Charlie~~

When I knock on the apartment door, an envelope marked with the blue seal of Somnia in my hand, I'm a little bit drunk.

         It would be easy to clear my head. To be sober in five seconds or less, but I don't want to.

All I needed to get drunk in the dream was the desire for it and some alcohol. 

         Delivering Dad's messages isn't something I do much anymore. I have an employee for that. But he decided to take the rest of the day off without any notice. This morning Dad was on my case about Nora, telling me I needed to keep an eye on her, which I was, until he decided he needed me to deliver a message and didn't bother giving me a name. Whoever is about to receive this message has likely done something wrong and is about to pay for it.

         That's why I don't care if I'm drunk on the job. What's the difference to this person? They probably won't even be around next week, and besides I'd have to be a really good drunk for them to notice in the few seconds it takes for me to hand over a letter.

         The door slides opens, and my sobriety comes rushing back when I see the girl from Nora's orientation standing before me, one hand gripping the door and the other holding a kitchen knife.

         She's still dressed in the standard uniform, but it looks fresh. She must have found the spare in her closet. Her hair is damp, and she smells faintly of lemons, the complimentary soap that's provided when someone first moves in. The bottles are like those my brother Kyle brings back from hotels. Dad's rich, but Kyle loves his free stuff. It clutters up the shelves in our room next to the models I built of the outside world. Tyler who keeps our bathroom pristine, makes him keep it out of the bathroom if it doesn't fit in the box he's designated for Kyle.

         Behind her, on the couch is Tye, and seated beside him is Nora.

         After seeing Radia, I'm not shocked at Nora being here. Most pairings stick together for at least the first day. I'm not even shocked to see Tye; Dad has his hand in this, and I want to know the extent of it.

         Tye does look shocked and even like he'll die of mortification, not that he knows what dying means. Death isn't a concept in Somnia.

         Mortification definitely is.

         His mouth opens and closes as he stands to his feet. "Charlie."

         At that, I drag my eyes back to Radia and put on the smile I use when I'm in a meeting and know Dad will kill me if I'm rude. "I see you've already met my employee, Tye. I'm Charlie Pace from Somnia's welcoming committee." Whatever the hell that is. "Radia Dacy, right?" I ask as if I'm only seeing her for the first time.

         Her grip on the door and knife hasn't loosened. "Yes."

         Nora stands a few feet from Tye, her gaze going between me and him.

         "Perfect." Crouching down in the hallway outside her apartment, I twist to the side and reach far enough away that I'm out of her eyesight and imagine a gift basket with fruit and chocolate and toiletries and soap with a smell that doesn't remind me of cleaning supplies.

         The basket now in hand, and envelope in my pocket, I straighten, holding the gift out to her. She's forced to put the knife down to accept it.

         "You know him, Tye?" Radia asks over her shoulder.

         "He's my boss," he confirms. Yes, I'm his boss. Dad is not.

         Radia invites me inside and with her back turned and partly shielding me, I break open the seal on the letter, no longer planning to deliver it.

                                   I thought she was your job.

         I crumble the letter in my hand when I see it was always intended for me. It's only been four hours since I saw Nora at City Hall. He could at least have given me a chance to do the job before he gets involved. It's not like I can spend every moment with her, and since people don't sleep in the dream, that's a lot of moments to be with someone, especially when I have my own business to run—a business he put me in charge of and conveniently gave my only employee the day off—and I would also really like to sleep.

         I'm one of the few who can sleep in the dream, and those few times that I get to sleep are my only minutes of peace.

         Radia sets the gift basket down on the coffee table beside their folders Marcella gave them.

         Tye scratches the back of his neck. "Charlie, this is Nora."

         Nora doesn't make any move to shake my hand. This is our first proper introduction, one that doesn't involve her being stabbed in the neck or me watching her from the other side of a one-way mirror. Her hair's also wet, but her uniform doesn't look as fresh as Radia's.

         "It's a pleasure to meet you," I say even if the sight of her makes me want to run for a toilet. Not that she's horrifying to look at. But even the thought of her fills me with dread—and a little bit of horror at what might be done to her when I finally turn her into Dad.

         She stares at me longer than is needed for her to say, "Likewise."

         Clasping my hands behind my back, I tuck the letter in my pocket. "I'm terribly sorry to be rude, but would you two mind if I have a word with Tye?"

         Nora appears to relax. "There's another room over there." She points to an open door behind me. Tye follows me inside what would be called a bedroom if it had a bed. The dreamers refer to them as a changing room. That one room will usually branch off into a closet and bathroom. I wave my hand over a sensor, and the door slides shut.

         "I know I wasn't supposed to stay this long." Tye scratches at his cheek. "But they both seem nice, and it took some convincing to get Nora to agree to apply to be your assistant."

         "My assistant? What are you talking about?"

         Furrowing his brow, he pulls out his phone and holds it out to me. On the screen is an email sent from my account. I take the phone in my hand, already feeling the hairs on the back of my neck standing up.

Tye,

I received word that you're going to be getting a new neighbor. Her name is Radia Dacy in apartment 1222. Go home at eleven today and pick up food on your way. There will be another girl there named Nora. I'm looking for an assistant, and I hope she'll apply.

Charlie

         I hope Tye can't see the anger in my eyes. Dad hacked my account, and since I got an email from Tye saying he'd be taking the rest of the day off, Dad hacked his too. The first thing I'm doing when I get into work tomorrow will be to change our passwords.

         "I'm sorry, Tye. I'm a bit out of it today. Of course, my assistant. Does she seem interested?"

         "I think I've convinced her to give it a go. Why are you here? Did you think I couldn't handle this?"

         I don't want to hurt him, but he's given me an excuse I need. I can't explain to him that it is my megalomaniac dad who's pulling all the strings that sent the email. He's the director, and we're his actors. He'll make whatever scenario he wants to see happen. Tye doesn't know what a dad is, and I'd have to fire him if I gave him that sort of information because then he'd learn he's my family's prisoner.

         "I thought you'd need help winning Nora over" is what I decide on.

         When we walk out of the changing room, the girls are seated on the couch quietly conferring. The gift basket remains untouched.

         Nora breaks away from the conversation by standing. She takes a step toward the door. "I'm sure Radia would like a few minutes to herself. Thank you for the food, Tye."

         "And the basket, Charlie," Radia adds.

         Tye takes the hint. "I'll see you tomorrow, right?" he asks Nora.

         Nora opens her mouth, but it looks like she's going to say no.

         I clap my hands behind my back. "As part of my role on the welcoming committee, I help show residents to their homes." Spending time with Nora is exactly what Dad wants, but if I don't obey, I'm worried what he'll do next. If he were anyone but him, I'd say he was a helicopter parent trying to set me up with a girl. But he's not one, and I have to convince her to try out as my assistant.

         Not that I need an assistant, Dad.

         Nora's smile is forced. "That'd be great."

Nora and Charlie are together in Somnia. For those who haven't read before, what do you think will happen? And for those who have already read what I had posted of the old version, some of what you read will be familiar, but you'll find some new scenes added in and even the old scenes are different.