In Her Dreams

the front sidewalk, reaching the street just as the school bus pulls up, barely skidding to a halt in the icy snow. Joey gets in, and I watch him wave at me as the bus pulls away, skidding.
I’ll need to go out and shovel the walk later, I think, groaning.
But first, I need to get ready for work.
I lock the front door and walk upstairs to my room. We live in a small house, so everything is pretty close together. But I do wish my room wasn’t on the second floor.
I pull out my uniform and walk into the bathroom to shower and get changed. As water rushes over me, hot and steamy, I groan at the sheer pleasure of it.
As I wash myself, I remember the feel of Reve’s hands, so real even though it was a dream.
“Reve,” I murmur, testing the word. “Wait, don’t come if you heard that,” I say, remembering that he said if I ever called him, he would come.
My heart pounds as I look around for a moment, and then I sigh in relief, glad that I didn’t accidentally summon him.
Even though a part of my heart would have been relieved if I had.
I don’t know much about how dream fae interact with the human world, but I’m pretty sure he could handle the snow.
I focus up and finish my shower and step out into the cold little bathroom to change.
Just as I have my curly red hair pulled up in a bun, my curvy body encased in scrubs, the doorbell rings downstairs.
For a second, my heart jumps, and I think that perhaps Reve did show up after all.
I have to tell him it was an accident, I think, almost skidding in my haste to get down the stairs. I grab my shoes at the base of the stairs and walk into the kitchen, pulling them on.
Then, stupidly, I yank open the door without even checking the keyhole.
And stupid Mark is there.
He’s grinning and looks drunk at 9:00 a.m. for some god-forsaken reason. “Hey, gorgeous,” he says, looking me over with what he must think is a leer.
He smells like hell. He was handsome once, but years of drugs and drinking have wasted his complexion, and his eyes and mouth have a mean tilt.
Then again, he’s a mean man.
His arm is propped on my doorframe, and I put a hand out to stop him as he tries to come in. “Come on, Jen. Just a few minutes.” His hand reaches for the top of my scrubs. “We can have some fun before you go to work.”
I give him a full shove now, not caring that he hits his butt on the snow. “What the hell are you thinking showing up here when you didn’t send child support and you missed visitation again?” My rage has no bounds right now, and I storm out into the snow with him, fists clenched.
He props himself up, staring at me blearily. “I’m unemployed right now. You know that.” He shrugs. “You know I’ve never cared about the boy.” His eyes narrow. “You should have aborted him.”
I walk forward then and slap him hard across the face.
He glares up at me in shock, touching his cheek.
“How dare you say that?” My chest is heaving. “That boy is my everything. He should have been yours too. Get out of here. Off my property!”
Mark’s look at me is dark, full of rage, but as usual, he keeps it under wraps in public, pushing to his feet and brushing snow off of him, sending me a look that promises vengeance.
“Come on my property again, and I’ll get a restraining order,” I say, actually worried right now that he might come back and bother me and Joey.
He has a way of disappearing for months or years and then coming back whenever he needs something.
Like money or sex.
God, I hate this man with everything in me. I hate him as much as I love my son, and that’s a lot.
“I’ll never give you full custody, you bitch.” He snarls at me. “So you should think about being a little nicer to me.” He chuckles. “Or next time, I might just show up for visitation with my son.”
A shiver of pure fear moves down my spine, but I stand up straight, trying not to show it. “Get out of here. I’m late for work.”
With one look of rage, he does, walking to his beat-up Pinto and starting it. It’s kind of satisfying watching it skid and slide over the road before it finally gains traction and pulls away.
I hope he gets in an accident, I think as I turn and walk back into the house to finish getting ready.
Already, I’m looking forward to seeing Reve in my dreams tonight. To pretend I had a happily ever after with my first love, not the nightmare I’m living in.
But first, I need to go to work as a CNA, so I turn off the lights and head out.

3
Jen
When I get home, my walk is cleared, and I narrow my eyes at it as I go inside.
I know Mark wouldn’t have come over to do it, and I don’t know any neighbor who would either.
I wish I knew who did it, because I feel grateful as I walk up to my porch and don’t slip in the shoes I wear to survive long days of standing.
I’m just locking the door and pulling my scarf off when I get the slightly chilling feeling of someone watching me. I turn and nearly jump half a foot in the air when I see someone is sitting at my dining room table in the dark.
My heart is pounding as I reach for the light, but before I can flick it, it turns on, lighting the dining room and showing me Reve in his human form at the table. He gives me an apologetic smile. “My dream link broke.”
“Your what?”
He rubs the back of his neck. “We wear them to stay in