Chapter 26
Chapter twenty-six
Greer
“Wake up, love.”
My nose prickles at the scent of pine and sandalwood. I groggily open my eyes to find the only person who’s ever called me love standing above me. His handsome face is blurry through my sleep-filled eyes.
Sleep. I was sleeping.
I bolt up in bed, clutching the comforter to my chest. I look around.
The room is dark save the fire that glows on the other side of the room and the Christmas tree lights that add their own colorful luminescence.
Confusion addles my brain. Neither the fire nor the Christmas lights had been on when I went to sleep. The room had been completely dark.
I blink, but nothing changes. Remi is still standing in front of me.
My gaze rakes down his body, and I note he’s dressed as if he’s ready to go outside: jeans, turtleneck, jacket, scarf, boots.
Déjà vu strikes me, and I abruptly climb out of bed, jabbing a finger into Remi’s firm chest that I’m pretty sure I was dreaming about after what happened earlier.
“What are you doing in my room?” My gaze flicks over him again. “And why are you dressed like that?”
Images of his naked chest flash in my mind, and a dull ache between my legs reminds me of what we were doing earlier. What he and Kai were both doing to me.
His cheek twitches, and I blink, refocusing on the fact that a fully dressed Remi is standing in my room—no time to think about how his dick ruined me. I swallow and blink again, but he’s still here.
“Let’s get going,” his low voice hums. “I have much to show you and little time to do it.”
My eyes narrow. “What are you talking about?”
Remi snaps his fingers, and the slippers I wore last night are in his hand.
He holds them out to me, but I shake my head. “I’m not taking those.”
“Take the slippers or not. But either way, you’ll end up seeing what you need to see tonight.”
A disbelieving laugh bubbles out of my throat as I glare at Remi, who looks just as real as he did today and as real as Kai did in my nightmare last night.
I place my hands on my hips. “And what is that?”
He takes a small step forward, his woodsy pine scent stronger than I remember it being. The corner of his lips curve up as he holds out the slippers once more. “You don’t know?”
I may hate Christmas, but I’m a smart woman.
I spent a lot of yesterday attempting not to think of what my nightmare was or why I had it in the first place.
During my musings, it occurred to me it was oddly similar to that old movie, A Christmas Carol.
Avery and I watched the Muppet version when we were kids, before I ruined Christmas for her and for myself.
But to think that it’s happening to me? It’s irrational. It’s…
Impossible.
I don’t look away from his intense gaze as I say, “If the answer is Christmas Present, I’m going to knee Nightmare You in the balls.”
Remi chuckles. “I’m not a nightmare. Now, you could try to harm me, but it won’t do anything.”
I tap my foot. “Why? Because you’re also a half human, half angel?”
The shadow of his smile flattens, and the serious look on his face tells me the answer. I’ve hit the nail on the head.
“No! NOPE!” I shake my head. “Your answer just confirmed that you are, in fact, a nightmare. Nephilim don’t exist. Whatever is going on in my brain right now is just my subconscious doing weird things to me because I’m trapped in this odd little Christmas town and my routine is all off.
I haven’t been able to work, and I’m feeling things—”
I cut myself off and turn to my bed. Now is not the time to feel emotions.
I chuckle to myself disbelievingly. “This is just another nightmare like last night. I’m going to go back to bed, and when I really wake up, I’ll be alone.”
Alone. Alone with nobody to make me remember the past. No hot guys to give me orgasms in the present. Just me and my work like it has been for years now.
I take the covers in my hand, but Remi’s grip on my shoulder stops me from doing more. It’s warm, and it feels real. As real as he felt touching me only hours ago.
“Greer.” He gently turns me around. His features are soft and kind, green eyes understanding.
I don’t like it. I’d actually prefer if they were dominant and ready to order me to get on the bed like they were before.
“I don’t want to force you to see what you need to see. I want you to come willingly.”
God, this is really happening, another nightmare I can’t wake up from with a version of Remi that’s not human.
I could go willingly, but it’s not in my nature to back down so easily, even if I am curious about what he wants me to see and why he wants me to choose to go with him when he could just make me, like Kai did.
“Why?” I ask sincerely.
