"It's the very same dream?"

"Yes, she had a different face though."

"Tell me about it."

"It's the same damn dream. Why do you need to hear about it?"

"You may remember something, anything. The smallest details could help you."

"Help me how? They won't stop. We've done this before."

"Lie back, relax, close your eyes, and walk me through it."

"You find some odd sense of comfort in torturing me?"

"No, not at all. I'm just trying to understand this, just like you are."

"Talking about this with you, writing about it in my journal, neither of those help."

"It might seem that way now. But I'm willing to bet that someday it will. Maybe that day

will be today."

"I hope you're right, Doc."

I repositioned myself on the long navy blue couch, resting my head on the decorative

pillow that had most likely held many confused, lost, crazy heads.

"Promise me something," I said to her as I stared at the ceiling.

"What do you need?"

"Don't come any closer, no matter what, okay?"

"Okay."

I knew she meant it. But I also knew she wouldn't be able to sit there in her chair. I

closed my eyes while her soft voice echoed in my head. "Relax. Breathe in and out. Breathe in and out. Breathe..."

I opened my eyes, the dream coming back to me so vividly.

"I open the door to my apartment. It's dark except for a table lamp illuminating the hallway. She asks if she should take off her shoes and I laugh and tell her they would come off eventually. She, a blonde with sparkling blue eyes, a short black dress and red lipstick. We make our way into my bedroom, we're laughing again, this time about the guy at the bar who tried to pick her up. Time moves forward and we're on my bed kissing. I only have my jeans on, she's not wearing anything. Her lips taste like... peach. She tells me she likes to be tied up and holds up two sheer red scarves. I use them to tie her wrists to the bedpost, tight enough she can't wiggle out of them, but trying to be gentle to not hurt her at the same time. When I'm finished she gives me this smirk and then bites her lip. It turns me on. My lips find hers, kissing her with an insatiable hunger, her knees moves between thighs, touching my center and I whimper into her mouth. She giggles. I feel this deep need to take her hard and fast and it's surging through my veins. This energy. My teeth latch on to her collarbone, biting and then soothing with soft kisses, I make my way down to her breast, taking my time with both even though the need to fuck her lingers. I ignore it. I wrap my lips around each nipple, sucking them, engulfing them into my mouth while my hand trails down her torso, over her abdomen, my fingers finding her wetness. And once that happens I can't hold back any longer. My mouth is around her clit, my fingers moving fast in and out of her. She's moaning loudly, egging me on, begging me to go faster, harder. Her body starts convulsing, she calls out that she's cumming, I continue fucking her with my fingers and my mouth until she tells me to stop. And then I'm face to face with her. She's smiling like she's in love. "Green-eyed girl, you're such a mystery," she says. My fingertips caress her cheek and I tell her she's beautiful. The room goes dark. I can only see her face. I can see her face and I can see my hands. They're around her throat. Squeezing. I can feel her pulse beating all the way up through my arms. Her legs are kicking, bumping hard into my thighs. Her eyes wide open and filled with fear. I just keep squeezing. The anger builds up in me and I just keep squeezing. The room is bright again. I'm lying in my bed staring out the window. A breeze blows through it, making the curtains sway. I lie there for a few more seconds before I turn to see someone lying next to me. It's her. Her face is pale. Her eyes open and bloodshot. Her mouth open. And her hands resting on her stomach. Tied together with a red scarf."

"It's okay, it's okay. It was just a dream," she said to me as I rocked back and forth in her arms, sobbing uncontrollably. "It's just a dream, Lexa."

She held me in her arms for a while. I couldn't say how long. At least until I stopped rocking. The tears remained even days later. They always did after I had these dreams. I am not a killer. I've not so much as killed an ant. But my hands around that girls throat felt so real.

The city is so quiet when you're stuck in your mind. It's so quiet when you need it to be loud. When you need it to block out the sounds inside your head. And the voices that repeat like a broken record, over and over and over again.

"Green-eyed girl, you're such a mystery."