Welcome to the Dream (A Celeste Cross Book, #1) (10 page)

She was dressed in a singlet
and little else, and every now and then had to grab some ice she
kept in a bowl by her computer to run it over her back, shoulders,
and arms, trying to cool the skin down.

‘
It's too damn hot,’ she
complained as she flopped a hand at her face, trying to fan at the
flushed skin.

She'd tried to get a little
work done that night, but she hadn't gotten very far. Instead she'd
put on her music, dumped her bag on the table, and had made herself
a light meal. When she'd come back to the table, she'd realized
that her bag had tumbled over, and the contents had spilled
everywhere. Shaking her head, she'd gone to clean it up, but had
noticed the stone amulet she'd bought that morning.

Celeste picked it up,
holding it by the leather strap, the circle of stone spinning
slowly underneath. She brought it close to her face and looked at
it.

‘
In a way, you're kind of
creepy,’ she told the amulet. She was right; it did have a kind of
odd presence about it. It was very heavy, and the carving was so
slapdash and crooked that it almost gave her the idea that whoever
had made the thing, had done so in a terrible rush, possibly under
the threat of some pressing evil.

Don't let your
imagination get the better of you.
She thought as she put the amulet back down on the
table.
Plus,
there's no such thing as evil.
She added as she moved away from the table, walking back
into the kitchen, her bare feet slapping against the polished
floorboards.
Even creepy is just a reaction to something new, different,
something you don't understand.

Celeste had spent a good
chunk of her life overcoming her own fears, so she wasn't about to
forget the lessons she'd taught herself.

The most important lesson,
even though it sounded loopy, was to always turn towards the dark.
If something scared you, you always faced it. You didn't run away.
That didn't mean that you chased after the rabid dog, or you drove
yourself to the dodgiest side of town and faced every drug dealer
and gang member you could. No, it was kind of a personal thing.
Whenever you faced a fear in your mind, you always turned to it,
you never looked away.

It was a skill she'd taught
herself and a skill she was not going to give up now.

Celeste tried to get back to
work for about another 20 minutes, but eventually gave up and
decided it was time to shower instead. She padded upstairs, got
undressed, and jumped in the shower. At first she was happy as the
deliciously cool water rushed over her. Then she went to turn on
the hot water tap, just to take the edge off it. However, it didn't
seem to work, and in fact, it sent a shuddering noise echoing
through the plumbing, as if the pipes themselves were moving about.
She quickly shut off the tap. Then slowly she turned it on. Again
the pipe started to shudder and shake the house.

‘
Dammit,’ she plucked herself out
of the shower, grabbing at a towel and patting herself down. She
really had to wash her hair tonight, and she wasn't going to do
that without warm water, no matter how hot the day was.

Great, I'm
going to have to go under the house and turn it back on
again.
She realized as
she shook her head. It would be the hot water cylinder. The very
same cylinder that Jack had admitted they'd always had trouble with
in this house.

Her expression soured as she
pulled on her shorts and singlet. She was going to have to grab a
torch, go underneath the house, and try to brave the cobwebs and
dust. Then she would have to figure out how exactly you turned on a
hot water cylinder or fixed it if it was broken.

Complaining loudly to
herself, Celeste trotted down the stairs, rifled around in the
kitchen cupboards until she found a flashlight, and then walked
outside.

Though it was still quite
light, she knew it would be dark underneath the house.

She made her way to the latticed
doorway that led underneath the foundations, and opened it, the
wood grating against the gravel underneath. ‘I'm just letting you
know, spiders, it's time to leave,’ she called into the darkness
before her. Though she didn't mind spiders, and she certainly
wasn't that scared of them, she didn't want to be covered with them
as she commando crawled to the hot water cylinder.

She scrambled onto her
belly, and began the unpleasant task of making her way underneath
the house. Flashlight in one hand, stomach, arms, and legs getting
completely covered in dust and grit, she shuffled her way towards
the hot water cylinder. She spied it with the torch – the thing was
halfway across the other side of the house.

It took her a while, but she
reached it. Latching a hand onto the smooth metal surface, she
brought the flashlight around. She spent a full five minutes on her
back staring at it, but no matter what she tried, nothing worked.
Eventually she shuffled out from underneath the house. Then she
took one look at her singlet and shorts. They were covered in muck
and dirt. What was more, there was a sodding clump of cobwebs in
her hair. She tried to pull it free as she made a disgusted
face.

Then she went inside and
switched the hot water tap on in the kitchen, and winced as the
pipes began to shake again and no water came out.

‘
Great,’ she shook her head. Even
if she could get away without having a hot shower tonight,
presumably at some point she would want to do the dishes, and she
was going to need hot water for that.

She walked around for a
while, trying to figure out what to do, and then she glanced at the
fridge. There was Jack's number. She brought a hand up to their
face, at first pressing her fingers into her lips, but then
snapping them away as she realized how foul they smelt. She ran her
hands under the cold tap, then turned back to the fridge.
I can't call him
again tonight, can I?
She thought to herself as she stared at the neatly written
number.
He
seems like such a busy guy.

She stood there thinking
about it for a minute until she decided to hell with it, grabbed
the phone, and called him. There was a nervous little flutter in
her stomach as she did, and she had to take a steadying
breath.

