Fifty Shades of Dove and Grenade

Realization

That night, another bad dream hung over my head like a chandelier.
This time, I witnessed Danny holding a gun pointed at Kate.
I feel scared witnessing this, I have to do something!
"Danny!" I shout.
His neck snapped backwards to stare at me "Yes, Matty?" He smiled evilly.
"Why are you trying to shoot her?"
"She shot you, didn't she?"
"What?!"
"Stare at your stomach."
I looked down, and I saw a bullet hole the size of the moon. I bled over twenty gallons of blood, but somehow I'm still alive. Then again, this is a dream.
"Kate, did you do this?" I asked staring into her scared blue eyes.
"I did, and I regret it more than anything. I'm so sorry!" She began crying "I've been a downright bitch this whole time. I don't deserve to live. Kill me, Danny."
"If you insist." Danny sniggered, his eyes burning.
"NO!!!" I screamed as the bullet released from the gun, spinning in slow motion towards her fear-flooded eyes.
I woke up panting, and drowning in sweat. It takes a few minutes for me to calm down. Just to be sure it was a dream, I look down at my stomach. There's no bullet hole; so it really was just a dream. I laid down on my pillow, it was wet. My face also feels wet, I think I was crying.
I glance over at the clock. It's only 2:00 in the morning?! I thought it was a lot later. I still feel very tired, as if I ran a triathlon.
The spell of the nightmare still keeps me awake. So, I grab a pack of cigarettes, and go outside.
I'm careful to avoid making any noises, I don't want to wake Allissa or George.
When I manage to reach the outdoors, I'm surprised to see George outside smoking and staring at the stars.
He notices me "Matt, come sit by me."
So I do.
"What're you doing out here?" He asks, taking a long drag on his cigarette. Then, coughing loudly.
"I-I had another nightmare." I respond as he lights a cigarette and hands it to me. "Thanks. I just came out here to try to forget about it."
"Before you forget, what was it about?" He asks calmly.
I explain it to him in the best quality I can. He puffs smoke as his eyes widen at everything I say.
When I finish talking, his arms wrap around me like a blanket, and he whispers "That must've really sucked. I understand the meaning of each part of the dream, but I don't get where Danny fits into it."
"Neither do I." I respond.
Afterwards, neither of us say anything. We smoke and stare at the stars.
Finally, after ten minutes of silence, he asks "Remember the night you proposed to Kate?"
"Yeah," I reply "What about it?"
"That night, she told me about-about...well you know what I'm talking about."
"Yea, I wondered what you were talking about."
"Charlie really does feel bad about this." He stared sadly into my eyes. "He told me to tell you, that he feels so bad for how he and Kate handled this with you. He actually think that you'd take better care of Allissa than him."
"Really?" I ask curiously. Though, I'm not sure if he's lying or not, but I know if Charlie would tell anyone the truth, it would be Johnny.
"Yes, it's true. I could tell it broke his heart to say the words: 'I've already started off as a crappy father. I think Matty could raise her better than I ever will.'"
"He-he said that? I didn't think he'd ever say anything like that."
"Yea. You know, Matt, he loves her more than anything. I see the way he holds her in his arms, it's almost as if it was the last time he'd ever hold her. Earlier, he called me, crying and begging for her. He really loves her. Kind of like how I loved Ava..."
He starts crying. I can tell he really misses her. I wrap my arms around him and whisper "It's ok, I know she still loves you, you're her father, after all."
"Thanks, Matty." He sniffles as we hug each other tightly and so close that if I turned the slightest bit, I'd be kissing him.
While hugging, I ponder about what Johnny said. I never heard of Jordan loving someone that much, not even Randi. I now realize, even though he lied and cheated, he loved his mistake. It takes a lot of courage to not abandon a child he made on accident.
"Matt?" George asks after what felt like forever.
"Yea?" I ask in a pensive voice.
"Just wanted to make sure you were still alive." He smiled "We should probably head in, it's already 3:30."
"Ok." I respond as I stare at the stars one last time before following him inside.
It's already 3:30?! Dang! Time flew fast. I'll need my sleep for tomorrow. As I collapse like a beached whale on the couch, I replay my conversation with Johnny like VHS tape. Hugging him felt like I was actually cared about for the first time in a long time. I'm not implying that I like him, I'm just saying that it felt warm and sweet.
I inhale, and I still smell his cologne on me. I felt like I was hugging him again just by the faint smell lurking in the corners of my nose. The scent could lull me to sleep, but my brain ran 95 miles per hour as the words and events stirred in my brain like cake batter. My heart's slow, steady beat is what calmed my raging thoughts. I fell asleep thinking about how I'm going to save Charlie's marriage tomorrow. I hope I'm successful...