Love Me, Dreamy: A YA Paranormal Romance with Breathtaking Twists Read online

  “Coming,” she called out as she peered left and right trying to catch a glimpse of the seagull. Having no luck she swivelled on the spot and pulled her hair into a loose ponytail as she marched across the carpeted living room to her front door. Before opening the door, she leaned into the spyhole and peered through to see coarse blonde hair obscuring her view. She opened the door. Toby was standing in the hall looking frantic and worried. A look of relief washed over his face when his blue eyes locked with hers.

  “You’re okay!” he said and marched past her into the apartment. Amelia closed the door and gestured to the kitchen.

  “Make yourself comfortable, I guess?” she said as he rooted through her cupboards and pulled out a couple of mugs.

  “What do you mean? I’m okay. What are you doing here?” she asked nonplussed, as Toby set the mugs on the worktop, then rested his palms on the edge; his head bowed low as he closed his eyes. After a few moments, he stood up and walked back over to Amelia and pulled her in for a bear hug.

  “I’ve been so worried about you,” he moaned into her thick hair. When they broke apart Amelia stared at him with surprise.

  “Am I dreaming or something? Why are you so worried?” she asked in a daze with her hand to her forehead. Toby gave her a look of faint amusement before setting about making camomile tea.

  “I thought I wasn’t going to see you again when I didn’t hear from you….”

  Amelia leaned her hip against the edge of the breakfast bar and folded her arms. “You’re not making any sense,” she said firmly, finally having her wits about her.

  Toby avoided her gaze as he filled the kettle with water and tidied away the tea bags.

  “Toby…,” Amelia said in a warning tone. Toby dropped his hands and turned to look at her, his face heavy set in a brooding expression. He chewed his bottom lip and looked at the floor apparently working out what he was going to say.

  “I was so worried about you. I wondered if something had happened…,” he began as he furtively looked her in the eyes.

  “I just went to sleep and then I woke up… and well this weird thing happened with a bird.” Amelia knew she was rambling. She looked at the window; it was void of any indication that a bird had just struck it moments earlier.

  “Is that it? You have just been sleeping? All this time?” Toby asked incredulously. Amelia rubbed her arms and looked back to the kitchen and the white clock sitting on the worktop. It was almost midday.

  “Well, I did think I was coming down with something… I’ve been awake for a while now,” she began defensively. Toby followed her gaze and spied the clock before the kettle pinged and he picked it up.

  “Well, are you feeling any better?” He carefully poured the hot water into two mugs and gave her a sideways glance with a grin as he did so. Amelia knew he was thinking of making a snide comment about staying focussed and not letting her loose with the kettle, but he decided not to say anything. She stretched her arms out and rubbed her hands through her hair, finding it dry and wildly curly. She gawped at the thought of what she must look like.

  “I’m going to have a shower and get ready for the day. There’s cereal in the cupboard,” she said suddenly and strolled past the breakfast bar towards the hall. Toby gave her a salute as he stirred his tea and looked around the room.

  When Amelia returned, freshly-groomed and her hair pulled back into a neat bun, she found Toby sitting on the couch holding a newspaper in his lap. He looked up at her as she approached and smiled broadly at her.

  “You clean up well,” he said with a smile. “You said you’re a reporter. Have you written anything in here?” he asked as he scanned through the pages. Amelia grabbed her cup of tea and stooped down to look at the newspaper in his lap.

  “No, that’s a national newspaper. I write for a local one,” she began, then looked up at the ornate clock on the living room wall and gasped.

  “Speaking of work, I’m so late!” she exclaimed. Toby raised his eyebrows.

  “But it’s Sunday.”

  Amelia frowned and stared at Toby in confusion. How could it be Sunday already? She tried to work out what day it was when they went to Bath. Friday? Saturday? She wasn’t sure.

  “Do you remember the day we met?”

  Toby shrugged his shoulders. “I think it was Monday...,” he said carefully as he counted on his fingers.

