“What does it mean?” Tony asked quietly, his finger brushing the soft skin of my side, tracing the lines of my tattoo.

We were still laying together on the couch, just quietly enjoying the others company. My thoughts had been spinning around rapidly, the urge to run slowly creeping up to the surface. I didn’t want to though; I was tired of running. Being with Tony made me realize that I was tired of being alone.

His question caught me off guard, pulling me out of the fractured mess that was my mind. I glanced down at his hand tracing the ink, watching as his fingers outlined the circle. It was a rather large piece, the curve of the dream catcher sitting just above the start of my rib cage, spreading all along my side until a few feathers brushed the top of my hip bone. There was nothing spectacular about the dream catcher itself but rather what was portrayed in the circle.

Inside there was a portrait of a realistic looking sugar skull. Her eyes were wide, dark circles shaping around them, petals around one her eyes. She had a fierce expression; her wide lips were slightly open. She had a wave of hair on top of her head, styled like something you would see in a 1950’s photograph, a lily flower clipped in her bangs. She was beautiful yet broken, stiches lined her cheeks, making it seem as if she were smiling constantly. It was dark and mysterious, beautiful and damaged, haunting and alluring. The skull was originally supposed to represent Emily but after I described what I wanted to the artist I realized it was more a representation of me.

“Effie?” Tony spoke again and I looked up to see him smiling down at me. “Does it mean anything specific?” he asked again, his voice low,

I pursed my lips, taking in a deep breath before shrugging slightly. “The death of dreams.” I answered, looking back down at the tattoo as he continued to run his fingers across my skin, causing goose bumps.

“Whose dreams?” he whispered and I felt his gaze on me but I couldn’t meet his eyes.

“Mine.” I breathed, closing my eyes and sinking deeper into the couch, my face nuzzling into his chest.

“How so?” he pressed.

“Tony,” I sighed.

“Please tell me Effie,” he begged and I felt his fingers brush across my cheek, pushing my hair behind my ear.

“I can’t,” I whispered.

“Why?”

“Because if I tell you, I’m letting you in, letting you see the real me; you won’t like what you see, you’ll leave. Everyone always leaves.” I muttered.

“Hey,” he said, reaching his hand down to grip my chin, pulling me up so that I was facing him. “I’m not going anywhere.” He said, his voice strong and his eyes fierce.

“Maybe you should,” I said sadly, tugging my chin out of his grasp and looking back down.

He sighed deeply before he spoke again. “So, what are your plans for today?”

I couldn’t help but smile at his change of subject, shaking my head slightly. “Well, it’s my night off and I have no food here so unfortunately I have to go grocery shopping.”

“Unfortunately?” he questioned, a hint of amusement in his voice.

I gave him a look. “It’s only two in the afternoon, there’s still daylight.”

“Oh, right, vampire, I forgot,” he joked, flashing me a toothy grin. I chuckled. “Can I join you?” he asked after a moment, still wearing a smile.

“Why?” I asked, honestly confused.

He laughed at my expression before he shrugged. “I just like being around you.”

I chewed the inside of my cheek, resisting the urge to tell him that he shouldn’t. He shouldn’t enjoy my company; he shouldn’t even want to be around me, if only he knew the type of nightmares that I brought with me. My closet was filled to the brim with skeletons, packed so tight a few were bound to slip out eventually, if they hadn’t already. He should be running away, screaming. More importantly, I shouldn’t be letting him get so close, but I was being selfish, which is why I found myself agreeing to him.

“Okay,” I sighed. “I just have to shower first.”

“Was that an invitation?” he teased, cocking his eyebrow.

I just smirked while biting my lip, shaking my head. I started to get up, shoving him lightly as I did so making him fall back. He laughed as I stood, making my way to the bathroom. I showered quickly, half expecting Tony to join me but he didn’t. I came out in just my towel to find him sitting on the couch, now dressed, he looked up when I came out, biting his lip as I moved around the small space. I kept my outfit simple, just some jean shorts and a worn Misfits tee. I threw my damp hair up into a loose bun on my head and swiped on some mascara before I headed back into the front room.

“Ready?” I asked, slipping on my shoes.

“Yup,” he answered, jiggling his keys in his hand as he stood.

“Oh, I’ll drive, I don’t want to waste your gas any more than I already have.” I said picking up the black sunglasses off my counter as I grabbed my purse.

“You have a car?” he questioned, giving me a puzzled expression.

I laughed. “Yes. How do you think I get from place to place?”

“Oh, well I just thought, wait, why are you always walking then? Especially at night?” he furrowed his eyebrows.

