SINFULLY YOURS

Chapter 27: Chapter 27. Free To Tell

Chapter 27. Free To Tell

Rosa Lin’s POV

My screams bled out into reality. I found myself jerking up on the bed, my eyes wide, panting and gasping, feeling the sweat dripping and making my skin slick.

Mia jerked beside me as well, turning to look at me with a start, her eyes wide.

I panted hard, placing my hand against my chest, and then moved my hand around to the left side of my neck, still feeling the sharp, searing pain I had felt in what I just realized was just a dream.

Oh my god, I thought to myself. What the hell was that?

I could barely breathe now. I kept one hand grazing my neck and the other grazing my chest, trying to stop the painful beating of my heart. I wanted to collapse right now—collapse and just feel nothing.

The atmosphere around me was so tense. Mia quickly moved close to me, and I felt her wrap her arms tightly around my shoulders.

”Hey, hey,” she said quickly. ”It’s okay. Relax. Calm down. Breathe,” she said softly. ”Breathe. It was just a bad dream, okay? I’m so sorry.”

She pulled me in close, pressed my head against her shoulder, and began to brush her fingers through the strands of my hair.

”It’s okay, baby girl,” she said. ”Breathe. Calm down,” she whispered against my head, then pressed a kiss against my forehead.

The gentle tenderness in her care hit me so hard in the chest that I suddenly began to shake, unable to fight the tears slipping out of my eyes. What the hell was going on?

Goodness me, I wish we had never met that guy. I wish we had never met Tim. Or was he even real? I didn’t even know if I wanted to talk to her about him right now. She would not believe me. She would think I was going crazy, right? I was so confused.

She moved her hand continuously over my hair, slightly brushing her fingers against the area on the left side of my neck. I winced and flinched, still surprised that I was feeling the pain, like it was right there on my neck.

I frowned. Wait a minute, I thought to myself.

”I’m sorry,” I said, slowly pushing away from her.

She let me go, looking at me with a worried expression.

I wiped my face quickly. ”I’m sorry.”

She nodded calmly. ”It’s fine. What’s wrong?”

I tilted my head to the side and began to rub my hand against my neck.

”Are you okay? Did you injure yourself there?” she asked.

”No, I’m just... I’m just feeling this weird, stinging pain on my neck,” I said.

She nodded her head slowly. ”Oh. Okay. Yeah, sure. It’s fine.”

She moved over to the other side of the bedside desk. She took a flashlight, then moved closer back to me.

”Turn. Let me see,” she said.

I nodded my head slowly. I turned slightly and brushed a strand of hair obstructing my neck. She switched on the flashlight and flashed it against my neck instantly.

I saw her squint her eyelids, looking at my neck. Then, all of a sudden, the expression on her face died, bleeding from seriousness into confusion. As she tilted her head to the side, her eyes squinted further.

”Um, I’m sorry, I uh—” She chuckled. ”I don’t know what I’m looking at right now.”

I raised an eyebrow. ”What’s that? What do you see?” I asked.

Mia tilted her eyes to look at me. I saw clear suspicion and mischief in them, as if she was thinking something.

”What is it, Mia?” I asked impatiently. ”What are you looking at?”

She dropped her hand and then smiled, tilting her head to the side as she suddenly switched off the flashlight.

”Stop playing games with me,” I said.

She moved off the bed and switched on the lamp by the bedside table. Then she returned to me as light instantly flooded the room. She switched on the flashlight once again and flashed it against my neck.

”Well, I don’t know what to say about this,” she said. It was obvious on her face that she was trying to stop herself from laughing.

What the hell was so funny? She placed her hand against her mouth, covering her lips for a while. Then I saw her take in a soft breath before letting it out, obviously trying to calm herself.

”So,” she said, ”I am... maybe it might be my imagination, but I am looking at this weird little mark on your neck that is so freaking strange, because it looks weirdly like a bite mark and... trust me, almost like a hickey.”

Then I saw her dart her eyes to look me straight in the eye with mischief.

I frowned. Did I just hear her say hickey? There was no freaking way.

I saw the smile instantly expand across her lips, my eyes widening with a warning.

”No,” I said quickly.

She smirked at me, giving me that oh-so-fond look.

”Mia, no,” I repeated.

She chuckled and shook her head, but she still didn’t say anything.

