Of Dreams And Troubles

I.

Duke woke up feeling strangely excited. The dream had felt so real. The girl from the bluff had been beautiful, enchanting; he thought he could still smell her perfume, as if she had been right here in the room with him. She was all he could think about for the rest of the day.

Three weeks later, he slowly dragged himself to the Gull to open up. He felt like had hadn't slept at all. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his face had an ashen pallor. His first line of business was to brew a very strong pot of coffee, but he found Audrey and Nathan there waiting for him.

"You look awful, Duke" said Audrey, as she walked over to him. "Are you OK? Are you sick?"

"Nah," he replied, without conviction.
"What's going on?" she pressed, her look of suspicion mingled with concern. He really did look awful. Getting a better look, Nathan also expressed some alarm in Duke's appearance.

"I just haven't been sleeping well." It was as close to the truth as he was willing to come right now. He still didn't know what the truth was or what the Hell was happening to him. Firing up the espresso machine, he gave them a dark look over his shoulder. "What can I do you for?" he inquired. "I know this isn't a social call."

He fixed a round of coffee while trying to pay attention to the latest news from the Troubles of Haven. Hard as he tried, his mind kept drifting off to the beach, the bluff, the girl…

"Duke?" Audrey nudged him. He snapped back to present, wondering if he had actually fallen asleep. "Are you sure you're OK?"

Ignoring her question, he asked if there was anything else. He had no information to give them. Hell, if a Trouble were happening right under his nose, he figured he wouldn't even notice; he was so tired.

To be continued…

Authors note:

I own nothing Haven. I do, however, own all things Willow and Wren. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Please check my profile to see what I am doing or when to expect a new chapter.