Chapter 7

Kate stepped inside and closed the door. She leaned back against it with a sigh, wishing the leaden weight in her stomach would disappear.

What ridiculous thing had she said a few days ago?

"I guess I'm just not used to someone like you."

She still couldn't believe she'd been so candid with a pretty-much-complete-stranger, but…it was true.

Shuichi Minamino.

She'd never met anyone who would go to such great lengths for a person he'd met five minutes before. But it didn't seem like he was just trying to pick her up or show off- God knows she'd met a few of those- it really seemed like he genuinely cared about what happened to her.

And at the grocery store, he'd said he believed her about Paul…that was nice, when people she'd known for years still weren't quite sure. Then tonight he'd literally fought for her! Absolutely insane. There was definitely something different about this guy.

Her mind gladly wandered to Shuichi's physical attributes. Great smile. Fantastic eyes, too. In fact, as much as she had tried to hide her approval from Bre earlier, he was pretty damn gorgeous. She remembered his hand on her arm, and felt those butterflies flutter in her stomach again.

Wow.

"Hold on." She forced a tiny laugh. "Oh my God. Kate, stop being an idiot," she whispered to herself. "That's probably just how he is. A super, super nice guy who would act that way around any damsel in distress. Those people DO exist. Well, good for him. You're nothing special. And in any case, he's-"

Her voice faltered and died. She finished her self-reprimand in her head.

He's gone anyway. Back to wherever he came from in the first place. Well…I guess they never hang around when you want them to.

The memory of her dream from a few nights ago surfaced again, and she flushed deeply. I can't believe myself. I know a guy for a day and he shows up in my dreams…doesn't help that I also dream about-

She shivered.

Early that morning when she had been napping for a few hours, terrified screaming and the metallic smell of blood had dominated her sleep. According to her mom, she had woken up screaming herself. It was very weird and disturbing. And she'd had the faintest feeling of déjà vu about the dream…she'd definitely had a similar one before. But this had been the only one she could vividly remember upon waking up, and she was happy that had only happened once. She guessed it was just all the stuff going on with the murders making an impression on her.

And the dream of Shuichi? Well, she hadn't seen much of Paul lately (nor did she want to). That must have been her sexual frustration taking itself out on the next attractive male to come along.

What an awkward walk home THAT was…well, he had no idea. Whatever.

She took a few steps forward, then was suddenly hit by such a strong wave of fatigue that she staggered.

Whoa…didn't realize how tired I was.

With one hand on the banister, she stared up the long flight of stairs, then looked into the living room at the couch. Maybe I'll just crash there…these stairs don't look too friendly right now.

Yawning, she shuffled over, dropped her bag on the floor and flopped onto the couch. Hopefully I wake up in time to shower before work. She closed her eyes…a last unbidden thought flitted through her mind.

Goodnight, Shuichi.

She didn't have the energy to scoff at herself for that one, and quickly slipped into sleep.


Directly overhead, in a room decorated with teddy bears and hearts, Lily snuggled under her fluffy comforter. A shadow flashed past her blue-curtained window, and the girl softly cried out in fear as a frightening, pale woman prowled briefly through her pastel pink dreams. A scary voice said something she didn't understand…

No more delays. It's time to claim what's MINE.

Then the woman was gone, and Lily smiled faintly as her dreams returned to normal.