”Are you freaking kidding me? Come on. When have you ever seen me entangled with someone?”

She wiggled her eyebrows instead.

”Oh, my god,” I said, turning away, stepping down from the bed, and pacing about.

She chuckled and folded her arms. ”What’s wrong? Stop making a big deal out of it. What’s so wrong if you tried to get yourself entangled with someone?”

I glared at her. ”Because I don’t have myself entangled with anyone,” I said.

She smiled, looking at me with skepticism. ”Oh, really? Okay, do you care to explain then? I actually want to know.”

I frowned at her. ”This is not a joke.”

”And I never said it was.” She chuckled, smirking at me.

”Oh, god,” I groaned and slapped my palm against my forehead.

”Come on. If you really think it’s not a hickey, you should at least be confident enough to let me know how you got that.”

I frowned. The visual of whatever weird dream I just had flashed in my mind. Goodness me, this was crazy. He bit me in the dream, and it manifested physically? There was no freaking way!

I turned around and headed over toward the closest mirror. I looked into it, tilting my head to the side and brushing strands of my hair away. I looked at the mark.

She was right. There was a freaking bite-mark hickey on my neck right now. Exactly the same spot Tim had bitten in my weird little dream.

Oh, god. I groaned and turned around, pressing my palm against my forehead. I heard the ruffle of the bed. When I pulled my hand down, I saw Mia sitting at the edge of the bed, observing me.

”What’s wrong?” she asked.

I let out a soft breath. ”Okay,” I began, shaking my head. ”This is going to sound a little bit weird to you.”

She raised both of her eyebrows inquisitively. ”Okay. I’m listening.”

I gritted my teeth together. ”It’s probably not going to make sense.”

I froze, thinking of how to phrase it, and explain the situation to her.

”I am a little bit scared.”

”Why?” she asked.

”Because this mark is definitely not some sort of ordinary hickey?”

She raised an eyebrow. ”And why do you think so?”

”Because...” I stopped and closed my eyes. ”This is not going to make sense.”

”Say it anyway,” she countered. ”You have been saying that continuously, and it’s beginning to get me a little bit worried.”

I opened my eyes and looked back at her. ”I—I got it... I got it from my dream.”

I saw her eyebrows instantly furrow. ”I’m sorry, what?” she asked.

I chuckled and scratched my neck. ”See, I know it’s going to sound weird,” I said, pacing about. ”Look, I need you to believe me. I had this weird little dream, and it was about Tim.”

”Tim?”

”Yeah, Tim. You know what I told you when we met at the cafeteria?”

Both of her eyebrows instantly shot up.

”He came to me in my dream. Said some weird little words that sounded like parables, telling me I belong to him. And then, all of a sudden, he pins me down. He bites my neck. That was what made me scream and jump up on the bed just now,” I said.

She stared at me, her soft eyebrows raised. I could see her reluctance to believe it. She probably thought I was going insane.

”Tim, again?” she asked.

I swallowed. ”Yes.”

”Rosa, what is going on with you?” she asked. ”It’s unlike you to begin to make up random people out of nowhere. Who the hell is Tim? Who is Tim Kalem? There is nobody like that.”

I gritted my teeth together. If I hadn’t checked the school official portal to confirm this story, I probably would have been arguing with her right now. But even my words were beginning to sound insane to myself. She was right. There was no Tim Kalem listed as the hockey team coach, or anybody like that, in the school’s official portal.

I froze, not knowing what to say, as I pressed my palm against my forehead. God, this is not in my head.

”You have to believe me,” I said.

”Look, I really want to believe you,” she said, ”but you are not making sense. It’s literally like trying to help an insane person right now.”

I turned to look at her, my expression clearly revealing my displeasure.

She raised both of her hands. ”I’m sorry, sis. But I’m stating facts.”

I turned around and paced back to my side of the bed. She turned, following me with her eyes as she looked at me. Then I heard her sigh and take a deep breath.

”Come on. Sit down. Talk to me. What’s going on? I mean, it’s not really that bad. You don’t necessarily have to be so scared. If you’re involved with someone, you don’t have to go this far to hide it,” she said.

I snapped my head sharply to look at her with a frown.

She raised both of her eyebrows. ”I mean, I’m just saying, if you’re involved with someone, there’s nothing to be shy about. I mean, I’m your friend. You should be free to tell me, right?”