tendrils of stone surrounded her as her chest curved upward and her head was thrown back. With one hand reaching up towards the sky, the other fell behind her. It was chained to the ground, keeping her from floating to the surface. Never to be free.