Dream of Us
Chapter Thirteen

Ani’s POV.

“Why are we having peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner?”

I don’t turn around at Jaymie’s question. I keep spreading the jam, turning up my nose at the fact that Jaymie calls it jelly like an American.

“You don’t have to, I told you that. I’m having them, but you can have whatever you want,” I reply casually, feeling satisfied as I press the slices together.

“Okay, well I’m not even hungry right now. I’m going to take a shower.”

“Alright,” I reply, still not turning around as I take a massive bite of the sandwich.

It takes me straight back to being a teenager and standing in the kitchen, tasting the exact same mix of savoury and sweet on my tongue, warm spread oozing out of the sides of the toasted sandwich.

After Adrian mentioned this snack at the restaurant last night, it’s all I’ve been able to think about. I went out and bought everything I would need after my breakfast shift this morning. I’ll confess that I was disappointed that Adrian wasn’t at the diner. I’m hoping he’ll be there tonight.

I take another bite and the same memory from yesterday plays in my mind. I can’t work out who the three other plates are for. I know they’re not for my friends or family. There are so many gaps in my memories as a kid and a teenager, I always latch on to any fragments that I get because they’re so few and far between.

I sit down at my kitchen table to finish the sandwich. I take another bite and the memory takes over at full-force. I’m in the kitchen of my boyfriend’s house, which makes no sense because Jaymie is the first boyfriend I’ve had.

I turn around and serve up the four plates of food to three guys, sitting at the table, waiting patiently. I can’t remember their faces, only that there are three of them.

“Thanks, Dee,” one of them says.

“This is perfect, babe.”

The sandwich falls from my hand and hits the plate, making it clatter on the table. The noise snaps me out of it. I shake my head and my eyes slowly focus on the plate in front of me.

What the hell was that?

My head hurts with the memory, it’s making my mind spin and I can’t make sense of any of it. I couldn’t remember having a boyfriend before, and now, it seems that not only is Jaymie not my first partner, but I’ve also had multiple. The dreams of three guys suddenly make sense, I used to date them. My preference of porn category makes sense, too.

What on Earth was teenage me doing? Dating three guys!

Teenage-me had more balls than me now, that’s for sure. I couldn’t even imagine doing that now. I don’t remember anything else about them. I don’t remember what they look like or their names, this is so weird. I’m going to have to call my foster mum and see if she remembers anything. Perhaps I mentioned them before, but I can’t imagine telling my mum that I’m dating three guys. She would have flipped, I’m sure of it. I probably kept them a secret from her.

One of them called me Dee, too. That’s weird. I’ve never heard of ‘Dee’ being a term of endearment before. There is nothing in my name to shorten to Dee, I’m Annie.

So many questions.

“I’m going to order fish and chips.”

I look up at Jaymie, who has entered the kitchen with a towel around his waist and wet hair.

“I know you’ve got that,” he says distastefully and gestures at my snack. “But do you want anything?”

“No, I’m alright, thank you,” I reply and continue eating.

When he comes back in, he is fully dressed. He sits down with me and stares off into space. I notice he does that sometimes, zones out and stares unseeing. I’d love to know where his mind goes when that happens. It must be stressful or unpleasant because he’s always a bit closed off or snappy afterwards.

“You alright?” I check gently.

He looks back at me and forces a smile. “I’m fine.”

It seems we both have a lot on our minds.

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Denali’s POV.

My plan had been to come back in the morning so that I would be there for the diner opening, but I realised as I stood in front of my wardrobe; I don’t have anything to wear. I can’t wear the suit for breakfast, and I don’t want to wear the same outfit as last time. I go into town, changing my plans to go at dinner instead.

I shop for some clothes, using inspiration from other guys I see in the street and the mannequins in shops to get some outfits together. I’ve missed out on a decade of fashion trend changes; I have no idea what’s fashionable anymore. I want to look good for Dyani when I see her.

I really shocked her by mentioning our favourite snack yesterday. The four of us used to eat PB & J’s all the time, I hoped that the memory was strong enough to be recalled, turns out it was.

Sian meets me for lunch after finishing the morning shift. I’m wearing one of my new outfits; jeans that are tight enough to show off my muscles but not tight enough to be ‘skinny jeans’ and a shirt that was labelled as ‘muscle fit’, promising to make my biceps pop, whatever the hell that means. Sian comments on my new look straight away, which gives me more confidence.

“Been shopping?”

“Turns out I don’t fit the same clothes that I did ten years ago,” I respond dryly.

“Ten years,” she mutters wistfully. “It has really been that long, hasn’t it?”

“It really has.”

Her face brightens and she smiles. “How did last night go? Did you see Dyani?”

“I did, it went great,” I tell her. “We talked a lot, and I got her to remember the peanut butter and jam sandwiches we used to eat all of the time.”

Sian laughs happily. “That’s good, whatever you can use to get the old Dyani back, please do it. Are you coming by again soon?”

“I’m going to go tonight.”

“That’s a good idea, we’re not as busy on a Mondays.”

“Good, I want more time with her.”

“Actually, Mondays are even better because Michel, the boss, does the books in the back so he won’t be breathing down our necks.”

“Perfect.” I pause for a drink. “Do you think you could arrange something with Dyani outside of the restaurant and invite me to it? Is there any way that we could all casually meet up? I’d love to spend more time with her when she isn’t working.”

Sian presses her lips together and thinks about it.

“We could pretend that you and I are neighbours, or distant family perhaps? I could invite some people round for a garden party or something, I think it’s meant to be nice weather on Saturday.”

“That would be incredible if you could,” I reply quickly, not even embarrassed about how eager I sound.

“Okay, bear with me, I’ll arrange something and text you the details. What’s your number?”

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I’m nervous again when I arrive at the diner. I had being on the backfoot like this, I’m not used to it. I’m the eldest out of my mates and I was used to taking charge and being the confident leader of the group. Questioning myself is not something I’m used to.

I walk through the door and spot my mate instantly. She’s humming to herself as she wanders around the restaurant, clearing plates and taking orders. Her hair is tied up in a messy bun and there is a pencil stuck behind her ear.

I take a seat in the corner table and listen to her hum. The humans in this room would not be able to pick up on the melody over the chatter, but I can hear it as clearly as if she were right next to me. It’s a lullaby I recognise, she used to hum it as a child.

I wonder if she remembers her mother singing it to her? Probably not.

The thought makes my chest tighten painfully. When I get my hands on Inteus, I will make sure his death is slow. I’ll make him pay for the pain and trauma he has put me and my mates through.

My anger dissipates almost immediately when Dyani spots me and smiles widely. Retrieving her pen from behind her ear, she approaches with her notepad in hand.

“Hello again,” she greets me warmly.

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