  “Then we agreed to meet in Bath on Friday because that was my next day off work,” Amelia added. Toby nodded.

  “Right… then you felt ill and went to sleep… and today is Sunday….” He looked at her with concern. Amelia rubbed her temples with her fingers and closed her eyes.

  “I’ve been asleep for two days? How is that even possible?” she asked breathlessly. Thankfully she had been in a dreamless sleep and no more nightmares invaded her consciousness. Toby held out an arm and she automatically leaned in and rested her head on his shoulder.

  “You are fascinating,” he whispered as he stroked her cheek. Amelia squirmed against his touch and sat up again.

  “No, no this is not right,” she said as she stood up. Toby looked up at her with innocent eyes.

  “What isn’t right?”

  Amelia paced the room.

  “How can I sleep for two days straight? Why can’t I remember the last time I went to work? Why can’t I even find my phone?” she asked as she paced. Toby scratched his chin, then stood looking at her with his hands resting on his waist. He is making that superhero pose again, she noted to herself.

  “Losing your phone is not the end of the world. I’m sure you’ll find it somewhere,” Toby began softly as he walked tentatively towards her. “And I think whatever you’ve been suffering from the last few days is probably affecting your memory, like a crazy virus or something.” When he took her hands, they vibrated with energy as he held them, and her heart galloped against her ribcage.

  “Do you want to get out of here? Let’s go for a walk. Some fresh air will do you good, and maybe it’ll help you figure things out,” he gently offered, as if trying hard not to spook her. Amelia stared at his lips, feeling an impulsive urge to kiss them. She swallowed.

  “A walk would be good,” she said, instead of leaning in like she wanted.

  Amelia walked along the beachfront with Toby; the sunshine was blinding. They passed a throng of tourists setting up sunbathing camps with towels and windbreakers. Children dashed back and forth giggling and squealing as the tide rushed in and out and the cold water lapped at their bare legs. Amelia heard an outcry of fury and when she turned towards the sound, she spotted a young brunette woman drenched from head to toe, standing with her arms outstretched and a look of tragedy on her face. A ginger teenage boy was bent over with his face creased up as he exploded into a fit of laughter.

  “Don’t you dare laugh! There is nothing funny about this!” she shouted. A small group of children stopped their game and stood around the disgruntled woman and gleefully laughed at the sight.

  “If you could just see what you look like, right now,” the teenager said wiping tears from his eyes as he panted to catch his breath. The young brunette wiped her face with the back of her hand, smearing red lipstick so much she looked like the Joker from Batman. She scowled and stomped towards the rock wall on the edge of the beach, prompting more laughter from the small crowd.

  “That poor woman,” Amelia said aloud as she stopped walking. Toby folded his arms across his chest as they watched the woman pick up a towel and try to salvage the remainder of her makeup.

  “She’s too uptight; she needs to learn to laugh at herself,” he remarked. Amelia gawped at him.

  “How can you say that? Everyone on this beach is laughing.”

  Toby shrugged. Amelia wondered why he was not bothered by this poor woman’s public humiliation. She was reminded of her grandma who always kept her hair held tightly in a bun. Ever careful about keeping up her appearance which was a character trait passed down to Amelia.

  They continued to walk
along the beach in silence and came to a stop underneath the pier. Amelia looked up at the boardwalk above their heads, still thinking about her grandma. She would pick her up from primary school and often take her to the pier. She remembered the sweet aroma of sugar ring donuts as they entered the boardwalk. Hand in hand they’d walk to the end of the pier. She would peek down at the wooden floor beneath her feet, catching glimpses of the sandy floor far below in the gaps between the planks.

  “So, do you have family around here?” Toby asked, snapping Amelia out of her memory. She looked at him briefly, his smile was serene and carefree. Life really had not touched him yet, she thought to herself.

  “No” was all she could say.

  “Where are your parents?” Toby asked, urging her for some information. Amelia took a heavy sigh and bit her lip. Was she ready to talk about her past? It was something she buried away and refused to think about for so many years.

