Stolen Dreams (Dreams #4)

Chapter 1 – Lilah

Chapter One

EIGHT YEARS EARLIER

LILAH

S oft music is coming from my phone as I get ready for the night. I slide on a pair of jeans before I grab my homecoming T-shirt and slip it on. Tonight, we are all wearing our shirts for a video we are going to be doing. It’ll be good not to think about anything but having a good time since I spent the whole day filling out college applications. There was one that was the number one in the running. The decision of where to go was easy to make since it was at the top of my list. It was far enough from home, which means I am not going to be living at home anymore, yet close enough to home that I could be here in two hours.

I look at myself in the mirror smiling before tucking it in on the side and grabbing my sneakers. My phone rings with the alarm I set to be ready as I slide my foot into my sneaker at the same time my watch pings. I turn it over, seeing it’s a text from Derek.

Derek: I’m here. Move your ass.

“Great,” I say of his message, sensing his mood is going to be good. When I grab my phone from the top of the dresser, I text him back right away.

Me: Coming, be out in two.

I tuck the phone in my back pocket before putting the other shoe on and walking out of my bedroom. I jog down the steps to find my parents in the living room, watching something on television, sitting side by side as always. Dad’s arm is around the back of the couch. “Okay, Momma,” I say, walking to both of them but going to her side. “I’m leaving.” I lean over to kiss her cheek.

“Where are you going?” she asks, surprised I’m going out on a Sunday night, especially since I got up at three this afternoon and spent the rest of the day camped out on the couch watching videos.

“A couple of us are getting together to celebrate homecoming,” I say, starting to make my way over to kiss my dad and stopping when he starts to talk.

“Didn’t you do that last week and then the senior welcome-back camping trip?” my father asks, looking over at me.

“Dad, it’s our senior year. We have to do all the things,” I inform him. “It’s like one step toward our freedom.” I smile big at him, knowing I’ll miss this when I leave.

“There is a party for everything nowadays.” He snickers, shaking his head and turning the channel on the television.

“What time are you going to be home?” Mom asks as I lean over to my father and kiss his cheek.

“Not late. I start work tomorrow,” I say of the job I got working for the local pizza place. I spent the summer as a day camp counselor. It wasn’t something I wanted to do, but it was either that or work at the local ice cream parlor I worked at for the past three summers. This was a better decision since I would have all my nights free. The downside was I’d have to put up with six-year-old kids all day long, which meant I was in bed every night by ten from exhaustion. I was happy to be done with it, so now I am able to socialize.

“Regardless,” my father states, “your curfew is midnight.”

“Dad,” I reply, laughing, “you know I’m seventeen, right?” He just glares at me. “Next year, I’ll be living in my dorm room.”

“You know if you aren’t home by twelve oh one”—he glares—“I’ll find you.” He points at me. “Tell Derek I’ll be waiting up.”

I shake my head, laughing. “Got it.” I blow a kiss at both of them before I walk out the front door.

The orange pickup truck is by the curb. Derek’s in the driver’s seat tapping the steering wheel with his finger while he listens to some country song. “Hey,” I greet him, opening the door and getting in.

“Took you long enough,” he snarls at me as soon as I sit down. “I’ve been waiting forever.”

I try not to roll my eyes at him as I put my seat belt on. “It’s been five minutes max.”

“It’s a hundred degrees outside, and my air conditioner doesn’t work.” He pulls away from the curb.

I don’t bother saying anything to him when he’s in this mood since I know nothing good will come from it. So instead, I look out the window and think about how everything will be different soon. For the first time in my life, I’m going to be solo, even without Derek, which is something that has been straining our relationship. We started dating three years ago, and when it was time to apply to colleges, he somehow got it into his head I would follow him to wherever he got in. It started as a fight that ended up in us breaking up for a week before he said he was sorry that he thought I would pick him over a school. I didn’t bother arguing with him because I had already decided which one I was going to. I had also already decided we would probably not be together by the time I left for school.

He pulls up at the clearing, parking right next to another car before we get out. He walks around the truck and slides his hand in mine. At this point, I don’t even think he wants to hold my hand. It’s probably all for show. “I have to be home at midnight,” I tell him, and he grunts.

“Jesus, that’s in like three hours.” He lets go of my hand angrily. “It’s ridiculous.”

“I also have to work tomorrow at ten,” I remind him, “and you have to work at eight.”

“I don’t need you to tell me what I need to do, Lilah,” he mumbles as we get closer to the group. “Whatever, I’m going to see the boys.”

“Have fun,” I reply, relieved he’s not going to be beside me, as he walks toward the six guys he hangs around with. They all call out his name when he gets closer to the circle, bringing him in for a side hug and some stupid handshake they made up a while ago.

“Hey,” I hear softly from beside me and see my best friend, Courtney, coming toward me. “You guys got here late.” She puts her arm around my shoulders. Courtney and I have been best friends since second grade when she moved into town, and we sat next to each other on the first day of school.

“Yeah, he had football practice until eight.” I point over at Derek.

“The guys are going to the barn to get some of the horses out.” She motions with her chin toward the guys who look like they are walking toward the barn. There are lights lit up all around the fenced area.

