All The Wrong Signs

Riley’s POV

I knew I was awake before I ever opened my eyes but I didn’t have the energy to even lift an eyelid. My head was pounding but as much as I hated it, I needed to get up to pee.

Groaning, I turned my head, trying to bury my head further under the covers. I was never drinking again. I didn’t even remember coming to bed last night. The last thing I remembered was puking my guts out in the bathroom.

Opening my eyes, I instantly regretted it when the bright sun blurred my vision. Shutting my eyes again, I turned, facing the other direction.

So much for cute curtains. I was going to have to invest in some blackout curtains for sure. Some thick, won’t let any sunlight through curtains.

Opening my eyes, I froze seeing the blonde headed man from last night sitting in a chair he had pulled up closer to my bed. I blinked, but he still sat staring at me. In the light of day, he creeped me out. Of course, I was semi sober now.

“You shouldn’t be here.” I mumbled, getting up and heading toward the bathroom, pulling on my robe as I walked and grabbing my phone off the dresser.

There was no way he was real.

He was too...

He was just too.

Too hot.

Too unearthly.

Too much to deal with this morning.

Plus, my dogs weren’t going crazy. If some stranger would have broken into my house, they would have woken the entire neighborhood up barking.

Sitting down on the toilet to pee, I googled, “Hallucinating after being drunk.”

What popped up was more than I had bargained for. My head hurt too badly to read through all the articles. Washing my hands, I dug through my cabinet till I found some ibuprofen. This headache had to go, and maybe with it the stranger who was even now following behind me to the kitchen.

Pouring myself a glass of tea, I popped the pills in my mouth, closing my eyes as I swallowed them.

Opening my eyes back, I found the stranger now standing opposite of me on the other side of the counter. “Who even are you?” I said aloud.

The stranger laughed. “You summoned me, little witch. Don’t you know?”

My eyes widened as the glass I had been holding crashed to the floor. Not only was I seeing things, but now I was hearing them, too.

Fucking great.

I had heard of drugs being laced and making people crazy. Could drinks be laced or had I just gotten that drunk that I was still out of it this morning?

The blonde headed stranger chuckled, bending down to pick up what was left of my glass. “Just as I thought,” he said.

I watched in half awe, half shock as he picked my broken glass up. The sound of the glass dropping in my trashcan made me jump.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath. I had to get my shit together. Two things could be going on right now. I was either having a vivid hallucination, or there was a stranger in my kitchen.

Where were my dogs?

“Luna! Shadow!” I called, not sure if I was relieved or not when they come running into the kitchen with me.

Going to the sliding glass door, I let them out, shutting the door behind me. Maybe fresh air would help.

Sitting in my chair, I closed my eyes, feeling the sun soak into my skin. Slow steady breaths seemed to help. Helped until I heard the sound of my sliding glass door opening.

Once again, I looked up at the stranger. “Who are you?”

Tilting his head, he smiled. “You can call me Blaze.” He winked at me as if we had just shared our own private little joke.

My mind was reeling. Was he for real? My phone was tucked into my robe pocket. Pulling it out, I text Lakyn. “You really didn’t see that man last night?”

I wasn’t sure if she would respond or not. If she felt as bad as I did, she was probably still in the bed asleep.

“What guy? At the bar?”

I shook my head. There was no way she wouldn’t have seen him if he was real.

“Never mind. I feel like crap. I don’t know what April gave me, but it has me tripping.”

“I told you not to mix liquors.” Lakyn text back.

Looking over at my hallucination named Blaze, I pointed my finger at him. “You are not real.”

Blaze looked amused. “Are you so sure about that?”

Standing up abruptly, I yelled at the dogs, making them come inside with me. Once they were both in, I shut the door, locking Blaze, or whoever he was outside. I needed to lie back down and try this again after this headache eased.

Once safely in my bed, I relaxed, feeling Luna and Shadow settle at my feet. Sleep. I needed sleep.

“I’ll still be here when you wake up, you know?”

“Fuck,” I mumbled, sitting up seeing that Blaze had managed to come back into my house and was sitting back in the same chair I had found him this morning.

“I’ll call the cops,” I said.

Blaze laughed, “call them little witch. They will think you are batshit crazy, but go ahead. It could provide me with some much needed entertainment.”

Turning my head, I pulled my covers over my head, determined to shut out the world. I’d never had a hangover like this. As much as I wanted to fall back to sleep, I was too curious about Blaze.

Turning over, I looked over at him. He was leaned back in the chair, looking like he owned the place.

“How did you find me?”

Blaze sat up, “you called me.”

I frowned, shaking my head. “I don’t even have your number.”

My words amused Blaze. He laughed. “You have my calling card on your body, little witch.”

“Why do you keep calling me that?” I asked.

Blaze shrugged, “because it’s true Riley.”

He knew my name. How did he know my name?

Because he was a goddamn hallucination. Pull it together Riley.

“So, how do I get rid of you?”

Blaze’s face fell. “You don’t.”

Closing my eyes, I wondered when my imagination had gotten so out of hand. I used to write some before I was married. It never added up to much, rarely made it more than a couple of chapters before I would get bored.

“What do you mean, I have your calling card on my body?”

Blaze reached out slowly, judging my reaction before his fingers caressed the still tender skin of my tattoo. “You bear my mark.”

“No, I don’t.” I said confidently. “This mark means that I have everything I need in my to be happy and successful.”

Snorting, Blaze caressed my tattoo again. “No, little witch. This mark means Blazenthibou.”

“Blazen what?”

As he shrugged instead of answering me, I couldn’t help but feel that he had given me an important piece of information and I had been too hungover to pay attention.

“How do I know you aren’t a dream?”

Blaze looked at me. “You can see me, hear me, feel me.”

“Just like in a dream,” I added.

Arching his brow, Blaze nodded. “I guess so. It appears we are at a standstill.”

Sitting up, I looked over at him. “If you are real, why didn’t Lakyn see you?”

“Because I’m cloaked. Only you can see me.”

“Why me?” I whined, feeling a little childish.

“Because you called out to me. You summoned me from my dark prison.” He winked at me. “I guess I owe you a thank you.”

“Prison. You’ve been in prison.” Fucking great, I thought, why did my delusion have to have a damn felony?

Letting out a deep breath, Blaze shoot his head. “Not your mortal prison.” Standing up, he shook his head. “Rest, my little witch. If you don’t mind, I have a few errands I’d like to run while you slumber.”

I arched my brow. “Yeah whatever.”

Laying back down, I turned to the wall once again trying to sleep. This time, when I turned back around, he was gone. Finally. What the hell.

Closing my eyes, I couldn’t get his face out of my mind. He wasn’t even my type. Shaking my head, I decided I had no type, and I needed to take my ass to sleep and forget all about my delusions.

“Thanks a lot, guys. You let my hallucination just walk all around my house unchecked.”

My two dogs looked at me, but laid back down, uncaring about my plight. Traitors. I guess, to be fair, they had been having to watch me walk around talking to thin air.

Jesus, I was going crazy.

No more drinking.

No more hallucinations.

I had to get my life back on track. Maybe this was a sign from God to get over myself and pull my life back together. It wasn’t like I was the only divorced person in America.

I tried my best to forget Blaze, but the moment my eyes closed, he was all I could think about. All I could see. It was like he had put a spell on me.