A Family Podcast (english)

Chapter 15

Coulder

With a scream, I jolted awake. Panic-stricken, I switched on my bedside lamp and pressed my back against the wall. I had dreamed of creepy clowns with chainsaws and twisted heads. I quickly pulled the blanket up to my chin and took trembling breaths. It was all Jackson's fault. Because he wanted to watch that stupid horror movie. I hadn't seen much of the film, as I closed my eyes after the first five minutes, but I would never forget the screams.

I wanted to go to Taylor, but that meant getting up, and I just couldn't do it. Summoning all my courage, I retrieved the pepper spray from my nightstand drawer, which Taylor had once hidden there, and clung to it tightly. And then I waited for the daylight to finally return.

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Taylor

I woke up to a dull thud. Tiredly, I rolled to the side, and Callie's arm slipped off my stomach. Just as I was drifting off again, I heard some activity in the kitchen downstairs. With a sigh, I climbed over Callie and sat on the edge of the bed. Sure, I could just stay lying down, but if there was one thing I had learned over the years, it was that checking things out didn't hurt.

Maybe Thea wanted to go out again and was hesitant to wake me up because Callie was there? Or Susan was having trouble sleeping again? Callie mumbled something in her sleep as I got out of bed and left the room.

On my way to the stairs, I noticed that there was a light on in Coulder's room, so I opened the door, feeling puzzled. My younger brother was sleeping upright, the blanket pulled up to his chin, and he had pepper spray in his lap.

What the...? I pushed the door open wider and sat down beside my brother. I gently shook his shoulder.

"Shh, Coulder," I whispered, and he jolted awake, pushing me away in a panic before the sleepy expression on his face disappeared, and he stared at me in alarm.

"Taylor?" he gasped.

"Hey, buddy, it's just me" I soothingly ran my hand through his hair, and Coulder cautiously crawled over to me, snuggling against me.

"What's going on?" I asked, fishing the pepper spray out of his blanket.

"Nothing" he mumbled, and I eyed him skeptically. What had I missed now?

I waved the pepper spray in front of his face as a reminder. "Come on, spill the beans" I urged him.

Killer clowns. Man, my brothers were such idiots. I shook my head and quietly closed Coulder's bedroom door behind me. No wonder he had nightmares. It had taken ages for him to fall back asleep.

I went downstairs to the kitchen, where I found Jackson as expected. What I didn't anticipate was him holding his bleeding hand over the sink.

"How did you manage to do that?" I asked, appalled. Jackson, who apparently hadn't noticed me until then, spun around in alarm. As he stumbled backward, he hit his elbow against the kitchen counter.

"Damn it, Taylor!" He exhaled sharply. "Do you want to scare me to death?"

I tried to suppress the grin, but it didn't work too well. He was genuinely scared. "Sorry" I replied before pointing at his hand. "What did you do?"

"Dropped my cup" he grumbled, holding his hand under the faucet again. That explained the sound that woke me up.

"Why? Were you afraid of a killer clown?" I provocatively asked, and Jackson looked guilty as he glanced up.