Let Her Sleep (Dream Walker Chronicles #1)

Chapter 2

Effie had fresh bran muffins and skim milk waiting for them at home.  Knowing she had a package of Ding Dongs stashed in her closet, Cordy took one and gave Effie a smile.  She crumbled it up and flushed it down the toilet as soon as she got to her room.

Noelle had been right about their homework.  Even with Cordy doing most of the work, they were still not done by the time Effie called them down for dinner.  The table was big enough for a banquet and Cordy always felt ridiculous sitting at it, but her father insisted.  She would have preferred to sit at the counter in the kitchen.  Flowers dripped from vases and crystal sparkled in the dimmed lights.

“Effie, I told you this isn’t necessary when dad isn’t here.”  She waved a hand at the elaborate tablescape. 

“I know, but Mr. Jameson wants to make sure you enjoy your meals whether he is here or not.”  Spinning on her heels, she left to bring in the first course.

Cordy grimaced as she spread her napkin across her lap.  “I’d enjoy it a lot better if I didn’t feel as though the President was about to join me.”  Noelle snickered, picking up her napkin as well.

“I like it.  It’s like eating at the best restaurant in town without having to wait months for reservations.”

Cordy stuck out her tongue at her best friend.  Dinner was delicious, as usual.  The braised lamb chops and asparagus were perfect but Cordy still wished for normal food.  The perfectly plated dishes felt more like art than food sometimes.

Noelle left right after dinner, despite not being done with homework.  Cordy shut herself in her room as soon as Noelle was gone.  She just couldn’t stand watching TV downstairs while Effie bustled around cleaning.  She couldn’t count the number of times she’d attempted to help Effie only to be scolded.  After that, she’d requested her own TV for her room, promising it wouldn’t interfere with her grades.  The next weekend an entire media system had been installed in a room adjacent hers, a brand new door in the wall so she wouldn’t even have to leave her room to use it.  It was over the top but that’s just how her father was.  Her therapist said it was because he felt guilty about his wife’s tragic death, like it took a professional to see that.

Curled up on her favorite chair, she slowly flipped through the seemingly thousand channels, finally settling on an “I Love Lucy” marathon.  She watched until her eyelids drooped, hoping she would be tired enough to sleep through the night.  No such luck.

Hours later, she woke, gasping, her mother’s dead eyes still burned in the back of her brain.  This went on for the rest of the week.  Each night she would wake up just as she realized her mother was dead.  She debated taking her meds again but Noelle kept assuring her she was just having withdrawals.    

Noelle came home from school with Cordy on Friday afternoon, sure she would be able to help the nightmares, armed with all the accoutrements she felt absolutely necessary for an awesome sleepover.

“You just need someone to keep you company.  Anyone could get bad dreams sleeping in this huge house, alone, all the time.  You watch, I bet you’ll be fine tonight.”  Her voice was confident and Cordy almost believed her as she lined up several bottles of cheap nail polish.  Cordy didn’t mention the drawer full of salon polish she had in the bathroom…there was no need to rub it in.  After several romantic comedies,  since Noelle had insisted that the old monster movies Cordy loved would only fuel the nightmares, they crashed.

Her dreams started off normal enough, but halfway through her journey through space with the crew of the Enterprise, she was speeding along the dark highway again.  Her body automatically tensed, waiting for the inevitable panic to rise within.  It didn’t.  Off balance from the lack of reaction she examined her surroundings.  They were the same as always.  Glancing down to the floorboard, Cordy realized what was different: her size 7 feet were obviously too big for her seven year-old self.  Her eyes moved up her legs and was strangely unsurprised to see the pajama bottoms she’d put on before bed.  Turning her focus back to the road in front of them, she waited impassively for the man to show up and her mom to crash.  Though her heart sped up a little with the knowledge of what was to come, she found it no where near as bad as usual.