Chasing Courtney

Chapter Thirteen

I gasped and I felt Lauren's hand squeeze mine. Did someone break into the house? Oh god, we're dead! I thought in terror. I tried to see the suspicious figure's face. It was far too dark, but I could see he was sitting at the kitchen table, with a bottle in his dark hand. Drunk. We're really dead now!

I took a deep breath and said as boldly as I could, "W-who's there?" (I was terrified, so I couldn't be that bold).

"It's just Benn. Chill." I suddenly recognized my brother's voice. I sighed in relief and Lauren released my hand from her death grip. I had to shake it out a little before I had feeling in it again. It was stupid of me not to think that it was Bennett. He had terrible night terrors, due to Mom's disappearance and the events following it. He wouldn't be able to fall back asleep, so he would come to the kitchen and get something to eat. 

"Oh, sorry Benn...w-we couldn't sleep either." Lauren said, trying recover from the incident. If there's one thing that Lauren hates, it's being embarrassed.

"Yeah...I had another nightmare." he said rather reluctantly. My eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness.

"About what?" I asked.

 Bennett scratched his head and looked at the table. "It was the night Courtney left. Except it wasn't Courtney," his dark brown eyes flashed with terror as he looked at me, "it was you."

"Oh." I said, slightly interested and slightly terrified.

"I chased after you, and no matter how loud I yelled, you kept on going. Going and going and going....then I saw mom. She hopped out of nowhere and took you. She saw me, and she tried to take me too. She told me that I was always her favorite and that she wanted me to come with her. I tried to protect you and get you away from her. But she kidnapped me too." He shuddered a bit. "What do you think it could mean?"

I shrug. I was a little disturbed by his dream, too. "Well, anyway Benn, you should probably go back to bed." 

"Why?" he asked.

I tried to think of a reason. Something, anything! Benn wasn't stupid, so it'd be hard to trick him. "Uh...isn't tomorrow the day you're going to Harvard camp?" I asked. I remember Sloane mentioning it once or twice. I remember she said June something, hopefully tommorrow.

"No, that's in two days." he told me, taking a sip from the bottle (turns out it was beer). So close! I looked at Lauren, hoping her wittiness could help us right now.

"Well in any case, I probably should go back to my room. Need to get into a routine." Benn sighed as he got up from the table. He scratched his back. "Plus Sloane is gonna kill me if she knows I was drinking." he added under his breath. I snorted. If there was anything Sloane hated more than us, it was beer. My dad has to sneak it into the house for football parties and what not. 

"Wait Benn!" I said apruptly (and a bit too loudly).

"What?" he turned around. I ran up to him and gave him a huge hug. This could be the last time I see him for weeks. The thought makes tears swim in my eyes. He seems startled, but accepts my hug. "What was that for?" he asked, with a trace of laughter in his voice.

Lauren cleared her throat, indicating that we best be going. I smiled to myself, but said aloud, "Oh nothing."

An hour later, we were having coffee at the Worcester Private Airport. The sun was rising over the jet runway. Since there were no jets there, it was a beautiful sight.

"Good morning, girls." Alana said. I could tell that she was trying to be enthusiastic and perky, but just one look in her hazel eyes showed how exhausted she was. There were dark circles under her eyes, her hair was uncombed and her breath smelled as if she hadn't brushed her teeth this morning. She had probably been up since two or three in the morning. A sudden pang of sympathy rushed through me. 

"Good morning, Alana!" Lauren smiled.

"Thank you so much for flying us so early!" I said with as much enthusiasm as possible.

"Of course!" Alana yawned. "We might take a gas stop halfway to our destination if that's alright." 

"Totally."

"So are you ready?" Alana asked, taking a sip of coffee.

Was I ready? I looked out on the horizon. In less than an hour, I would be leaving everything I knew behind. The beautiful, pink-ish orange sunrise seemed promising, but a lot of promises had been broken in my lifetime. I looked around me, and then stopped at Lauren. Her eyes twinkled and her smile reassured me. Everything was going to be okay. "Yes. We're ready."

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Author's Note: it feels so nice to be back! haha i havent had any time at all lately, so being able to update is great! please comment, like, maybe even.....fan? thanks! lovelovelove, cmractingstar