“I had another dream last night. This time my teeth were falling out and I kept trying to ask for help but all that came out of my mouth were bubbles. Bubbles! Can you imagine?”

Joelynn rolled her eyes. Artie Wilkerson was always having strange dreams about his teeth falling out or being naked in public. "You have insecurity issues!" she wanted to yell at him. Any online dream dictionary would tell him that.

Dr. Colt Spencer simply smiled and then turned his attention to Joelynn. “Ms. Lewis. I’m glad you could make it today. Three times in a row. Do you think you’ll be able to share your last dream with us today?”

Joelyn could feel the stares of the other support group members boring into her. She had come a total of five times but hadn’t had the courage to speak up yet. It was at Jacob’s suggestion that she started attending a support group for people that had been through traumatic experiences. After the first meeting, she refused to go back until Jacob, her best friend, threatened to drag her there himself. Then she went a second time and thought group therapy was too weird for her and that the other people were just fruitcakes. Jacob didn't threaten her again but her nightmares hadn’t stopped so she decided to give it one more try. For the past three weeks, she had forced herself to attend the group sessions but she still refused to speak up.

“Joelynn?” Dr. Spencer was in his early thirties. He had dark brown hair that was almost black and big hazel eyes to match. He wore thin rimmed glasses and always dressed in slacks and a button up shirt. The other women seemed to adore him because he was cute in a nerdy kind of way.

Joelynn looked around at the others. They all seemed normal on the outside…well except for Artie. He was just plain weird. Listening to them talk about themselves had made her feel a little less bad about herself.

“C’mon sweetie, it’s just us,” said Bertie, an overweight lady that had been a victim of sexual assault. She had been a swimsuit model before she had been attacked. Her traumatic experience had caused her to eat until she gained over two hundred extra pounds on her once thin body. She was wearing a calorie tracker on her wrist. Joelynn smiled when she first saw it. It was Bertie’s way of taking control of her life. She was going to lose the weight and prove that she could deal with her rape without hurting herself further.

“Joelynn?” Dr. Spencer prodded again.

“Okay fine,” Joelynn muttered hoping she didn’t come off as some petulant kid. “I don’t really dream. I have nightmares…except they’re not really nightmares. They’re more like…like memories.” She took a deep breath, looked down, and continued. “My hands and legs are tied and I can’t move. I can’t see anything. I’m scared and confused. I can hear him breathing close to my face. I can feel his hot breath on my cheek and he keeps poking me with a knife. Then he starts cutting my arms,” Joelynn unconsciously started rubbing her arms up and down. “I can feel the blood leaving my body where he cut me. I don’t know why he’s doing this and I start to remember every bad thing I ever did to deserve this. Why me? It’s all I can think of. Why me? It hurts and I’m scared. I keep trying to scream but nothing comes out. I want my mom and my dad. I want someone…anyone…to come and save me but no one is coming. No one is coming. Then he starts pressing the knife into my neck…” Joelynn looked up and could see everyone silently staring at her, enthralled. Bertie has her hand up to her throat as if she was the one that had been poked with a knife.

Joelynn smiled, “And then I open my mouth...and bubbles come out.”

The group groaned in unison and Artie Wilkerson mumbled something about bubbles being a common theme in the group.

Dr, Spencer cleared his throat, “Joelynn, our sessions are to be taken seriously. I want to see you after group is over.”

She felt like a kid being scolded by the teacher. She sighed and nodded. Ten minutes later when group ended, Dr. Spencer called out, “Joelynn!”

Joelynn grimaced. She had planned to sneak out in hopes to avoid him. She turned around and gave a fake smile, “Yes, Dr. Spencer?”

Dr. Spencer removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes with his right hand. Without his glasses, he was pretty hot, at least to Joelynn he was.

“Joelynn, I’ve read your case file. I know what you went through was pretty traumatic. I think it might be a good idea to focus on your one on one sessions rather than participate in a group.”

“Are you kicking me out doc?” Joelynn smirked.

Dr. Spencer cocked his head to the right, “Isn’t that what you wanted?”

Joelynn didn’t understand.

“Look, I know you’re still trying to cope with what happened to you three months ago, but the other people in this group have also been through some pretty serious situations. It wouldn’t be fair to them to let you continue if you’re just going to mock them.”

Joelynn raised her eyebrows, “Mock them? Who did I mock doctor?”

Dr. Spencer shook his head in disapproval, “Bubbles?’ You opened your mouth and bubbles came out?”

