A Nightmare On Elm Street

wake up

(EDITED 23/09/22)

My eyes start to droop shut, then I jerk awake, rattling my head as if it were a radio, drifting off station. I tumble out of bed, turning the television off, before going over to the window and taking a deep breath of the cool night air.

Then, someone pitches out of the dark. "Hi."

"God!" I give a yelp then clamp my hand over my mouth as I recognise Glen, balanced precariously on the rose trellis outside my window.

"I'm sorry. I saw your light was on. I thought I'd see how you were."

I get myself together, barely. "You know, sometimes I wish you didn't live right across the street."

"Will you shut up and let me in. You ever stand on a rose trellis in your bare feet?"

I look over my shoulder to make sure my mother hadn't heard.

"Get inside before somebody sees you."

Glen's already climbing through the window making one hell of a sound.

"Ow!"

"Shh" I whisper shout.

"I hit my head."

"Gotta be quiet. Mom's not even asleep yet."

I close my bedroom door and see Glen planted on my bed. "If you don't mind."

Glen crosses to the chair and plops down. "So. I hear you freaked out in English class today."

There's no maliciousness in his voice, and the familiar frankness is actually comforting to me. "Yeah, I guess I did."

"You haven't slept yet, have you?"

"Not really." I try to smile, but can't fake it very well. 

Glen looks me over. "What did you do to your arm?"

I shrug, trying to keep it casual. "I burned it in English class."

Glen sends me a weird look but doesn't push it further. I gradually take my hand mirror and look into it. "Oh god, I look twenty years old."

I place it down, turning to my boyfriend. "Did you have any weird dreams last night?"

"Slept like a rock." He shrugged.

"Do you believe that people can dream about what's going to happen?"

He leaned back in the chair. "No."

"Do you believe in the Boogey Man?"

"No." He looks down. "Rod killed Tina and you know that."

I smile wearily and think. "I've got a crazy favour to ask you."

"Uh-oh."

"It's nothing hard or anything. I'm gonna go and look for somebody...and I want you to stand like a sort of guard, okay?"

Glen makes the Twilight Zone sound.

"Okay?" I press.

"Okay."

"Now, you can't mess up. A lot might depend on this."

"I won't screw up."

"Okay, turn off the light."

Without another word, he turns off the light.

"Okay, here's what we're gonna do."

"Jesus, it's dark in here."

I smile. "And it's not what you're thinking."

______

I leave my house, still in my pyjamas and start walking through the shadowy streets near my home, listening for the slightest sound. But nothing, not even the dog barking earlier, is there now. I peer into the darkness of lawns and trees behind me.