  “I don’t know,” she said carefully, averting her eyes from Toby’s and looking out at the sea. The sky was clear, and she could make out a small island shaped like a whale afar off.

  “What do you mean, you don’t know? How can you not know where your parents are?” Toby was obviously not going to let the subject drop. Amelia started to play with her hair and braid the ponytail.

  “All right, I’m going to tell you but only once. You can’t ask questions and then I expect you to tell me all about your family when I’m done, okay?” she said in one breath. She looked closely at Toby to make sure he understood. He gave her a serious nod and grinned as he saluted her.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he replied, then stuck his hands in his pockets and waited for her to talk. Amelia leaned against one of the posts holding up the pier and eyed a flock of seagulls encircle a bald man across the other side of the beach. The birds took turns swooping down and pecking at his head, which was shiny and glistened in the sunlight. The view made her smile momentarily, then she turned back to Toby, who was watching her patiently.

  “I was raised by my grandma from about the age of five,” she began slowly. She blinked and looked out at the sea again. The horizon was beautiful, golden sunshine made the water sparkle like glitter.

  “My parents… I don’t know who they are or where they are. I don’t care to know either,” she added. Toby opened his mouth to speak but Amelia looked at him sharply and held up her index finger. “No questions, remember,” she said with a raised brow. Toby closed his mouth and frowned. Amelia took a deep breath as she allowed her memory to take her down the dark path she had refused to go for many years.

  “My grandma was wonderful; she was patient, kind and had a wonderful sense of humour. Once, I was playing with a bottle of peppermint oil and spilt it all over myself. She didn’t get angry with me but decided to call me ‘mint humbug’ after that.” Amelia smiled, though a tear rolled down her cheek.

  “She used to tell me stories about my parents. I know they’re not true now, of course, but I think she wanted to protect me from reality. She’d say they were spies for a secret government organisation and did very important missions to save the country from terror attacks.” She laughed. Toby smiled back with his brows raised. Amelia slid down the pole and sat on the sandy floor with her legs crossed and moved her hands around the sand, feeling the tiny grains scratching her skin. Toby followed suit and sat down next to her and they both looked out at the sea.

  “I have one, very faint memory of my mother,” Amelia added softly. “She had wild hair like mine and big eyes. I remember sitting in a highchair and seeing her holding a spoon of porridge and making aeroplane noises as she moved it towards me.” Amelia imitated the movement with her hand and made the noise.

  Toby laughed. “What an awesome memory.”

  Amelia nodded quietly as she thought.

  “Something happened, and my parents could not look after me anymore. I went to live with my grandma, and she became my whole family. So, that’s it.” Amelia sighed and looked at Toby with an expectant look.

  “Your turn,” she said. Toby looked uneasy, then his face relaxed as his eyes glazed over, apparently lost inside his head.

  “My mom is the best in the world,” he said, his American accent slipping through. Amelia smiled.

  “She’s always baking. Sugar cookies, angel food cake, peanut butter fudge––oh man, I wish I could eat some of that right now.” Toby closed his eyes, apparently savouring a memory of the last time he consumed his mother’s cooking.

  “She’s kind, always making sure that our elderly neighbours have everything they need. She goes grocery shopping for them once a week, helps out with the laundry and even empties the garbage. She always has a positive attitude too. She told me not to ever feel sorry for myself because there are people in the world who have it worse. It must have been hard for her to be a single mom; I never even met my dad. But mom is amazing.”

  “So, it was just you and your mum? No siblings?” Amelia asked.

  “Yep, just me and my mom.” His smile faded, turning into a look of horror. Amelia assumed it was at a sudden thought that his mum was alone while he was on holiday, or perhaps a moment of homesickness. But as she followed his gaze out to the sea, there were people bobbing up and down in the water on floats. The sound of the tide rushing in and out and the shrill cries of the seagulls became dull as her ears began to ring. Her chest grew tight and a sense of foreboding flooded her senses. Then she saw it.