“Because.” He twirls a lock of my hair between his fingers. I don’t move or tell him to stop—I just wait until he tucks it behind my ear. His touch lingers, trailing over my round jaw before his hand falls back to his side.
“You’ll be more open to what I have to show you if you come of your own accord.
I think that even though you want to fight this—want to believe it’s all a nightmare—you know it’s not.
You’re curious about what you’ll see.” He gives the ends of a strand a gentle tug, sending a spark across my scalp and raising goosebumps along my arms. “And I think you’ll find answers to questions you’ve been carrying about why you’re here and why you’re feeling so much. ”
He’s right—about it all. I have been feeling a lot. Even more so after spending time with him, Kai, and the bit of Sam I experienced. It was everything I don’t think of myself to be: fun, spontaneous, warm…
Emotions are a liability. Control is power.
I clear my mind and glare at him. “Can you just tell me everything I need to know now without all the fanfare? If you’re magical or whatever, you can just get it over with and save us both the trip.”
His small smile returns. “I’ve always preferred visuals. Often observing can show you more than a speech, don’t you agree?”
My cheeks flush because I know yesterday was full of visuals.
Not only yesterday, but also when I peeped in on him and his lovers the night before.
But how does Nightmare Remi know that? And how does he know my emotions have been trying to get out of my control?
Because what he’s saying is true, my brain screams.
But that would mean this isn’t a nightmare, that he’s a Nephilim and so is Kai. That I saw the past and the Kai today was the Kai in my “nightmare” yesterday. That the Remi standing here knows all he knows because he’s the Remi I spent my day and evening with. The one I shared my body with.
I search his eyes, ones that remain understanding and kind.
I could continue to deny what he’s saying, or I could accept it.
It would still all be weird, and so many things would be unexplainable, but I can’t deny that everything I’ve seen and done during my time in Elysian Pines has felt real. Very real.
Despite everything, I’m still not completely convinced.
There’s just too much weird and improbable about it all.
But he is right about one thing: I’m curious about where we’ll go, and I’d rather be in control of something than nothing.
I can’t deny I’d also like to know why this is all happening and why I feel so… different.
I puff out an exasperated breath. “Fine. I’ll go with you.” Remi smiles enough that a bit of his white teeth show. I clear my throat. “But make it quick, alright?”
He bites back a laugh and nods, holding out his hand. I should probably hesitate to take it, but for all the reasons I just came up with, I don’t. Our palms fit together, and yet again, everything inside me screams at how real this feels.
He squeezes my hand. “Hold on.”
I do as he says, anchoring myself to him as the scenery around us shifts. I expect to be back in my parents’ house or Avery’s or maybe even my own condo. But we’re in the foyer of a home I don’t recognize. The noise of a baby crying echoes from somewhere in the house.
“Where are we?” I ask as I step away from Remi, pretending I don’t miss holding his hand already. That his touch, even if not real, is comforting.
“You’ll see.” He motions for me to follow, and I fall in step behind him. The home we’re in looks to be older but updated. The walls are a light blue, and the stairs we pass that lead upstairs are painted white. As we get further in, the baby’s cries get louder.
“She just ate,” a tired female voice says. “I don’t know why she’s still crying.”
“I told you to go rest, Bobbi,” a man answers. “You’ve hardly gotten any sleep.”
“Neither have you.”
“Maybe so, but as my superior said, it’s not like I pushed a watermelon out of my penis.”
Tim. I’m in Tim’s home—it has to be. And how does he know I said that? The only way would be if Avery told him.
My guess is confirmed when we fully enter the kitchen.
Tim is there, and so is who I’m going to guess is his wife, Bobbi.
They’re standing in the middle of the blue-and-white kitchen near each other.
She’s cradling a tiny screaming baby in her arms who’s wearing a festive green onesie with a little red hat.
“I can’t believe she said that. You need to report her.”
“It’s not like Greer said it to my face. She didn’t know I was standing by Avery’s desk and she was on speaker. Not to mention, she’s one of Mr. Cross’s best asset managers, if not the best.”
“You said he’s nicer than her though, right? That she’s more cutthroat?”
