Les Oiseaux de Mauvaise Augure

He smiled at me lovingly.

"How are you sweetie?" I smiled back.

"Just fine." He kissed me softly, tenderly.

"Just fine?" His voice held a hint of skepticism.

"Just fine, love."

I kissed him back quickly. His arms circled my waist, his hands resting on my lower back. I rested a hand on his shoulder and another hand on the back of his neck. I smiled, elated. I had never felt so happy. We fit like two pieces of a puzzle. He leaned down to kiss my jaw and my neck. He concentrated on one spot, kissing and sucking. I moaned, gripping his hair tighter, forcing his mouth even more to my neck.

"I love you, Charity."

"I love you, Joey."

I bit my lip, glancing around the room as his teeth grazed my skin.

"How did we get here?" I asked suddenly. I had no idea where we were, and it hadn't occurred to me until that moment. He kissed his way up my neck as he murmured back.

"What do you mean?" I took in a deep breath, trying not to let him distract me.

"I've never seen this room before... Wait. I have seen this room. Somewhere..." He kissed my lips once, then sat up a bit to look me in the eyes. He stroked my hair.

"Sweetie, I think you're confused." I felt my eyes flutter as he smoothed out my hair. In a flash, I could of sworn I saw Joey's eyes turn from deep green to hazel. I blinked again, and they were back to normal. I sat up, forcing myself out of my daze.

"How long have I been here?" He looked at me, worried.

"What do you mean? Why does that matter?" I glanced around the room again. I moved away from him, swinging my legs over the side of the bed that we were on.

"Something doesn't feel right." Joey rubbed his eye with his palm, sighing.

"I knew something was up. What's wrong, Charity?" I stopped at a desk that was on the opposite side of the room. The top of it was completely cleared except for a deck of cards. I could see his reflection in a big, black-framed mirror above the desk. I glanced back at him.

"Joey, my name... you only knew me as Anna..." He let out a breathy laugh.

"What do you mean? Your name's not Anna," he said as he opened up the drawer in the small table next to my side of the bed. As he was reaching, I could of sworn I saw a sleeve of tattoos, but as soon as I blinked again, they were gone. I turned back to the deck of cards. They looked familiar.

I picked the top card up. The image of an elephant was on it. I gulped, trying to think of where I had last seen it. I picked up the next card in the deck. It was blank.

A wild card.

I looked up from the deck and up to the mirror. A man behind me rushed at me with a knife. I screamed, dropping the cards and turning around to defend myself. There was no one there. I breathed heavily, trying to calm my pounding heart. I glanced to the bed. Joey was gone.

"Joey?" I called out, panicking. "Joey?" I looked into the mirror, but didn't see my reflection. Instead, I saw a girl who looked like me. She had my face, but her skin was brighter. Her hair was longer and a much deeper red. Her eyes were a more vibrant blue. I held up a hand to touch my hair. I could feel that it was still my own short hair.

Suddenly, I felt someone's hand on my own, stroking my hair along with me. I let out a breath, relieved. I couldn't see his reflection in the mirror, but I could feel Joey's comforting hands. He guided my hand down my cheek, neck, breast, naval, hip and guided it back up just below my breast. I blushed and closed my eyes. He kissed my neck, and I tilted my head for him. "Joey," I nearly moaned out. I brought my other hand up and put it on the back of his head. I turned around and brought my lips up to his. I kissed him deeply, forgetting about all the scares that I'd had.

I felt him pull me towards the bed, and I let him. He brought me down gently, still kissing me. I felt his hand go underneath my shirt and massage my skin. I moaned into the kiss. I gripped his hair with one hand and put my other hand underneath his shirt. I started to lift it up, opening my eyes. Hazel eyes looked back at me.

I screamed, trying to push the man away. It was the one who had came at me with the knife.

"No! Stop! Joey!" I screamed as he smirked. He remained silent. He overpowered me easily. He took my wrists in one of his big hands and held them over my head tightly. I screamed again. "Please, stop!" I cried out, feeling a lump form in my throat, and tears sting my eyes. "Who are you?" I screamed at him. He held his smirk, leaning into my face. I gulped. His face hovered over mine. I closed my eyes, scrunching back into the pillow. I could feel his cold breath on my skin, making me shudder.

"Clearly," he whispered, pressing his lips onto my jaw. I could feel his ugly smile. He kissed my lips next. "Clearly, I am the man of your dreams."

The next moment I felt excruciating pain in my stomach. I opened my eyes as I let out a blood-curdling scream. I looked down and saw a knife plunged deep into my abdomen. I started seeing black dots clouding my vision as I was overwhelmed by pain. I let the tears flow freely as I screamed and cried out for Joey. The man laughed at me and my pain. And, left one more kiss on my lips before twisting the knife. I screamed loud and long. I felt something catch in my throat, so I coughed. I tasted copper. I coughed more, and it felt like I had taken a drink of blood. Soon, it coated my mouth. The black dots completely covered my vision, and I started to lose consciousness. The last thing I heard was his laughter echoing in the empty room.