The Truth

Chapter 1

 “Aaralyn. Aaralyn! Wake up! Its okay! You're safe! Wake up!”

I could hear the faint echo of my mother's worried calls as I found myself in the state between sleep and wakefulness. Not again, I thought. I stirred and felt tears running down my cheeks. My throat felt rough as if I had been yelling. And then I remembered it.

I heard a scream and felt fresh pain from the memories. As the scream continued, I really started to wish that whoever was yelling would shut up so I could concentrate, but then I realized that it was coming from me. I looked up then and saw my mother sitting next to me, looking very concerned. As I looked around, I felt like a deer caught in headlights, terrified and completely unsure of what lay in the shadows of my surroundings.

“What was it? What is it? Whats wrong, Aaralyn?” I saw my little brother Destin step in, rubbing his eyes with his little fists, and realized that I was in my own bed, in my room, safe. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief, traces of the horrible images still stuck in my mind. I buried my face in my pillow and cried raw tears, caused by the worst nightmare yet, full of the unbearable pain that I could never escape from.

“Its..it was...its nothing. I'm okay. Just a bad dream.” I reassured them as I tried to hide my horror.

“Do you want to talk about it?” asked my mom, still looking pretty worried. I don't blame her, it is the third time this week that shes been woken by her only daughter's screams in the middle of the night. As the thought crossed my mind, I looked over at my alarm clock. I almost laughed. As if I needed one lately. It was 3:47 am, the exact time at which I had woken everyone in the house without fail for the past three days.

“No. No, I'm fine. Really, it's not a big deal.” I tried again to ease her worries, not succeeding.

“Are you sure? Because if you just don't want to talk to me about it, we can find someone-”

“Mom! I don't need a shrink. I'll be fine. I'm sure it's perfectly normal for people my age to have nightmares sometimes. Now go back to sleep. You too, Destin. It's three in the morning, for crying out loud!” I faked a laugh and attempted to lighten the mood.

“Okay...” My mom left, looking cautious. Destin just looked exhausted. Poor kid. He hadn't had a full night's sleep all week.

I waited about an hour until I was sure that they were asleep, then I got up quietly, walked to the bathroom, grabbed my hairbrush, and tiptoed back to my room across the hall. No use trying to go back to sleep now, every time I closed my eyes, all I could see were the figures from my nightmare. I sat on my bed and started brushing my long, blond hair. Destin thinks it's so weird when I do this, but it helps me think. Destin. I was so worried about him lately. Ever since we had moved here from Cape Cod, he's been having trouble. He's only eight, although he acts so much older, and he's been dragged through so much. He had to deal with the move, and before that...he hardly understood. Maybe it's better that he didn't.

I put down my hairbrush and got out of bed again. Opening the top drawer of my dresser, I groped through countless pieces of paper, forgotten earrings lost long ago, thumbtacks, and other odds and ends until my hand reached what I was looking for. The familiar feel of my tangled earphones and smooth iPod cover. Grabbing it eagerly, I quickly untangled the mess and “plugged myself in”, as my mom would say. I skipped through the pop songs for happy days and sad ones for the misunderstood times, until I finally reached it. The one song that halfway fit me right now.

I sat on the floor with my back against my dresser, not getting back in bed for fear of what sleep could bring. My hands traced the constant circles on my carpet pattern, then wandered under my bed. I always found something interesting under there, even if it wasn't what I was looking for. As my thoughts began to trail off again, I felt it: about an arms length under my bed, buried under papers and board game pieces, the last thing I ever expected to find. The feel of a worn leather book cover crossed paths with my fingers, and my whole body instantly tensed up.