Me? More cutthroat than Mr. Cross? I have to hold in a scoff because that is ridiculous. That man is the one who taught me how to be cutthroat, told me to take care of business no matter the cost.
He shrugs. “It doesn’t matter, anyway. Greer’s probably already working on getting permission to fire me for not serving Carole’s Bar their notice.”
Bobbi shushes the still-screaming baby. “You really think she’d do that?”
“I didn’t do my job. I told you the risk of not doing it.”
Bobbi steps closer to Tim and kisses his stubbled cheek. He looks disheveled and tired, dark circles under his eyes.
He’s different here than when I see him at the office. There, his short, dark hair is neatly combed with product, and he’s always in a suit. Here, he looks like he’s been put through the wringer. He’s thinner and wearing a baggy shirt and pajama pants.
The baby cries louder, and Tim holds out his arms. Bobbi passes the screaming child to him. He holds the girl close and kisses her forehead, breathing her in. After she’s quieted, he looks at his dark-haired wife, eyes glassy.
“I should have done it. If I lose my job, how are we going to survive? We depend on the insurance, and I don’t want you to have to go back to work so soon after the baby.” He kisses the child’s head again before he says, “I bet I won’t get my end-of-year bonus, either. God!”
“Shhh,” Bobbi says. “We’ll figure it out, okay?”
“I still have time; I could go deliver it if I leave now.”
His wife squeezes his shoulder. “No, we talked about this. You’re a good person, Tim. You didn’t want to ruin someone’s Christmas. The eviction will still be an eviction in a few days. You made the right choice.”
“Maybe. But now I’ve ruined our Christmas.”
She shakes her head, wrapping an arm around his waist and leaning her head on his shoulder so she’s looking at their new baby along with him.
“I don’t know; I don’t think it’s ruined at all.
We have each other, and we have our health.
That’s all that matters—we’ll figure out the rest later.
If anything, it’s Greer who is having a bad Christmas. ”
Tim frowns. “I didn’t want that, either.”
“You’re too nice, baby.”
“I don’t want anyone to have a bad Christmas, not even her.”
“Like I said, too nice. You said she’ll most likely fire you.”
“I know.” He sighs, kissing Bobbi’s hair.
“Come on, let’s sit by the fire. I’m going to try to get her to latch again. After that, we’ll attempt to sleep.”
Tim and his family walk away, heading to their living room.
The kitchen seems colder without them, and my chest gets heavy like it’s laden with rocks.
The weight of Remi’s hand on my lower back reminds me that he’s been watching this entire thing, just like Kai watched everything from my past yesterday.
My stomach churns with a sharp embarrassment, the kind I’d only feel if this were real.
The thought paired with the reminder that I don’t get embarrassed makes everything hit harder.
Foreign emotions have been stirring in me more in the past twenty-four hours than they have since I was a child, and I don’t like it.
“Come, we have more to see.”
I don’t acknowledge Remi right away. I look to where I can see fire flickering and the tops of Tim’s and Bobbi’s heads. I have never met his wife, only heard him speak about her here and there. I didn’t care before about his life or family, so why should I care now?
Tim was right when he said he should have done what I asked. He’s right that I was planning on getting him fired.
The image of his glassy eyes flashes behind my eyelids, and I get a bad taste in my mouth.
It’s not my fault this is happening. He should have thought about his family and his new baby before he didn’t do as he was told. I’m not responsible for people’s actions. Right?
My heart pounds in my chest like a drum. I turn to meet Remi’s gaze. “Do you think less of me now?”
His eyes narrow in near confusion. “Of course I don’t, love.”
I snort. Real or not real, anyone with a warm heart, Nephilim or not, should think I’m a monster. Hell, maybe I am.
“Right.” I cross my arms over my chest. “Where to next, boss?”
His shoulders fall on a tense exhale before he snaps his fingers, transporting us.
We stand in what I know to be Avery’s parents’ living room.
Her family tree is bright with multicolored lights, and my parents are sitting on the couch with smiles on their faces.
I see there are also a few people I remember from college, friends of Josh and Avery’s as well as Avery’s parents. A family and friend Christmas party.
How lovely. Not.