I laughed again, opening the door. “I like walking at night, being in the dark, I feel safer.” I shrugged as he walked out, closing the door behind him before we headed down the stairs.

“You know, I’m pretty sure most people feel the opposite,” he said with a laugh.

I just shrugged again. “I’m not like most people.”

“I’ve noticed,” he said, a small smile gracing his lips as he looked at me.

I wasn’t sure why but the way he said it made me blush and I looked away, placing my sunglasses over my eyes as we stepped outside, into the brightness of the sun. I groaned, causing Tony to chuckle. We headed toward my blue jeep and I unlocked it, getting in the driver’s side while Tony climbed into the passengers.

“Sorry about the mess, I was living in here for a little while,” I muttered sheepishly, trying to clean up a bit, though it was a lost cause.

Tony chuckled. “Don’t worry, it’s fine.”

I started the car then, taking off and driving into the sun, wanting nothing more than to be back in the comfort of the darkness.

---

Grocery shopping had taken a few hours because I decided to stock up, not wanting to have to go out again anytime soon. Tony found the whole thing rather amusing and I couldn’t help but find myself getting lost around him. The way he would speak and the faces he would make whenever I would place an item in the cart that he didn’t agree with. He made me forget that I was currently out in the daylight, vulnerable. He made me feel safe and I knew that I was getting attached and I knew that it was bad but I didn’t want it to end.

We had just finished putting all the bags in the back of my jeep and we were walking back from the cart caddy when he spoke up.

“Hey, so what do you say we drop your stuff off at home and then come back out here, walk along the pier a bit, there’s this really great ice cream parlor-“

“No!” I shouted in a panic, cutting him off and stopping dead in my tracks.

He paused and turned to look at me, his eyes going wide, surprised by my reaction. “What? What’s wrong?” he rushed, concern taking over his features.

“I, I um, I, I don’t like ice cream,” I stammered, choking on the memories, Emily’s voice repeating in my head.

Let’s go get ice cream…That’s why you love me…We’ll see the world together.

“Effie!” Tony said loudly, pulling me away from my thoughts. “Relax, it’s fine. We won’t get ice cream.” He shrugged, feigning indifference but I could tell that what just happened had really bothered him, and I could see that he was practically begging for me to open up to him, but I couldn’t.

I finally figured out how to walk again and we made our way to the car, getting in and driving back in silence and for the first time, it was awkward. You could practically feel the tension between us as he kept glancing over at me, furrowing his eyebrows and shaking his head, occasionally opening his mouth as if he were going to say something before he would change his mind and sigh, looking back out the window. We got back to my apartment complex and I cut the engine, getting out quickly and started to collect the bags.

Tony helped silently and I instantly regretted buying so much because now he had an excuse to come back up to my place.

“You can just set them down in the kitchen,” I muttered to him and he nodded silently.

I kicked off my shoes and then turned toward him, standing by the open door. “Um, I think I’m going to take a rain check on the pier, I’m pretty tired.” I lied, chewing the inside of my cheek.

He sighed. “Are we not going to talk about what happened back there?”

“What?” I questioned, pretending to not know what he was talking about.

He gave me a frustrated look. “Effie, I mentioned ice cream and you completely panicked, you looked absolutely terrified, even now, I can see that it’s affecting you.”

I cursed myself again, realizing he was right as I cringed once he mentioned ice cream again. I just shrugged and stared down at the ground. I heard him sigh again but he started walking toward me. I expected him to walk right by me but as soon as he was within arm’s reach he suddenly stopped and he gripped my face, pulling me into a rough, passionate kiss. Despite the tension that was between us I found myself kissing him back, our lips moving together hungrily. Still feeling the effects of my memories though, I soon found myself pushing him away.

“You should go,” I whispered, my voice ragged from our kiss.

His hands were still holding the sides of my face but he gently let them drop. He took in a deep breath before he started walking again, he turned as he stepped outside, and I met him in the doorway, trying to look anywhere but at his face.

“Who are you Effie?” he asked quietly.

“You don’t want to know,” I responded, my voice filled with sorrow.

“That’s just it though, I do want to know. I want you to let me in. I want to know you Effie.” He said passionately.

I just shook my head, pursing my lips. “You don’t. You’ll only be disappointed.” I whispered before I stepped back, gently closing the door and retreating back into the darkness of my apartment.

Notes

welp, that wasn't how I orignally planned this chapter so hopefully @Lost in Neverland can figure out where to take it from here, sorry babe! but good luck!

also just wanted to wish you (@Lost in Neverland) a Happy Birthday!! Go out and have fun love, but not too much fun ;)

please don't forget to leave us your feedback!! <3