I woke up with a start, my heart racing as memories of last night flooded my mind. Had it all been a dream? Rhys breaking up with Zara, his confession, the intensity in his eyes when he told me to stay away from other boys...
I touched my neck where his fingers had brushed against my skin, still feeling the ghost of that sensation. It had felt so real, but sometimes dreams could be cruelly vivid.
My phone rang, startling me out of my thoughts. Debra's name flashed across the screen.
"Hello?" I answered groggily.
"Elara! Where are you? The match starts in thirty minutes!" Debra's panicked voice came through the speaker.
A wave of déjà vu hit me hard. This was exactly how yesterday had started in my dream—Debra calling about being late for the match.
"The basketball match?" I asked cautiously, my stomach knotting. If she said yes, then everything with Rhys had been just a dream, a figment of my desperate imagination.