Jack was very much her type,
even though she hadn't realized that until she'd met him. He was
the kind of hunky, diligent, respectful, strong guy you only saw in
movies, stories, and games. But now Celeste knew that he actually
existed, she could confidently proclaim that he was just the right
guy for her. She still wasn't about to get her hopes up though; she
could guarantee he was with someone, and if he wasn't with someone,
then he would no doubt not be interested in someone like
her.

Jack West

Jack wasn't having a
particularly good day. Okay, it hadn't been that bad in the middle
when he'd gone over to Celeste's, but the rest of it had been
rubbish.

Though every single person
was trying to tell him that the amulet taken from the church was
just a fake, he still couldn't convince himself that it was
nothing.

Come on, Jack,
they're trained archaeologists – they're going to know what they're
speaking about.
He tried
to assure himself.
They said it was just a fake, and who are you to think
otherwise?

Jack shook his head,
planting both hands on the wheel as he negotiated a tricky corner.
He found himself glancing to the left as he drove past a driveway
on his way home. It was his aunt's driveway. For just a fleeting
second he got the desire to turn up it and visit
Celeste.

Come on, it's
nine o'clock at night, and you're uninvited.
He thought as he resolutely kept the car
straight.

In another second his phone
rang. Not bothering to pull off to the side of the road, even
though he knew he should, he answered.

‘
I'm so sorry to bother you, it's
Celeste.’

In the privacy of his own car,
Jack grinned. ‘You're not bothering me, ma'am, what’s
up?’

‘
You know that hot water
cylinder? Well it's not on. Every time I try to use one of the hot
water taps—’ she began.

‘
All the pipes in the house
shake?’ he filled in quickly.

‘
Yes. I tried to fix it myself.
But I have no idea what I'm doing.’

‘
I can come and have a look right
now.’ Jack slowed the car down and did a U-turn.

‘
Oh, well, no, I don't mean to
interrupt your night.’

‘
No, it's no trouble; I'm
on my way home now. I'll duck in.’ He said good-bye to Celeste and
hung up the phone. In barely under a minute he pulled up in front
of her house.
Now isn't this quick service.
He thought as he pushed his door open and jumped
out.

He walked up to the door and
spied Celeste through the large windows either side as she quickly
shrugged a shirt over her shoulders. She’d been wearing just a
singlet and shorts, and he quickly diverted his gaze, even though
it was hard. There was no excuse to give someone the indignity of
staring though.

She opened the door before he
could knock. ‘Wow, you were quick.’

‘
I was literally on my way home,
you called me when I'd just passed your driveway,’ Jack explained
quickly, hoping that it didn't seem too creepy that he'd gotten
here in under a minute.

There was a moment of silence
between them, and Jack cleared his throat. ‘You stay here and check
the taps; I'll go underneath and deal with the cylinder. When I
shout out, try them, okay?’

She nodded, trying to pat
down her shirt as she did, probably trying to make it look
neat.

He walked back to his car,
grabbed his torch, and walked around the side of the
house.

Celeste Cross

I'm not
wearing a bra, oh my god, I'm not wearing a bra.
Celeste thought as she shook her head,
marching into the kitchen and leaning on the bench.
I must look
horrendous.

As she leant there, hand
planted on top of the hot water tap, waiting for Jack's call, she
wondered whether she had the time to dart upstairs and wrestle into
something slightly more supportive. She probably didn't.

Damn.

Why is this
guy always catching me in a state of undress?
She wondered quickly.
I'm just so bloody unlucky
around him.

She soon heard Jack call
out, and she tried the tap. Instantly water started to rush through
it, and not once did the whole house shake as the pipes shuddered
in protest.

‘
It's working,’ she shouted as
loud as she could.

She heard him move out from
underneath the house, his boots scrabbling, and then finally he
walked in, dusting off his pants before he walked through the
doorway.

‘
Look, I'm so sorry for
disturbing you this late,’ she said quickly, trying to fix her hair
in front of her chest to hide it slightly.

He shook his head and said: 'I
should be the one who's sorry. I've known about that hot water
cylinder for years, but I've never bothered to fix it
properly.’

‘
Hah,’ she gave an awkward laugh,
‘that sounds like me. There is a lot on my to-do list that I’ve
never gotten around to.’

He smiled back in
reply.

She found her thoughts
drying up. She really wanted to say something intelligent, but she
could only think about how dirty his arms and clothes were, and how
damn rugged he looked.

‘
Did you want a drink?’ she
asked, her voice annoyingly squeaky.

He shrugged, patting at a cobweb
on his shoulder. ‘I'd love one.’

Celeste turned, a massive
smile spreading across her lips as she trotted into the
kitchen.

Just because
he wants a drink, doesn't mean he's interested in you and doesn't
mean he's single.
She
tried to tell herself very quickly as she grabbed open the cupboard
and pulled out two glasses.

‘
Sorry about the mess on the
table. I'll deal with it in a second.’ She walked back into the
dining room to see him sitting at the table, glancing at the
junk.

She handed him his glass,
and then set to work trying to corral all of the mess.

She finished, and then sat
down, a nervous feeling prickling through her belly.

Before she could open her
mouth to say something, his phone rang.

He answered it quickly. Then
he stiffened, his back straightening and his jaw becoming
boxy.

Very soon he hung up. ‘I'm
sorry, but I've got to go.’ He stood up, eyes glancing over the
table again before he looked up at her.

Does he look
disappointed? He looks disappointed, right?
She thought quickly as she placed her
glass on the table and offered him a friendly smile. ‘That's okay.
Thanks so much for the hot water cylinder though. Sorry to bother
you again.’