Instinctively, I walk toward it, almost as though it calls to me.

“Grayson,” I say, my breath leaving my lungs in a gush. “It’s incredible.”

“It needs a ton of work.”

“But the bones are good, right?”

He nods. “It’s structurally sound.”

I think about the house he built on our mountain. “Why didn’t you fix this house?”

Grayson looks at Melia and smiles. “This isn’t where I want to live.”

“No?”

He lifts up his daughter, holding her tight. “It’s where I plan to work.”

It’s dark, everything feels as if it’s on the periphery and the fog is thick. I can see it, but I can’t touch it.

The sounds are the same. The scraping, the bending of metal. The crunches and banging as we hit the ground, but it fades as the dream wears on.

I fight against the memories, and they start to dissipate slowly. It’s as though the plane isn’t hitting the ground, but hovering. I work harder to shove the dream back.

It’s not real. It’s not real.

I tell myself as something wraps around me tighter. I hold on to the feeling of being held together.

I can do this.

There’s pressure against my neck, warm heat pushing through the ice-cold panic that the dream injects into my bones. My limbs tingle as it starts to thaw me. I can feel the muscles relaxing into the comfort.

I see the house on the lake. The way the water glints off the sunlight. This is new. This place, it’s beautiful and bright. There’re no planes here, just Grayson and Melia, smiling as we talk about their plans.

Yes, it’s working.

It’s hard to see the plane now. It’s dissipating as the light—that beautiful, warm sunlight—takes over the darkness. The house is there, the clouds framing it again, and I want to weep because it’s disappearing too.

I open my eyes to see Grayson looking down at me, his hand on my cheek, holding my face against his chest.

“Are you okay?” His voice is thick with concern.

Once again, Grayson chased away my nightmares, but there is a new fear gripping me. I wrap my arms around him, clutching tightly. “I’m okay.”

“The dream?”

I nod against him. “Always. Well,” I stop, turning my face to see him better, “when I’m with you, they’re not as intense and things are changing.”

By the slow grin that spreads across his face, it’s clear he likes that. “Good.”

“I should go back in the guest room.” My arms don’t move away from him though.

“You should. Amelia will be up soon.”

“It’s so early.”

Grayson laughs and then lifts me slightly, bringing our lips together in a sweet kiss. “Trust me, I don’t want to let you go either.”

“I’d rather her not catch us again.”