Emerson and Spencer

chapter seven

They set sail, and Emerson was noticeably more cautious. She always held onto something now, be it a rail or rope, but usually Spencer. Spencer was also more careful with his skippering, resulting in a slow, meandering path. That night, neither could sleep.

When it got dark, Emerson began shaking. The slightest tremor of the boat unleashed a wave of fear in her mind. Her breathing was shallow and her mind was foggy, unable to hold onto a single thought. She was terrified. She climbed above deck, looking for Spencer, only to see him sitting there, staring at the stars.

"Spence, I can't sleep." She whispered. "Spence, I'm scared."

"It's ok. Here." Emerson sat beside him, her head on his lap.

"I am too. But it's going to be ok. Everything's gonna be alright. I promise." And that became the only place Emerson felt safe. In Spencer's arms, sheltered from the world.

Emerson dreamed. In her dream, she was sailing. On a boat, by herself. The water was calm, but then a powerboat, driven by Trev, caused huge waves that knocked the boat around. Then hundreds of jellyfish and whales appeared, rocking the boat around further. The whales leaped out of the water, onto the boat. And then the boat started sinking, and she was climbing up the mast, and she saw Spencer in the distance, surrounded by the jellyfish. She was about to dive in, but the jellyfish got to him first. She was screaming, and she lost grip onto the mast, and fell into the ocean, greeted by poisonous tentacles.

Emerson woke to her own shreiks. Her breathing was short and stuttered, catching on the end of every other breath. She seemed to be wearing a look of intense terror. She turned to Spencer, who appeared to have been trying to console her in her sleep.

"Are you okay?" Spencer asked.

"Bad dream. What happened?" She asked.

"You were sleeping, and then you started thrashing and screaming. Was really worried about you."

"It's okay now. Just a nightmare."

Spencer raised his eyebrows. Her screaming did warrant some kind of explanation.

"Dreamt that it all happened again. Except this time, you didn't make it. And now I know you're here, I'm alright. Get some sleep, Spence." He still didn't want to leave Emerson. And so they stayed there, Emerson frequently waking up, screaming, and Spencer consoling and calming her down until she fell back into troubled sleep.