“What? Can Artie be the only one that dreams about bubbles?”

Dr. Spencer frowned, “I really think you could benefit from group but only if you take it seriously. If you continue to act like you did today, I’ll kick you out myself.” He didn’t wait for her to respond, but walked past her and out the door.

“Asshole,” Joelynn muttered. Couldn’t he be a bit more sensitive to her situation? It wasn’t easy for her to go to group, much less speak up. Joelynn stormed out of the small room that was used for their sessions and down the hall of the old community center. As she made her way to her blue Focus, she was stopped by Bertie.

“Joelynn!”

Joelynn half-heartedly smiled, “Hi Bertie. What’s up?”

Bertie looked around and licked her lips in nervousness, “I don’t know what you’ve been through…but what you described today…I know that. I’ve been there. I just wanted you to know that you’re not alone and if you need anything, I’m here for you.”

Joelynn finally gave a sincere smile. “Thanks Bertie. That means a lot to me. It really does.”

Bertie smiled and nodded before going back to her vehicle.

As Joelynn sat behind the wheel of her car, she thought of what Bertie said, “You’re not alone.”

Joelynn disagreed. She felt nothing but alone. Three months ago she lived with her cousin, Eva. She hung out with her best friend, Jacob almost every day, and she looked forward to getting a handsome boyfriend. She hadn’t talked to Eva since she had been held hostage and was interviewed by the FBI. She started staying with Jacob and then eventually moved into an apartment on campus where she was studying business.

She and Jacob were still close but she felt like he coddled her too much and didn’t quite understand what she had been through. She couldn’t talk to him about it. Sometimes she felt like she was in this fog of depression and just needed someone to tell her to “snap out of it.”

Joelynn thought of Eva. Eva was the only living family member she had. There were many times that she had thought of reaching out to her cousin…but she didn’t. She felt too guilty. When Joelynn had been abducted by the Demon King, he had given her a choice. Joelynn could live, but only if she cut Eva out of her life. Joelynn chose to live. She remembered the hurt look she saw on Eva’s face when she told her that she was going to move out. What Joelynn had done was unforgivable. Eva said she understood, but Joelynn knew what she had done was wrong. Eva had even told the Demon King that she would give up her life for Joelynn’s. The guilt of what she had done to Eva was overbearing. She couldn’t stand the idea of having to look in Eva’s eyes and be reminded of what a selfish and terrible family member she had been.

She rested her head on her steering wheel and wondered what her cousin was up to.

Across Town

The pounding bass was giving him a headache. Jacob looked up from the bar of the Pink Flamingo, a local gay bar, and spotted the sexiest man alive standing in front of him. Mr. Sexy was wearing a black suit with a black dress shirt underneath, “Can I buy you a drink?”

He wasn’t sure what was going on. Between his headache and Mr. Sexy, he felt a little disoriented. He shook his head and smiled, “Another time.” He took one last swig of his beer and stood up.

Mr. Sexy watched him leave and whispered, “I’ll remember that.”

Back at her Apartment

Joelynn was getting ready for bed. She checked all of the cupboards, closets, and under her bed to make sure no one was secretly hiding somewhere in her apartment. She was about to get into bed when she heard a knocking at her door. Joelynn walked to the door and looked through the peephole. “Who is it?” she asked.

“It’s the police ma’am.”

The police? Joelynn didn’t know of any reason that the police should come by. “Show me your badges,” she demanded after opening her door a little. The officers both produced their identification before she let them in.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

One of the officers looked at the other before clearing his throat, “Are you Joelynn Lewis?”

Joelynn nodded. “Yeah…”                                                    

“We’re actually here about your cousin, Eva Lewis.”

“What about her?” Joelynn asked.

“Well…we wanted to know if you had any contact with her recently.”

Joelynn took a deep breath before answering, “I haven’t had contact with her in months. What is this about?”

“I hate to be the one to tell you this Ms. Lewis…” he seemed to prolong the news which was upsetting Joelynn.

“Can you just spit it out? What’s going on with my cousin Eva?”

“Well ma’am…she’s missing.”

 *********

Just in case you skipped the prologue: ****WARNING: This story is unedited. Also, before you read on, this book is a SEQUEL to Bones of the Demon King. Although, you won't really need to, I STRONGLY suggest you read that book before delving into this one. Why? Because if you decide you like this book and want to go back and read the first one...the surprise of who the killer is will be ruined for you. :( Also, it's always nice to really read the first book first. If you don't read the first book, you'll still be okay...so enjoy.