Chapter 3

"Hello Adrian," a soft, sweet voice greeted. He turned to find his beloved Trudy standing before him in her favorite white dress that was adorned with printed flowers. A smile spread upon his lips as he went forward.

"Trudy. What are you doing here?" He asked in disbelief as he walked closer to her. She smiled and didn't respond as he embraced her gently.

"You've been troubled lately," she whispered softly. He nodded as he took her hand. She always knew just what was going on within him. She had been amazing like that.

"Yes I have," he replied as they walked over to a bench that was seated under a weeping willow tree. They sat down together.

"Samantha is a wonderful woman," Trudy pointed out. Adrian looked away and swallowed hard. She turned his face to have him look at her.

"She's not you," he whispered. She rested her forehead against his.

"Oh Adrian. I never wanted for you to be alone. Can't you see that she is the someone that you need?" Trudy argued softly.

"She's not you! I promised to love you until . . ." Adrian trailed off. He looked down at their intertwined fingers.

"Until death do us part. Death has parted us, Adrian. Your promise was fulfilled. Don't look back. I know you will always love me and I want you to know that I will always love you. Now go, stop being alone," she whispered. He looked back up at her eyes, knowing that it would probably be the last time she visited him this way.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Samantha had been sleeping soundly when her telephone rang. She moaned and rolled over, cracking open an eye to look at the time. It read 2:08 a.m. She moaned louder in protest as the telephone continued to ring. She grabbed the receiver and placed it to her ear.

" 'ello?" She answered, unsure of who would be calling her at two in the morning. She could only hear uneven breathing, which caused her to wake up fully.

"Adrian?" She questioned. Her eyes searched for the caller's name in the darkness.

"Samantha. . . I need you to come over," Adrian replied.

"It's two in the morning, Adrian," she replied softly.

"Then can I come over there?" He asked her. She could hear the plead in his voice. She yawned, knowing that she would probably fall asleep on the way to his place.

"Okay come over here and use your key. I'll be in bed," she replied.

"I'll be over in a few minutes," he replied. They said their goodbyes and Samantha rolled over and fell back to sleep.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Adrian walked into the dark apartment. He remembered that she had said that she would be in bed, yet he wasn't sure that he wanted to go in there. He didn't want to have to tell her what had happened in his dream, but there was this nagging feeling inside the pit of his stomach that he had to. He swallowed his fear and headed towards her bed room. He had been in her apartment so many times in the last three months that he knew where everything was in the darkness. He had always been good with memorizing places.

He found her bedroom, but couldn't see anything. It was darker then the rest of the apartment. It was clear that she owned black out curtains by the way that no light from the street below made its way into her room.

"Samantha?" He inquired, hoping that this was the right room. He heard her move and mumble something.

"What?" He asked, his eyes searching the darkness.

"Come in Adrian. What is it?" She whispered. He could hear the tiredness in her voice. He made his way slowly over to her bed, which he remembered was right in front of her.

"I . . .I had a good dream," he started as he sat down slowly upon her bed. He heard her snort.

"That is why you came over at two in the morning?" She asked him, disbelief evident in her voice. He shook his head and then realized that she couldn't see him.

"Well yes. It was about Trudy. She . . . she told me to move on," he stuttered. He could hear her moving behind him. Suddenly a soft light filled the room. He turned to see her. Her red hair was in a mess all around her. She was wearing a dark blue t-shirt and the covers were an unruly mess around her. She sat up and studied his face.

"That disturbed you didn't it?" She asked him knowingly. He nodded. She rubbed his back slowly.

"It disturbed me a lot," he confined. She nodded and proceeded to get out of her bed. He got up off her bed. He watched as she straightened her bed.

"Do you want to stay here for the rest of the night?" She asked him. He nodded slowly.

"Well. . . the couch is pretty comfortable," she started, but stopped when he shook his head.

"I . . I don't want to be . . . alone. . . in the dark," he stuttered. Her face softened as she nodded.

"Take off your shoes and sleep next to me, but only this once," she said with a teasing smile. He took off his shoes and his coat. He watched as she dug into her drawer for something. She pulled out some black sweat pants. She tossed them over to him.

"Put those on. Don't worry, they are spares for my brother when he comes to visit. He hasn't worn those yet," she reassured. He blushed as he turned away from her to put them on. He knew that she wouldn't watch him, but he couldn't help feeling like he was invading her privacy as well as his own.

"Thank you," he said softly, after putting on the pants. She giggled as he sat back down upon the bed.

"Good grief, Adrian are you going to wear that stuffy shirt to bed too?" she questioned, pointing at his button up shirt. He looked down and swallowed hard.

"Erm. . yes," he replied. She shook her head and reached back into her drawer. She brought out an oversized t-shirt for him to wear. She walked over and handed it to him.

"Here, wear this," she said. He smiled and took the shirt she was holding. He watched as she exited the room. Her shorts had Winnie the Pooh on them. He smiled as he took off his shirt and put on the one that she had given him.

She returned moments later with extra pillows, which she handed to him, before she climbed onto the side of the bed that she had chosen. He climbed into bed beside her stiffly, his heart racing. She turned off the light and he felt her shift beside him.

"How ya doing?" she asked him softly. He swallowed hard once more.

"Better," he whispered. Silence engulfed the room and Adrian wondered if she could hear him blink.

"That's good. It's odd sharing a bed. I haven't done that since I was a little girl," she whispered. He turned his head to look at her, even though he couldn't see her.

"Really?" He asked her.

"Yeah. My sister and I shared a bed and a room for a time when my parents were remodeling our house," she answered. The darkness began to crush in around him. He reached over and found her hand in the dark. He laced his fingers with hers slowly.

"I'm afraid," he whispered. He could feel her give his hand a reassuring squeeze and he could feel her move closer next to him. Suddenly he felt her head upon his chest.

"Don't be afraid, Adrian. It's only the dark," she whispered back. He swallowed hard and could feel his heart racing.

"I'm trying not to be," he replied softly. He felt her trace the back of his hand, causing him to shiver.

"Just close your eyes and let your mind wander. You'll forget all about the dark," she suggested. He nodded and closed his eyes, drifting off into a peaceful slumber.