“Oh, fun,” I say as we walk toward the area, seeing a couple of the guys come out holding two horses in each hand.

“Are we going to race or what?” one of them says, and I shake my head.

“You know what we should do? Boys against the girls,” Becca suggests from beside me.

“We all know who is going to win that one.” Derek snickers, and I look over at him.

“Is that so?” I fold my arms over my chest. I’ve been riding horses since I was five, and my mother put me on a pony at the local fair. From then, I begged and pleaded with them to find me a horse. So they took me to horseback riding lessons and then it just snowballed. If I wasn’t in school, I was riding a horse. Only lately it’s been at the bottom of the list with all that I’ve had to do before leaving.

“I’ll even give you a head start,” he chides, and the boys egg him on.

“Thanks, but I don’t need it,” I retort, walking into the fenced area and grabbing the reins of one of the horses. Before placing my foot in the stirrup and pulling myself up, I listen to the guys make the rules.

I look over to see Derek also getting on his horse. He’s a country boy, for sure, but he’s not that good of a rider. Just because he was born in the South doesn’t mean he’s a cowboy.

We line up side by side, as I lean down and rub the horse’s neck. “Let’s show them who’s boss,” I whisper as everyone lines up, standing on the bottom rail of the fence, both sides shouting for either me or Derek.

“Get ready.” I scoot down closer to the horse. “Get set.” I look over to see Derek smirking as if he has this. “Go!” The second I hear the word go, I kick the side of the horse. I don’t even look over at Derek as I make my way around the fenced area and back to the start line. I cross it and look back to see Derek right behind me, which means I won.

The guys tease him that I won, and all I do is get off the horse and dust my hands off. “It’s a good thing you didn’t give me a head start,” I joke with him, and all he does is glare at me as the guys tease him for losing to me.

“Whatever,” he barks, handing the horse off to the next guy, “the fucking horse should be put down.”

I gasp. “Fucking ancient,” he mutters of the horse.

I walk over to the fence. “Ignore him,” Courtney advises. “He’s always been a sore loser. You beat him fair and square, Louise.” She mentions the nickname we gave ourselves when we saw the movie Thelma and Louise in sixth grade.

It ends up being a tie, but the guys all bug Derek about him losing to his girlfriend, something I don’t pay attention to as I make my way toward the girls. We sit on the grass, the sound of music coming softly from one of the ten cars that are parked side by side, all the way down. I look at my watch and see it’s eleven fifteen when Derek comes over and hands me a red Solo cup. “Here,” he says to me, “I got you a glass of sweet tea.”

“Thank you,” I reply, grabbing the glass from him.

“We leave in about half an hour,” he says, and I nod as he kisses my lips.

“Isn’t he the sweetest?” Debbie says, looking at Derek.

“He is,” I mumble, taking a sip of the sweet tea. “It’ll be hard when we aren’t together all the time.”

“I don’t know how you’re doing that,” she states. “Did you guys talk about how long you will go between visits?”

“We did not,” I respond. “I think we’re both pretending it’s not going to happen.”

“I get that,” she agrees, and thankfully, Courtney changes the subject, talking about a movie she wants to go see on Friday.

I finish the sweet tea when I hear Derek whistle and look over when he motions with his hand that I have to come to him. “Well, that is my cue,” I declare, getting up with the cup in my hand. “Courtney,” I say, “I’ll see you tomorrow at work.” I clap my hands together as she groans.

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into working at the pizza place,” she moans as she gets up. “Nothing about this sounds like fun.”

We turn and walk toward the guys. “How are you getting home?” I ask.

“Ben said he would drive me home since he has lacrosse practice early tomorrow.”

I hug her before she walks away with Ben to his car, and I make my way toward the truck with Derek. I take four steps before I feel like I’m going to fall down and hold on to his arm to catch myself. “Wow.” I look over at him. “I got dizzy there for a second.”

“Need me to carry you?” he asks, and I shake my head.

“I should be good,” I tell him, walking toward the truck and rushing to get in. I blink my eyes a couple of times, trying to focus, but it’s starting to get a little fuzzy. “I feel weird,” I add as he gets into the truck.

“What are you talking about?” he says, starting the truck and pulling away from the parked cars.

“It’s just”—my words start to slur—“I feel like I’m drunk.” My eyes close, and I feel my head hanging forward, fighting to keep my eyes open. “Derek.”

“What?” he snaps, and I turn to look at him, seeing him just staring at me, but his eyes look like he hates me.

“I—” I start to say, and I think I continue speaking, but nothing comes out, or maybe it does, but I just don’t hear it.

“Why couldn’t you just listen to me for once?” I hear Derek, and then I feel like my head is pushed back into the seat. “You had to be all independent and shit like that.”

I try to lift my hand to my head, but it feels like it’s a million pounds, as I feel pain in my cheek. I groan out, or at least I think I do. “Derek,” I say when I feel the hits to my head coming one after another. My body feels like I’m floating as I try to move away from the pain.

“Got to take out the fucking trash!” I hear him yell before I feel him on top of me, and then I feel a sharp pain in my side when I hit what feels like a brick wall, and I fade into blackness.