  “Do you—” she began to say but stopped, unable to speak. Her eyes widened with fear as she watched the tall gentleman wearing a black suit standing waist deep in the sea. He was looking at her with such intensity she could have sworn she could hear his thoughts.

  Amelia sat bolt upright and pointed out to the man.

  “Toby, do you see it?” she asked in a whisper. She looked at Toby, whose face paled and did not take his eyes off the man. He gave a curt nod with a furrowed brow. Amelia instinctively took his hand in hers, which seemed to snap him out of the trance he was in.

  “Come on, let’s get out of here,” he said. “There are some real weirdoes on this beach.”

  The two of them got up and hurried hand in hand to the edge of the beach and walked up the stone ramp to the pavement. Amelia’s heart raced and her ears rang as they walked, and she swallowed against the uncomfortable lump that had formed in her throat. The two of them hurried past the pier and crossed the road, keeping up with the heavy crowd of people rushing to get from one place to another.

  “Oh no! Look at this mess!” A woman cried out, Amelia turned and caught glimpse of a small woman who had bird poo on her shoulder. The woman lifted her head and shook her fist at the seagulls circling the sky.

  “Curse you!”

  Toby pulled on Amelia’s hand and they walked down a side alley of arcade shops. Amelia remembered dragging her grandma into one of them, begging her to let her change her pound into two-pence coins for the coin machines.

  Toby’s pace was urgent. Amelia tugged on his hand to draw his attention. He looked down and gave her a tight smile, nearly pulling her along with him. They rounded a corner and passed a row of seaside shops with colourful beach accessories hanging outside the shop front. More memories of Amelia’s childhood flashed across her mind’s eye as they passed them.

  “Grandma, I want the pink bucket and spade!” Amelia said in a baby voice, reaching out and pointing at the stack of buckets outside a store.

  Toby groaned and came to a stop. Amelia stopped walking too and looked at him in surprise. A pool of sweat formed across his brow and the colour had drained from his face.

  “What’s going on?” she surveyed his troubled expression with concern.

  “I don’t feel good.” He held Amelia’s hand tightly and rubbed his stomach with the other hand.

  “Oh dear,” Amelia murmured. She looked up to find they were near a shopping centre. “Come on, let’s get you some medicine.” She yanked on his hand again, urging him forward.

  “This is a real
ly tiny mall,” Toby remarked as they entered the centre. Amelia laughed.

  “I guess,” she said as they rushed towards the health shop. The sight of a very large clock made Amelia stop in her tracks. Another memory played out in front of her.

  “When is it going to happen, Grandma?” Little Amelia skipped on the spot and clapped her hands, as her grandma perched herself daintily on the edge of a bench and rested her wrinkled hands in her lap.

  “Watch the clock, humbug. See that hand? In about ten seconds it will be at the top, and you know what that means,” she explained cheerfully.

  “The little men will come out and play music!” little Amelia said as she jumped up and down. Her eyes scanned the large square panels beneath the clock that formed a huge wall.

  “I really don’t feel good.”

  Amelia blinked as she returned to the present and peered at Toby who was very pale now.

  “Here, sit down.” She motioned to the same bench her grandma had sat on years ago. The clock chimed once, and Amelia looked up to see one of the square panels slide away to reveal a little model of a toy drummer. It moved awkwardly to imitate the sound of the drums beating to the band music that played every hour. A crowd of families rallied around to watch the display. Amelia watched it and felt a sense of unease grow within the pit of her stomach. The little drummer’s movements were jarring, and the ache of the bittersweet memories gnawed at her stomach. Suddenly the drummer turned its head and its black eyes looked directly at Amelia. She heard a hissing sound that seemed to surround her and panic crept up her arms. The air became thick and heavy like it was filled with invisible gas. Amelia grabbed Toby’s hand and tried to breathe slowly; her chest grew tight and she became dizzy.