Invisible

Invisible Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Nightmares

(Olivia)

Screaming wakes me from an already troubled sleep. The sound of Mason’s voice calling out in fear and pain jolts me out of bed and sends me running down the hall. Pushing through his door, the yelling doubles in volume. Mason lays on the bed thrashing. I hurry over to him, unfortunately all too familiar with this routine.

“Mason,” I call out as loudly as I dare. I don’t want to wake the rest of the house. “Mason!”

With his eyes squeezed shut, he continues to thrash and mumble words I can’t pick out of the chaos. I try calling his name several more times, but he won’t respond. Worry begins building in my heart. It’s never been this hard to wake him before. With all the new revelations and stress he’s had to deal with today, I am concerned this is more than just nightmares.

Dodging his flailing arms, I reach in and grip his shoulder hard. My plan was to give him a quick shake, but before I have the chance, Mason’s eyes snap open wide and terrified. His whole body freezes, his eyes not seeing anything but the horrible memories I know are replaying in his mind.

“Mason,” I whisper. My fingers tighten on his shoulder, but I am afraid to move him. “Mason,” I try again.

When his whole body starts shaking, I panic.

“Mason. Mason! Wake up. Please, you’re scaring me!” I grab his other shoulder and hold on tight as he continues to shake. I am half a second away from calling out for my dad when Mason suddenly wakes up.

For a moment he seems confused, then his eyes find mine and his arms practically strangle me as he yanks me into his lap. His face is buried in my hair, hiding from everything before I can even react.

“Ollie,” he whispers. “Ollie, you’re here. Don’t leave, Ollie. Don’t leave.”

The torture in his voice breaks my heart. My arms tighten around him. “I’m not going anywhere, Mason.”

We hold each other until Mason’s body stops trembling, until my heartbeat climbs the ladder back down from rabbit-speed to normal. Even once the night no longer feels like it is collapsing in on us, we stay in each other’s arms. I am afraid to let go. The irrational fear that the nightmares will start again if we slip apart keeps me from doing anything. I don’t know if Mason feels the same fear, but he makes no move to push me aside either.

Time is indeterminable in this moment. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is Mason.

“Thank you,” Mason whispers in the darkness. “Thank you for staying with me.”

Gently, I push back just enough so we can see each other. “Are you okay now?”

There is indecision in his eyes before finally saying, “Yeah, I guess.”

“Liar,” I say. I start to stand up, but Mason latches onto my arm before I can get more than a few inches away, proving my point. Instead of saying so, I press my hand against his cheek. “Hey, I’m not going anywhere. I’m just moving so I can rub your shoulders. It always helps you calm down after a nightmare, so scoot up.”

Mason does as he is told and I settle on the bed behind him. I have to stack a couple of pillows beneath me so I can comfortably reach his shoulders, but as soon as my fingers start kneading away at his knotted up muscles, I hear him sigh in relief. As I work at his stress, my mind works at puzzling out tonight’s odd events.