Nightmares from Within Read Free Page A

wouldn’t kick him out of my bed.”
    I let out a laugh as she headed back to the hostess stand, and I made my way to table seven. “Good morning,” I greeted. “What can I getcha?”
    I had my eyes on my order pad, but they instantly shot up to meet his when he replied, “Good morning to you, Taylor.” He said my name like he’d spoken it a million times before. He must have seen the shock on my face, because he grinned and pointed to my red Benny’s Diner t-shirt.
    “Your name tag says Taylor. That is your name, isn’t it?”
    His question sounded almost accusatory, like he knew something he wasn’t supposed to. I’d never seen this man before. It wasn’t possible for him to know Taylor wasn’t the name I’d been born with.
    “Um…yeah,” I responded carefully.
    The grin on his face morphed into a full on smile, and I could see what Cassie had been talking about. He was extremely handsome. His jet-black hair was a few inches too long and flopped over his forehead, but it accentuated his crystal blue eyes perfectly. I felt a strong pull as I looked into them. I didn’t know how long I stood there staring into those strange eyes but I was yanked back into reality when he cleared his throat and gave a little chuckle.
    Embarrassed at being caught staring, heat started to creep up my neck and I had no doubt my cheeks were bright pink. My blush was the curse of having such a fair complexion. A complexion I got from my Irish mother. It was one of the only things I got from her. Everything else about me favored my father. Dark, wavy brown hair and light brown eyes. I had no doubt my darker features combined with my pale skin made the circles under my eyes - that Benny was concerned about - even more pronounced.
    “I’m Daniel,” the man said as he held out his hand in an introduction.
    I glanced down, knowing he was waiting for me to shake his hand and I couldn’t stop the pang that went through me at the thought of touching him. I might not like to touch people, but in my line of work, it was sometimes necessary. I didn’t want to come off rude and risk getting a lousy tip just because of my own idiosyncrasies.
    I placed my hand in his and instantly regretted it. Visions from my childhood shot through my head like a movie on fast forward. I caught glimpses of memories that I wanted to lock in a vault and never remember again, but they wouldn’t stop. They all came flooding back in Technicolor, but something was terribly wrong. The memories that flashed through my head were different. I was seeing things that I remembered, but they weren’t from my memories. They were his . I snatched my hand back like I’d been burned, and looked at the man named Daniel through wide, horrified eyes.
    “What the hell was that?” I asked in a whisper as I lifted a shaky hand to wipe away the beads of perspiration that had formed on my brow. “Do I know you?”
    His knowing smile caused ice to run through my veins. “What do you think?”
    At the horrifying memories the flashes from my past had caused, a wave of nausea rolled through my stomach and I had to clamp a hand over my mouth to keep from throwing up all over the table. I ran through the crowded diner and made it to the bathroom just in time to lose my breakfast in the toilet.
    My stomach lurched until there was nothing left. Once I was finished, I pulled toilet paper off the roll to wipe my mouth and sat back against the metal door of the stall. The coolness against my skin helped, and eventually, I was able to pull myself up and walk to the sink to rinse that acrid taste from my mouth.
    As I swished the water around, the bathroom door flew open and Cassie came rushing over to me. “Ohmigod Taylor, are you okay?”
    I rested my palms on the edge of the counter and dropped my head. “Did everyone see me run in here?” Benny was going to send me home for sure now. I just knew it.
    “I don’t think so.”
    Thank God.
    “The only reason I noticed was because I