The Life Of A Victim

<3 MY WEIRDO <3

As I lay in my hotel bed at night I had the same dream and woke up crying. John was walking from the bathroom and he heard me. He sat by me, not speaking, making me feel comforted again. I fell asleep peacefully, with no nightmares.

I woke up, with his jacket in place of where he was sitting. I looked around for him, and I saw a note on the bathroom door, it said

"Hey tater tot,

I'm running to the store to get some food, if you think of anything, let me know.

Your weirdo,

John."

I smiled at the note, the grin covering half my face. The way he dots his i's and curves his j's make me appreciate the little things he does. I set the note down on the nightstand and ran my fingers through my hair. "Ok, come on Grace," I say to myself, sighing. I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. When I was done, I opened the blinds to let natural light in, but something was off. I looked at the parking lot, and the same girl from my nightmares was standing outside. My heart began to race and I was panicking. My vision was starting to get blurry, then it faded. It was like the time before, I felt and saw nothing.

I woke up in my bed, heavily breathing, I look at the clock, and it read 6:00 am. I look around and John is still asleep in his bed. I got up to get water, and he woke up, "Shoot" I muttered under my breath, he sits up and smiles at me, "Whatcha doin', tater tot?" "Getting water," I shrug, with a cup of water in my hand. I walk over to the nightstand and set the water down. I sit on my bed and he turns to his side to face me. "I'm glad I'm spending time with you, kiddo" I nodded "Yeah, me too, weirdo" He smiled a little and so did I. "Hey, funny question," I asked breaking the silence "Can you sleep at all?" He seemed confused "Yeah, why?" "Well," I started "I keep on having nightmares and they won't go away" He stood up, walked over, and sat by me. He put an arm around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head, "It's going to be okay, kiddo, I promise you" I nodded, trying to reassure myself that it will be okay like he said.

A small part of me worries that it won't. "Can you lay with me, It seems to calm down with you near me?" His face turned to a bright red like a tomato. I did the same. He eventually sat next to me and I rested my head on his chest. His heartbeat gave me comfort and security. "I'm safe" I mumble in his shoulder "Yeah you are, tater tot, you're with me," he said, grinning. I smiled and leaned back into his chest before falling back asleep. When I woke up John was looking at me. "What?" I asked confused. "Nothing, you just talk in your sleep." He said smiling a bit. "What did I say?" I asked. "I don't know." He said rushing to the bathroom blushing.

What did I say in my sleep? I don't remember my dream. Did I say something about John and my crush on him? He eventually came out of the bathroom and asked, "Hey, do you wanna grab some lunch? My treat" He shrugged. I nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like fun" We got our room key and his car key. He drove us to IHOP. The lady at the counter looked like my mom but with longer hair. "How many?" Her cheery voice also reminded me of my Mom. "Two, please," John said, holding up two fingers. After we sat at our table, we ordered our food. I just asked for mac and cheese and a Rootbeer float. He asked for a pancake and a Pepsi. "What did I say in my sleep last night? Please tell me" I asked, sipping my rootbeer float, "I'll tell you in the car." He said. After we ate, he paid for our meals. We went in the car and as soon as the doors were closed, I asked again. "What did I say in my sleep last night?" "You said 'I like John'" I saw him blush and I blushed, too. I wasn't embarrased, I just didn't expect it happening. He leaned closer, our foreheads were touching. he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and said "I like you too, tater tot" he then kissed me, his hand on my cheek and both of my hands were holding his face. The kiss finished and we were both heavily breathing, our foreheads still touching. He said "You have no Idea how long I wanted to do that" I looked at him in the eyes and said "Me, too" We both just smiled at eachother for a little bit, before he drove back to the hotel. For once, I felt complete.