Someone Hit the Mute Button

Chapter Ten- The Nightmare Before Confrontation

Chapter Nine- The Nightmare Before Confrontation

     I was shaken awake, a nightmare I had often been plagued with being the cause.

     I forced my eyes open, and when my vision had cleared enough for me to be able to see in the dark, I realized that we were all asleep in the living room. I had fallen asleep on the chair, Eli on the couch, and Gwen and Dustin on the floor. 

     I glanced around the room and saw Dustin, his face and arms buried in his pillow. At first I thought he was still asleep, but I soon realized that his stomach was rising and falling rapidly and his entire body was covered in sweat. I panicked almost instantly.

     I sat up and tip-toed over to him. I tapped his shoulder, and his head shot up with a sharp intake of breath. He looked at me like he was absolutely petrified, and I watched his face relax a few short moments later.

     "Oh, it's you Kiddo," Dustin sighed, turning his head away from me and letting it fall back on the pillow. He took another deep breath, and you could hear it shake so well I thought I'd imagined it.

     I looked to my left and saw Dustin's cellphone sitting right next to him, and I grabbed it without a second thought. 

     "You okay?" I typed, tapping him on the shoulder once more. By this time, I had sat up and I was sitting next to him, my legs crossed Indian-style.

     He glanced at the screen and nearly growled the word, "Fine."

     "Liar," I typed this time, and this time, he looked at me like he wanted to kill me.

     "Go back to sleep, Annalise."

     That word. That one word, and I knew that he was absolutely not okay. If he called me anything other than 'Kiddo', there was an issue.

     "Not until you tell me what the hell is freaking you out," I wrote, and he stared at the screen with the same daggers he had shot me.

     "What?" He asked, his voice rising by the moment. "Are we going to talk about our feelings now? Thanks, but no thanks."

     I tipped my head towards the kitchen and stood, grabbing him by his ear and dragging him along with me. I took him to the far end of the kitchen before I let go of his ear.

      "Ow!" He yelled when I finally let go. "What the hell was that for?"

     "For being an ass. Now tell me."

     "It's none of your business," He snapped.

     "You helped me when I needed it," I wrote, my eyes downcast and my head hanging low. "The least I can do it return the favor."

     "I did that because I wanted to," He muttered, turning away again. "I don't want to do this."

     Once again, I reached towards him, but this time it was to trace the scar he had next to his right eye. I felt his muscles tense under my hand, and though there was a long silent moment, he finally nodded. "Yes," He whispered, answering the question I hadn't even asked.

     I sighed and thought for a long moment, wondering just what could have been bothering him this badly. Whatever it was, it was sccaring me already.

     I kissed his temple quickly, something I remembered him doing for me, and I felt him relax with a heavy sigh. He turned his head to look at me, and I smiled softly back at him.

     When he opened his mouth to speak, I knew right away that he was a different kind of upset. We had grown pretty close over these past few weeks, and he was generally upbeat or excited about something, so it was strange to see him like this. My eyes softened as I waited for him to say something.