Summer Nightmares

Fourteen

Miles Dunne

"I'm sorry, Dahlia. I'll tell dad you went missing, okay?"

That was the last thing we heard and then it was silence for I don't know how long. All I could hear was Sydney's heavy breathing next to mine. Thirty minutes passed and it felt like a century until I finally opened the door a little and peeked outside to see no one. "I think he's gone."

"What do you think just happened?" Sydney asked me as she stepped outside without a noise. "Did we just encounter a figh- Jesus Freaking Christ!"

I looked to where she was pointing. The newspaper had drops of blood and it all made sense to me now. Someone had killed this girl named Dahlia. Who was Dahlia?

"Should we tell someone about this?" I whispered, scared and panicked.

Why did I even have to come here with Sydney?

Why didn't I just stay in the cabin?

Why?

"I- we should leave. What if he's coming back to wipe the blood off of here?" Sydney breathed heavily. "He won't leave it out here for everyone to see, right?"

"Yeah- we better get out of here first." I said, trying to get a hold of my legs because they were giving up.

We didn't say a word to anyone, mostly because when we got back Regina and Kai were already asleep and there was not much to say to each other or maybe we were scared.

We were scared.

Dahlia. I wish it didn't happen to you. I wish I'd never come here. I wish I'd never met Sydney. I wish I'd never sneaked out with her.

I wished a lot.

The next morning when Kai pulled open the curtains, I didn't hesitate. I didn't say a word. Why would I?

I couldn't sleep the whole night. My mind led back to the murderer's voice again and again as if it were a record that just wouldn't stop playing.

"You good, Miles?" Kai asked, looking at me, his head right above mine.

"Yeah, of course, I mean- why won't I be?" I stuttered enough for him to know I was not, I guess. "Why'd you ask?"

"You didn't yell at me and you still haven't bragged about how you got our phones back," he said and his suspicious eyes hovered over me. "Miguel's going to be here in 5 minutes so you better get up already!"

He walked out of the cabin and I jumped out of my bed. The first thing I did was I looked for Sydney. I bet she wasn't feeling any better than me after last night's nightmare.

I wasn't.

I was alone in the cabin. Loneliness scared me. And after last night? I could've passed out if Miguel hadn't come inside and scolded me for not being outside on time.

"Miles Dunne! I can't wait for you every morning- woah!"

I hugged Miguel and he got a good amount of shock. I was embarrassed but I was scared too. Fear always took over embarrassment.

"Kid, are you alright?" Miguel asked. That was the first time I had heard Miguel being kind and soft and calm. It felt nice to finally have the one person who basically wanted to kill me, talk nice to me.

"I- uh...," I struggled to find a genuine answer to his question when Sydney interrupted me saying, "He had a hard time sleeping last night after a nightmare, nothing much to worry about!"

Nothing much to worry about, right?

"I was thinking about taking you kids in the forest...There are so many things to see," Miguel seemed excited, "I can't wait to show it to you guys!"

"But- you all have to promise us that you won't get in trouble, okay?" Emily said and made us promise her that we really won't. "Ms. Warren's going to kill us- she's had enough already," She sighed and looked at Miguel who nodded seriously at her and then at us.

The forest was cold as always and I had already had enough of it so I decided to pass. "I think I'll have to pass. I couldn't sleep last night and I can barely stand right now...my whole body hurts. I can, right?"

Miguel and Emily looked at me with suspicious eyes for a minute or two which felt like a goddamn hour-long stare.

"Fine, but no more trouble, okay?"

"I promise." I crossed my heart.

I said a little bye to them and turned around to go back to the cabin when Sydney yelled my name. I turned around to see her coming back, running to me, and looked at her confused.

"What are you doing here?" I asked when she had stood next to me and was breathing heavily from all that running.

"I could freaking close my eyes last night and I seriously needed to talk to you about- everything! And I was going to, until you decided to pass and I came back, told them I was- I lied and whatever," she was still breathing heavily. "We should probably go inside."

We didn't say anything to each other for another five minutes after we were inside the cabin. Sydney was lying on her bed, tired and scared, facing up to the ceiling while I sat beside her fidgeting.

"Do you think he knows we were there?" She asked after some time and I flinched at the sound of her voice.

"I hope not. I can't say, no-

"Probably not." I replied, carelessly. "We should tell someone about it." I felt bad for Dahlia. Whoever she was, she was a person. She was hurt. She was murdered.

"What if he finds out we knew? I think we should keep our mouths shut."

I didn't like her reply but she had a point. We could get in trouble and even die.

"Then, why did you come back?" I asked, lost in my own thoughts. Lost enough to not think about what I said was not the most welcoming thing I had ever said to a girl.

"I don't know," she shrugged her shoulders. That was not what she wanted to say. She knew I knew.

"That's a pretty stupid lie, don't you think?" I sighed.

And that's when someone knocked on our cabin's door.