Insanity (Sequel To Madness)

A Dream

On the way back, our whole group is silent until we reach the front door which Shane opens for us.
"I don't think that was a good idea, Shane. That guys has some serious anger, and obviously wanted to talk to you more." Mark comments as we all enter the home and close the door behind us.
"I wasn't about to let him insult Violet in front of all of us, because that is what he was about to do. That man follows an old mindset, where women don't get involved in business and don't have rights. That's why he treated his wife and daughter the way he did." Shane explains as he adjusts his shirt and tie to a more casual look than the business look he had before.
"Shane, I can handle myself, you know that I can." I mumble as I slip out of my heals and fall onto the couch in the main living room.
"Yes, but can everyone else? Everyone at the table is one of your friends, Violet, and eventually someone would have said something to him and he would have been even more pissed off than he already is." Shane declares as he falls on the couch next to me.
"They know when to shut up, and I would have said something before any of them would have." I tell him, crossing my arms.
"Violet, don't be rude to me when the whole reason we left was because I was trying to protect you." Shane groans in annoyance and crosses his arms as well.
"And I'm telling you that I don't need to be protected." I tell him coldly while I glance at Mark and then share down at the floor. Suddenly I hear Maddie start giggling and then Emmet put a finger over her lips and she stops.
"What's so funny?" I question, looking up at her in confusion.
"You guys argue like a married couple." Maddie giggles while smiling brightly. I roll my eyes and chuckle softly at her comment.
"Well, we are a married couple." Shane says in a hushed tone.
"In a way, yeah." I agree, glancing at Shane and meeting his gaze for only a moment before I look away.
"I'm going in my room, if you need me, that's where you'll find me." Shane states as he gets up from the sofa and walks down the hall to our shared room.
"And you were saying Catherine makes your blood boil?" Maddie asks me sarcastically with a smirk.
"Very funny..." I mumble sarcastically while rolling my eyes again.
"What did Catherine do?" Mark chuckles while he lazily falls onto the couch and lays his head on my lap. I play with his hair between my fingers and giggle quietly.
"She was eyeing you and it made me mad that I couldn't yell at her and kiss you right in front of her." I say casually while I continue playing with Mark's hair. Mark laughs and crosses his ankles at the bottom of the couch.
"I never saw you as the jealous type..." Mark mumbles with a few more laughs escaping his lips.
"Well I am when it comes to you." I say as I lean down and kiss his cheek softly. ​I lean back into the couch and continue running my fingers through his hair. 
"I hate this dress. Emmet, we should relax and get rid of these fancy clothes. They look nice, but don't suit you or me, babe." Maddie says with a small giggle. I smile at her comment and hear both her and Emmet walk down the echo-like halls near the bedrooms.
"Mark, are you going to stay there for a while?" Wade questions in a kind voice.
"Yeah, I feel like relaxing with my girl after that train wreck of a dinner." Mark chuckles which causes me to smile to myself and fold his hair between my fingers playfully.
"You do that." Wade says as he and Bob both exit the main living room and go back to their rooms. 
"This is nice..." Mark whispers while he glances up at me with his sleepy looking eyes.
"It almost seems like nothing wrong happened today..." I chuckle softly and close my eyes while I lean further back into the couch, allowing myself to get engulfed in the warm, soft fabric.I let my limbs go limp as I fall asleep with Mark in my arms and the only sound of our breathing mixing to a harmony which puts me to sleep almost instantly. 

I suddenly open my eyes and I'm back in the main compound that I had been living in before everything went wrong. The streets are bare, as they were last time I saw them, and there is a clear blood trail on the ground. Out of curiosity, I follow the blood through the streets until I suddenly stop, realizing what I was doing. Only as I walk up the steps of my old home do I realize whose blood I had been following all this time. Jack. Just his name makes my hands start shaking nervously and hitches my breath slightly. I somehow get the sudden courage to open the front door and push it open. On the floor is a thicker and darker end of the trail of blood. Jack stands in front of the door with blood dripping down his forehead, down his cheek and drips in a steady pace onto the floor.
"Jack?" I question nervously with my voice shaking almost as much as my hands do now. He nods slowly and smiles at me, extending his arms to me and pulling me towards him. He hugs me tightly and rests his head on my shoulder just like he always used to. I feel the dark red, hot, sticky blood drip on my face and clothes and I begin to sob while holding onto Jack tightly.
"I love you, I never stopped loving you..." I whisper through my sobs.
"You have to stop... You have to let me go, Violet." Jack says in his thick, Irish accent.
"I can't let go, I never want to let go." I argue while shaking my head and getting more blood smeared all over my face more than before.
"You have to, in order for your life to continue. I mean, that's how you got over your daughters death. You just forgot about her, just like you will forget about me and move on with your life." Jack whispers in that soothing voice of his.
"No! I will never forget you, Jack! Please, just don't leave me again, I have missed you too much." I cry into his shoulder and grab onto his dirty shirt with my fist.
"I missed you too. But you have to let me go, and then you'll be happy again." Jack tells me. He backs up slightly and leans down so that his face is level with mine. 
"I love you, Violet Lancaster, and I probably always will, but I'm dead. I can't be with you anymore, not until you're dead too." Jack tells me as a tear slips from his eye and mixes with his blood as it falls down his cheek.
"Then I'll die, I need you again, Jack." I sob to him, but he just shakes his head.
"No. You live a happy, long life with everyone else. I'll be mad if I see you guys again too soon, since you can't be an idiot and die so soon like I did." Jack smiles at me and presses his hand on my temple.
"I want to see you and be with you all over again, I would die for that." I admit in a whisper. Jack shakes his head again and kisses my cheek lovingly.
"You live a long, happy life, and then when you come back here with me, you tell me all about it. I wanna know whose ass you kicked, who you kissed, who you snap at, I want to know about it all when you get here. You have to live a long life and tell me all the stories you'll have then." Jack tells me with his bright smile on his face, but tears falling down his cheeks every second.
"Okay..." I breath in deeply and nod slowly while my hands shake on Jack's arms that I hold onto.
"I'll look forward to hearing all about it, and being with you again." Jack whispers while smiling at me.
"I'll miss you..." I whisper as more of my tears start to drip from my eyes again and down my cheeks. Jack wipes them away and kisses my lips just like he used to.
"I'll be waiting for you..." He whispers.

I wake up with a jolt and sit upright on the couch. Mark sits up too and looks at me with concern in his eyes.
"What's wrong?" He asks while cupping my face with his hands.
"Nothing, it was just a dream..." I mumble, avoiding his eyes. Because, deep inside, I think I knew that I didn't just talk to anyone or a figment of my imagination in that dream. It was real. I had just talked to Jack, and even after he's dead, I made a promise to him.