Not only that, he gave me some lame-ass story about being a Sandman. About Griffin being one, too. Since then, I haven’t been able to get that song “Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream …” out of my head. Isn’t that what Sandmen are supposed to do? Bring nice, happy dreams to people? Why is mine bringing me nightmares?

Well, if I’m having nightmares because Griffin is behind it, that does make sense. Everything’s a joke to Griffin. Wherever he is, he’s probably laughing, thinking, What other things can I add to her dreams to make her never want to sleep again?

I roll up the bag of chips and toss it onto the floor, then stare up at the corners of the room. Eron said he’s watching me.

Could anything possibly be creepier?

All right, I tell myself, straightening on the couch. If he is watching me, then he can hear me. And nobody is home, so if I talk to him out loud and this all turns out to be just some lame practical joke, I won’t get carted off to a mental hospital.

“Griffin,” I whisper to the air. “Do you hear me?”

Feeling more comfortable, I speak more loudly. “Griffin. You need to cut out whatever you are doing, okay? I care about you, but you’re really freaking me out. Okay? So just stop it. Go toward the light.”

“Hon?”

I turn to see my mom standing in the door of the living room with a bag of groceries. When did she become a ninja?

“Oh, hi, Mom,” I say. “Um, just practicing a play.”

I can tell by her face that she doesn’t believe me, but I don’t think she wants to know what I’m up to, either. She drops the bag on the kitchen table and starts to unpack it. “I bought more Doritos.”

“Thanks,” I say. If it is possible to OD on Doritos, I am almost there.

“Shouldn’t you be in bed?” she asks. “You have your driver’s test bright and early tomorrow.”

“Um …” It’s after eleven but all I can think of is Eron’s warning. If I see Griffin in my dreams, I need to wake myself up. What if he does come? What if I can’t wake up? What will he do? He was my boyfriend, not some crazed lunatic. Although Bret is also one of my best friends—at least, I think he is. I remember Eron’s words to me: People you know, even very well, can surprise you.

Sigh. I’d rather just not sleep and save myself from wetting the bed tonight.

But then I yawn.

And I know that will never work.

CHAPTER 28

Eron

Both Vicki and Evangeline have been asleep for many hours when Julia trudges upstairs, rubbing her eyes. I can sense her trepidation as she pulls back her covers and slips into the bed. I hope that I can make her slumber a comfortable one.

As I’m about to pass into her room, a heavy hand falls on my shoulder, pulling me backward. I lose my balance and slip from the tree, scraping my arms and cheek on branches before landing with a dull thud on the dewy grass. “Mr. Colburn!” I hiss in the darkness.

“Yeah?” he says, dangling above me on a branch.

“What have you been up to?” I shout, standing and brushing off my pants.

He snorts. “I had the same question for you. But I know. Julia’s dreams filled me in.” He jumps down and stands toe to toe with me. We glare at each other murderously. “She is mine.”

I turn back toward her window. “You’re crazy.”

“You are not going in there!” he whispers fiercely. “If you so much as look at her again, I’ll kill you.”

I laugh. “I’m still a Sandman, thanks to you. You can no more end my life than I can end yours.”

He stands there, shaking with anger. “You said you would protect her. Not steal her from me.”

“She can’t be stolen from you. She’s not yours.”

“She is! She just doesn’t know I’m still here. But when she does—”

“She already knows. I told her.”

His eyes narrow. “What else did you tell her? What lies have you been spreading about me?”

“You can’t change who you are, not now. Accept who you are, Mr. Colburn.”

“Can’t do that, old man,” he sighs.

And with that, he disappears through Julia’s window.

I’m not leaving her. I climb the tree and pass quietly into the room. He’s standing over her, his hands spread. “Get away,” he whispers as I move closer.

Julia winces and rolls over. I stand against the wall, arms crossed. “I’m not leaving.”

Suddenly, Mr. Colburn’s image fades into the darkness. I look at my hands. Of course. He has come back to his duties, and now I am human. Human and … inside Julia’s home. I reach for the window and jam my knuckles against it. I’m trapped here. Now I need to sneak down the stairs and out the front door undetected, or else risk frightening the life out of Julia. I know that wherever he is, Mr. Colburn is probably laughing at me. He is in control now. With Julia asleep, I am powerless.

I give the air where I know Mr. Colburn is standing a stern look, then creep toward the door. As I open it, it creaks. Julia sits up in bed immediately. “Eron?” she says, rubbing her eyes.

I whisper, “I can explain—”

“I can’t get Griffin out of my head. He won’t leave me alone.”

“It’s okay, shhh,” I say, as soothingly as possible from across the room. With Mr. Colburn there, I have to fight the urge to go to her, to hold her, as fierce as it may be.

She pulls the covers up to her chin. “I don’t care how you got here. I’m glad.”

I move closer and see that she’s trembling. I put my finger to my lips. He’s here, I mouth.

Her eyes scan the room, narrowing. Now? she mouths back to me. I nod. Her angry voice pierces the silence. “Stop, Griffin. I’m serious. Please. You know I care about you. But we need to move on.”

A picture frame, the one holding a photo of Griffin on Julia’s bedside table, topples over. She turns to it, then to me, her face questioning. I imagine Mr. Colburn’s anger; I almost feel the heat as he seethes in his invisibility. He will not be happy about this, not at all. I reach over to return the picture to its upright position, and that’s when she reaches up and pulls me to the bed.

“But Griffin …,” I caution her.

“He’s always been stubborn. Maybe he needs to see I’ve moved on before he’ll believe it,” she whispers tentatively.

She doesn’t look away. She brings my hand to her cheek and I feel the rough imprint of her scars. “You know how I got these, don’t you?”

I nod.

“You probably know more than I do. When I was in the trailer, when I was seven, I was asleep the whole time….” She blinks. “Because of you?”

“Yes.”

“I finally remember you being there, in my dreams. You kept me company the whole time. That’s why I was never afraid. And you put that horrible man to sleep, so that I could escape?”

“Yes,” I say, embarrassed. I try to right myself, but she doesn’t let go. Her soft lips touch mine. I realize that this is no accident. This is what she wants.

When she pulls away, I lie there, stunned, before scrambling to my feet. Finally experiencing something he’s waited over a hundred years for will do that to a person.

“Did he see that?” she asks me.

“I—I—” I stammer. Perhaps I should be worried that Mr. Colburn will take something to the back of my head, but I am too concerned with trying to steady my weak knees. She kissed me. “I am certain he did.”

“You have no right to do this to me, Griffin,” she yells, her voice more authoritative than I’ve ever known her to be.

I can still taste her, a flavor like mint and strawberries. Her lips were so soft; I never knew it possible to have lips that soft. Mine are probably sandpaper in comparison. Yet I can’t resist moving closer to her, wanting to try again. Obviously Harmon has never experienced this, or he’d never wish to be a Sandman again. I move to the edge of her bed, and she puts her hand over mine. She sinks under the covers and pulls my body to her, and I’m so lost in the swell of my own heartbeat and the heat from her skin that I can do nothing but follow, her willing slave.