I dreamed I was walking down an endless hall with numerous doors. As I passed each door, I stopped and knocked, but none of the doors ever opened, and all of them were locked. The hall I was in was an unfamiliar one, and it seemed my only way out was to keep knocking until one of the doors was opened. For now, I was trapped here.
I stood in the middle of the hall, wondering which door to try again, and then I heard a voice. Behind one of the doors, someone was talking to me.
“Sloane, are you in there? Are you awake?”
I sat straight up in bed, bouncing out of the dream into a state of mind where I was somewhat conscious. I realized someone was knocking on my front door. Through the darkness, I ran my hand across the side table. I flipped the clock around and glanced at the time. It was just after two a.m., and the voice on the opposite side of the door was Noel’s. Worried what had him awake at this hour, I ran out of the bedroom to greet him.
I opened the door, finding him out of breath and panting on the other side.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
“I’ve been knocking for about five minutes. I started to think you weren’t here, but I saw the car in the driveway and realized you must be. James has been trying to reach you.”
I checked my phone. Noel was right. I had three missed calls.
“Why aren’t you in bed?” I asked. “Is everything all right with Grace?”
“She’s fine. I just looked in on her a few minutes ago. She’s sleeping.”
“What about James?”
“He’s fine too.”
“Why is he calling me so late?” I asked.
“The missing kid, the one who’s sweet on Grace.”
“Tommy Walker?”
Noel nodded. “He’s been found.”