Chapter 6

**Amelia**


Aniko isn’t gone for more than ten minutes before my eyes get too heavy and I fall asleep. It’s weird being so tired when I have been in a coma for weeks, but I could barely keep my eyes open. As soon as I’m asleep I start to see flashes of familiar faces but I can’t hear anything they’re saying. It looks like watching a show with the sound off. Only in this show I don’t understand the story. I see Aniko but he doesn’t have the long hair or the gentle face I’ve seen. This man has a cocky smile and has short cut hair and…are those fangs?

I almost want to laugh at seeing Aniko as some sort of vampire. Why on earth would my brain make a man I just met look like a vampire? Another image passes and I see the man I saw on the TV earlier. He smiles sweetly at me, but he seems a little shy until he sees Aniko and then…wait. Oh my god!

My body jerks awake, and I gasp for breath. For a second, I don’t recognize where I am again. I sit up and look around, but I don’t know where I am.

“Amelia?” A voice comes out of nowhere and I nearly fall onto the floor in shock. “Are you okay?”

A woman runs over to me and kneels next to me. I look at her and see another face I recognize but can’t remember who they are.

“I-I know you.” I say.

She sighs and gives me a weak smile. “Yes, you do. Very well actually.”

“How? Who are you?” I ask as she stands.

“I’m Elena, moon goddess. We have met many times and could even be called friends. You don’t remember because that was the plan, we all agreed on but once again things have not changed. You have still found your mates in this version of your life. We hoped this new start would allow you true freedom from your other lives, but once again you have found them.” She says as if any of that is supoposed to make sense to me.

“I don’t understand.”

“I know you don’t, but I can fix that.” She says before holding her hand, palm facing me and presses against my forehead.

There is a blinding pain and then darkness again. What the heck?

I gasp awake and can barely make out any sounds other than the sound of my racing heart. What was that?

“You okay babe?” Someone says from beside me and I snap my head in their direction.

Babe? It takes me a second to make my head wrap around what I just saw and wherever I am now. No, I’m at home…in my apartment…with my boyfriend Keith of two years. Right…

“Yeah, I just had a weird dream.” I say throwing the covers aside and standing.

“Again? I thought those stopped months ago?” He says and I turn to look at him.

It is so weird because I recognize him, but also, he doesn’t seem to fit. It’s also taking me a second to remember things, and it’s disorienting.

“They did. It was so real.” I say absentmindedly and walk out of my bedroom.

I hear him moving around and a few seconds later he’s following me to the kitchen.

“I’m worried. You were doing so well, and now this. You promised me all that shit was over.” He sounds exhausted by this talk, and I have to agree.

Whatever is happening isn’t my fault, but I can’t fault him for being upset. What guy wants to put up with a woman who has dreams of another life where she has a relationship with not only one man but two, and constantly speak to weird deities.

“I know Keith, I thought it was over too.” I say trying to placate him because I do not want to have this fight before I’ve had coffee.

I reach into the cabinet to grab said coffee, but he slams the door shut. “Keith! I could have gotten hurt!”

“I don’t give a shit Amelia, what the hell is this? We’ve been talking about taking the next step in our relationship, but we can’t do that if you don’t get this stuff under control. I won’t put up with it Amelia, I’m serious.”

I sigh and turn to face him. “I know. I’m sorry, okay? I hate this as much as you do and if I could stop these dreams I would. I can talk to Dr. Simon about trying the sleeping pills again, okay?”

He drops his head and nods. “Yeah okay.”

I walk over and wrap my arms around his shoulder. He wraps his arms around me and lifts me off my feet making me laugh.

“I love you; you know that right?” I ask him when we pull back to look at each other.

“I know, and for some reason I love you too.” He says with a teasing smile.

The way he says it should hurt, but it doesn’t. Isn’t that weird? Don’t people know why they love someone? Those words never felt right between us, but it’s what people say to the person you’ve been with this long.

“Oh yeah? You don’t know why you love me anymore? I guess that means no coffee for you.” I open the cabinet over his shoulder and grab the coffee bag before wiggling out of his arms.

“Don’t try that, you know I’m faster than you runt.” He says, narrowing his eyes at me.

I hold the coffee behind my back and smile wickedly at him. “Runt? Smaller means smarter.”

He lunges toward me, but I slip past him before he can grab me and curses when he stumbles into the couch.

“Don’t play games with a bull Amelia, you’ll only get hurt.” He says turning around and flexing his muscles.

Truthfully they’re a little too much but he seems to think the gym is the holy land that only gods can walk into. If he isn’t one of the big guys then he doesn’t belong there and blah blah blah. I’m sure you know where I’m going with this. He was my trainer once upon a time, and has been since he asked me out that first day he met me. It seemed like a dream come true but sometimes having a health freak for a boyfriend can suck bad. Like no ice cream! Is he crazy?

Anyway we go through this fight over coffee at least once a week, and it always ends the same…he steals it back and forces me to do twenty planks while he makes the coffee. He also gets to add his gross mushroom creamer crap and watches me drink the whole damn thing. Let me tell you, it’s disgusting. Of course, I stop by my favorite coffee place on my way to work and splurge on some real coffee but don’t tell him. That’s exactly what I’m doing right now.

“Good morning, Amelia! What was it today?” The woman who I affectionately call Auntie V asks from behind the counter.

“Uh mushroom coffee again.” I say with a pout.

She snorts and starts working on my coffee. “At least it wasn’t that green stuff like before.”

“Uh, don’t remind me of that. I was ready to burn down half the city after being cut off from coffee for so long. I think he learned his lesson when I kicked him out until he let me have my fix again.” Not fond memories let me tell you.

“Why you decided to date a man who holds your coffee hostage is a mystery to me.” She grumbles.

“Me either. Honestly things haven’t been great between us, but he keeps talking about us getting married and I don’t know.” I sit on the high bar seat that sits on the other side of a window she has separating her side from the customers.
“So, what’s stopping you? Kick him to the curb.” She says with a shrug like it’s that simple.

What is holding me back from ending things?

“It’s not that easy Auntie V, we have history.” Even to my ears it sounds like a weak argument.

“Girl listen. If you aren’t happy then you need to drop that boy and find you a good man who doesn’t force you to drink shroom coffee and work out twenty hours a week.” She starts to make my coffee while I laugh at her bluntness.

It’s one of the things I like most about her. She says what she thinks and doesn’t sugar coat it.

“Yeah, not a fan of the couple work outs.” I admit with a cringe.

“Exactly. Now take me for example. I found a good man and locked him down quick. If you aren’t ready to lock that boy down then set him free, don’t waste your time.” She shakes her head and says something about young people and back in her day, but I miss most of it. “Here and take one of my lemon bars. You’re looking too thin.”

She passes me my coffee and a bag. “You’re an angel Auntie V!”

“I know it! Now get!”

I head for the door and wave to her before pushing it open. When I do, I nearly run face to chest into someone.

“Woah there. A door to the face wasn’t what I was planning on starting my day with.” A man says.

I quickly step back and am ready to apologize but my jaw drops to the ground when I see the face I’ve seen so many times in my dreams.

Oh my god!

“O-Owen?”