The War of Roses by L. J. Smith Page A

she was about being shadowed.  It was ridiculous, but Damon really wanted it, and neither of them was good at refusing Damon.  He was always so thoughtful and reasonable—and really, really good looking.  Bonnie wished she’d had a chance to speak to Elena this morning, but somehow . . . things had been too rushed. 
    Elena should be all right now, though, she told herself.  Damon won’t let anything bad happen to her.
    Meredith made a sound of impatience.  A dozen students had just walked into the building in front of them.
    “Are we going inside or not?”
    “We are,” Bonnie said resignedly.  She hurried up the steps and into the open double doors—
    Ouch!
    She’d bumped into solid wood.  Bonnie blinked and blinked again.
    The doors were closed.
    But that was impossible. 
    It had to be—was she so late that they had closed the whole building?  And how had they done it while she was climbing the steps? 
    Bonnie rattled the doors once more to find that they were definitely locked, and turned around to ask Meredith what was going on.
    Meredith had vanished.  Bonnie shivered violently.  She opened her mouth to call, but no sound came out.  Worst of all, something had dimmed the sun.  She could hardly see.
    I must be having one of those trance-things, Bonnie thought desperately.  But why am I so cold?  And what’s going on in the real world?  And why—why can’t I remember having breakfast or choosing my clothes this morning?
    Bonnie shivered again violently . . . and woke up.
    It was the middle of the night.  She’d been dreaming—but, oh, God, there was Lerner Hall, all right!  The big double doors were closed and locked.  The sky was dark with no moon and about a billion stars and Bonnie was in her calf-length white cotton nightgown. Her bare feet were freezing.
    Meredith wasn’t in sigh t.
    In her place, there was a large and beautiful white dog standing on the steps. 
    Bonnie automatically put a hand on its head.  “Good boy, good boy,” she murmured vaguely.
    Oh, my God, oh, my God! she was thinking.  I sleepwalked!  I really did it!  In my nightgown!  I’ve got to get back to my room.
    Meredith is going to be furious.
    Bonnie was still looking at herself in bewilderment.  It was so cold .  The wind made it even colder, slicing through her thin nightgown as if it wasn’t there.  How could she not have felt that?  How could she have walked barefoot all this way and never felt the concrete? 
    But there was no point in standing here any longer and wondering.  Other people were bound to be up and around campus.  They might see her at any minute.  In her nightgown!
    This horrific thought was enough to get her moving, her face hot with embarrassment.  Slowly, wincing as she placed each foot on the ground, Bonnie went down the steps.  The dog followed her, and she felt subtly comforted by its presence. 
    No wonder I dreamed you were Meredith, she thought, examining the dog while walking.  It was a gorgeous animal, with pure white fur and golden eyes.  It had a lot of fur around its face and neck and very long legs with enormous feet.  Its tail jutted out like a horizontal brushstroke.  It didn’t wag, even when Bonnie petted it, but it did hold still and look vaguely pleased, tongue lolling.
    It looked like an Alaskan Husky.  A cousin of hers had owned an Alaskan Husky, and it had been as thickly furred as this dog, although it hadn’t been as beautifully big and white.
    “Who do you belong to?” Bonnie asked conversationally as she hurried along, uncrossing her arm from her chest to pet it again. “You don’t have a collar.”
    The dog glanced up at her, as if listening for a word like “walk ies” or “dinner.”  Bonnie suddenly found herself intensely and specifically glad to have him as a companion.  She was terrified of meeting someone who would laugh at her, or worse.  What if it was a guy?  There was no way to hide; she didn’t dare leave the