Chapter 42.

One by one, I brought up the various nightmares I'd had since I came into contact with the VHS tape.

The first was the gravestone related to a deep rooted trauma of mine.

The second one was in the hotel where I possessed what appeared to be a woman’s body. I, or she, then attempted to drown me while I was still asleep in the tub.

The third, I had in my car which was one I’d had several times in the past. No matter how I tried to run in that nightmare it felt like I was always sinking in quicksand.

The fourth one I had was also in my car, it was the one with the colorful world where I continually walked forward as it slowly degraded into a monotone one where I eventually collapsed.

The fifth was where I ran into the mysterious white haired beauty with the gorgeous, entrancing wavy white hair that shared an uncanny resemblance to Adele.

The sixth I brought up was the most recent one I’d had where I was literally eaten alive by none other than Val.

“Hahaha! You’re so thirsty you’re dreaming of me eating you?”

“You said you wouldn’t laugh!”

“How was I supposed to know you were going to drop a bomb like that?”

“And just for the record, you literally dissected me, cut me up, and ate my flesh. There definitely weren’t any sorts of sexual thoughts in that nightmare.”

“Are you sure you don’t just have such forbidden fetishes?”

“Absolutely not.”

“How would you know if you’ve never tried it? Would you like to test what it’s like to have your boss eat you?”

“Nope. Definitely not. Never. Please refrain from giving me more nightmares. I’ve had enough to last a lifetime as it is already.”

“Hah. For a guy who’s not a virgin, you sure like to answer like you’re a virgin.”

“It’s called self control.”

“Anyways, were there any other strange things that happened?”

“Yeah there were a bunch of times where there have been hallucinations mixed into reality as well. Aside from the phantom VHS tape I already mentioned previously, there have been several more strange occurrences that came after.”

I told her about the hallucinations I had when I tried to sleep at the hotel. Then came the time I visited Rick’s twilight world apartment before I discovered his body at my place. Which led to when I was roughing it out in my car with the vanishing head of black hair. Even when I stayed the night at work fixing that weird camcorder with the rather ‘cultured’ recording. Finally, was the phantom third set of footsteps, flickering lights and mysterious opening door at the police station.

The only one I excluded was the one I’d just had moments before she returned due to the sensitive nature of what I’d done. Although I did point out the strange bite marks and red lines that I discovered on my body after the cannibalistic nightmare I had.

By the time I’d finished recounting the events one by one, she had a deep contemplative look on her face. After she spent some time in silence, she eventually opened her mouth and asked me, “would you let me spend the night at your apartment with you?”

“What? No way! No way!”

“Then how about spending the night together at my place? I’m really curious now that you’ve brought up all these strange occurrences. Don’t you want to know more about what’s happening to you?”

“The problem isn’t whether I stay at your place or you stay at my place. It’s the fact that you’re my boss. We’re in a working relationship, not a romantic one.”

“Oh? It’s a problem if it’s only a working relationship between us?”

“Of course it is! No. Wait. it’s not a matter of ONLY, it’s a matter of fact that we HAVE a wor-“

“Mmph?!”

My mind went blank, completely white while my eyes shot open wide. It was a sudden attack out of nowhere that sent my heart leaping in fright. There was a pleasant soft sensation along with a slippery wet foreign object pressed firmly against me as something passed between my lips. Before I finished my sentence, she’d abruptly stood up half way out of her seat. She leaned over the table and simultaneously pulled on my necktie. She’d moved in and closed the distance faster than I had time to react which prevented me from pulling away from her. I naturally tried to move my head back when our lips locked together, but she pulled on my necktie harder and prevented my instinctive desire to flee.

Her tongue infiltrated and began a war of its own. I was shocked at first, but I somehow calmed down after a few seconds passed by and I ceased my resistance. I found that I wasn’t that against the situation; as strange as it may have been, I didn’t feel repulsed by her sudden forceful approach either.

She stared back at me with seductive half lidded eyes for about half a minute. She eventually let go of my neck tie and moved her face away from mine. A string of saliva connected between our lips pulled apart until it broke in two separate strands above the table. She bit the corner of her lip, but still maintained a calm demeanor when she seated herself. She cupped her hands together on the table and planted her lips onto the back of her hand. Her chin barely hovered above the table while she examined my reaction closely.

I was uncertain on how to respond to her gaze. The standoff persisted until she eventually broke the silence and asked, “well? It shouldn’t be a problem now, right?”

Her tone and actions drew a conflicting image in my mind. Her tone of voice made me feel the sudden kiss just now didn’t mean much to her at all, but judging by that alone might be a mistake. The way she lowered her head on the table and looked up at me with her upturned eyes pulled at my heartstrings in a strange way. She truly knew how to manipulate a guys heart and have it dance in the palm of her hand. It was to the point that it was scary.

“What are you even talking about? Why did you kiss me out of nowhere like that? We have a business rela-“

“Did you want your boss to keep kissing you until you change your mind? You have two options, I can fire you and then we stay at your place, or my place; or we skip the firing and we stay at your place, or my place. Which do you prefer?”

“Those aren’t even options!”

“You’re taking things too seriously. It’s not like I’m forcing you to have sex with me.”

“You just forced a kiss on me without my consent!”

“Because you wouldn’t shut up with the whole business, romance nonsense. Regardless of what our relationship is, just staying over at someone’s place doesn’t mean they’re busy monkeying about and making babies.”