JESSIE
I sit with Pilar while Sebby drinks with his friends at another table. He looks happy and clueless; either he's pretending, or he's just occupied right now, and he doesn't have time to confront me about the dream I had.
I know for a fact that once he's not occupied, he's not going to shut up about it.
Ugh, why do I keep having these weird ass dreams? It feels like I'm cheating on Jeremy, and I don't want to feel that way at all. I'm not cheating on him; it's not like I'm begging the universe to plant the dream in my head.
But then I saw my spirit guide in the dream as well, and I thought she was about to lead me to a demon or something like that, but I thought wrong.
So what does it mean that my spirit guide is involved in all this? There has to be a meaning to all these dreams, and I am scared to know the meaning.
"What's on your mind?" Pilar asks me. And now I'm scared of the fact that she is also reading my mind. But she's not, she just sensed the distress on my face. I can't say it's nothing now. I have to tell her something.
"I uh… I just don't want to get drunk tonight."
Pilar laughs, and she shakes her head. "Surprise, surprise. We Nytheris don't get drunk," she says, and I almost choke on my beer.
"What?"
"Yep. Our immune system is too strong, we can't get drunk, we can't get high, none of that."
"Whoa." It all makes sense now. On the very first day Seb and I drank alcohol, I got drunk, and he didn't.
And the worst part is that he drank more than I.
I was so confused the next day, and I asked him how he did that, and he only flexed his muscles and said he was stronger than alcohol. And I was so jealous he could do that.
But turns out, the reason he wasn't drunk that night was because he's a nytheri. And so am I, I can't get drunk.
I look at the glass of beer and I mutter a wow. And Pilar giggles, and I snort.
"You have so much to learn."
Yep, she has said that already.
"Jessie buddy!" Michael calls me enthusiastically. And then he pats me on the shoulder.
"We heard about what happened to you. We're really sorry, and Serena and I are sorry we didn't go to your father's funeral. There were things we needed to attend to."
Serena scoffs. "I think what we were doing was more important than going to a douchebags funeral."
"Jesus, Serena!" Michael says in surprise.
"Whoa!" Pilar laughs, drinking from her beer.
"What? Why are you acting like the guy wasn't a piece of shit?" Sebby says. If Leonard Humphrey has zero haters, then Sebastian De La Rosa is dead.
"It's fine, Michael, he was a douchebag," I say to him, and he just gets taken aback.
"Ouch, may he burn in hell then," he says
"I'm not a Christian, but AMEN!" Sebby says, raising his glass in the air, and we all laugh. I shake my head at how goofy this man is.
"But seriously, we're sorry about what happened to you Jessie, we're tracking the monster right now as we speak."
"Really?"
"Yes, turns out they're killing Nytheris," Sebby says.
My eyes widen. "Wait, what? A serial killing monster is out there killing Nytheris?"
"Yep."
"Oh my God…" I pause, looking at the table which holds our drinks. "Wait a second. I wasn't a nytheri when he attacked me. Are you sure we're dealing with the same monster?"
"You described this monster as a large beast with long claws and horns, didn't you? Almost like a cat demon." Serena says.
"Yes," I say. "That's exactly it."
"Then that's what attacked you and is attacking Nytheris."
"But I don't understand, I wasn't a Nytheri at the time."
"Maybe that thing could sense you were," Sebby says. "You may not have been a nytheri then, but the fact they could sense that you were one proves that you've always been destined to be a nytheri. I don't know, guys, when I ki… brought Jezzy back to life, I saw something like a vision. Like he was always meant to be a Nytheri. It felt so… real, like it was destiny," he says, and he might be talking to everyone else, but his eyes are stuck on me.
We both lock eyes, and I promised myself that I would not fall for his eye staring again, but it's just so hard to look away from this handsome fucker. It's so annoying.
"Wow, you're the chosen one, Jezzy." Michael pats me on the back.
Chosen one, I'm no chosen one, chosen one of what?
"So what the hell is this thing?" I ask.
"Oh, we do not know what this thing is. But we're going to get it figured out. We're going to catch this thing and kill it."
Oh God, what is even my life? At first, I thought I was in a supernatural CW show, and now I feel like I'm in a Stephen King novel.
If a serial killer is killing Nytheris, wouldn't it come back for me after finding out that I didn't die, that his mission failed?
Will I be ready for him then?
The fact that Nytheris are already dying shows that that thing is indeed strong. I don't ever want to see that monster again. He literally killed me. I would have been buried alongside my father if Sebby didn't ki… bring me back to life.
Something needs to be done about this monster.
"So Sebastian, when are you going to fuck Antoine?" Michael asks him.
"Exactly, you know he wants you, why are you leaving him high and dry?" Serena asks. I drink from my beer, trying my best not to show any reaction or even try to think about anything, if not Sebby's going to pick up on it, and I do not want that.
Why do I care anyway? He can do whatever the fuck he wants.
"I'm not leaving anyone high and dry. I just don't have the energy for all that. I'm a very busy man," he says. I look around for Antoine anyway, and he's nowhere to be found, then I remember that he's a chef, so he's probably in the kitchen.
"It's shocking because we know your type is dark chocolate." Michael winks at him. Serena laughs, Pilar shakes her head.
I bet it must be weird hearing about your younger brother's sex life.
"You're a crazy puta, aren't you?" Sebby says to him, and then when he looks at me, I look away.
Like I said, none of my business.
"Okay, De La Rosa. I don't know what you're waiting for, though."
"I know exactly what I'm waiting for," he says, but he doesn't say it with his mouth; he says this with his head. And for me to hear it, that means he wanted me to. I can't hear his thoughts unless he wants me to.
I'm going to pretend like he didn't just say that. No way am I going to fall for it. Sebastian De La Rosa, you need to stop testing me.
So I say this now, but why am I left alone with Sebby while everyone has left?
Well, I do know the answer to that. That's because we do this all the time, we stay up late, and we hang out. If I left with the rest, then that would mean something is up.
My being here just proves that everything is good between us.
I should have just left because I forgot about the dream I had.
But he looks totally normal as he looks into his logbook, and I sit on the chair drinking my beer to my heart's content.
I have been looking at him for a long time, but he hasn't noticed. Or I think he hasn't noticed.
Ugh, this is going to be so awkward.
"Can you see into my dreams when you're not asleep?"
He looks up from his book, and he smirks. "No, I don't."
"Are you sure?" I ask.
"Yep, I have to be asleep to get into your dreams, Humphrey."
"Is that so?"
"Yep," he says.
Phew!
"Ever since you found out you couldn't get drunk, you've been having fun, haven't you?" he asks.
"Yes, I'm enjoying myself right now."
"Good for you. I'm going to miss your drunk face."
"You are evil," I say, pointing at him, and he laughs. "Fuck youuu." he laughs harder.
God, I hate this fucker.
SEBASTIAN
Of course, I saw into his dream.
Jessie Humphrey wants me badly.
But it's okay, I'm not going to rush things. I can wait. I'm a patient man. But all I know is Jezzy will be mine once again, and this time we won't be kissing and touching each other in our dreams, but here in this bar right here on this counter.
His spirit guide agrees with me.