Heart of Georgia

Chapter 6

*quick note* The pic on the side is a model named Renato Ferreira. He is EXACTLY how I picture Luke, except I had to add the blue eyes in that pic lol. Ok, read on :)

Chapter 6 ~

It was a nightmare.

I was running through empty city streets, heart pounding with fear. I heard a distant, dark laugh. Ted. He seemed to be everywhere and nowhere. I could tell he was getting closer, but I had no idea where he was. I couldn't get my legs to move any faster; it was like trying to run in water. I turned around a corner and screeched to a halt when I saw Ted standing directly in front of me, an insane grin plastered on his face. Icy fear trickled through my veins. Seeing his face was terrifying in its own. I wheeled around to run away but stopped when I saw my mother walking towards me. Her eyes were empty, black pits. I could only stand there frozen in terror. She began to get closer, and then clones of her began to materialize out of nowhere, all slowly coming towards me. I started to become aware that it was a dream but I couldn't force myself to wake up. As the versions of my mother started to close in on me, I became paralyzed. My muscles wouldn't respond. I tried to thrash, to yell, but I couldn't move. Panic seized my body. The hands started to grab me. Move, move, I frantically told myself. Bodies- bodies pressing into me, suffocating me. I had to wake up, I had to wake up. I forced myself to take a deep breath and calm my mind. Then I gathered all my strength and screamed.

I jerked awake violently, drenched in sweat. I shot up into a sitting position, my heart pounding in my ears. I looked around the room frantically, and once I realized I was no longer in a nightmare, my rapid breath began to calm. I was awake, but the dream clung to me like a suffocating blanket.

My dad came bursting into the room, eyes wide with panic. I realized that I probably should have warned him about the nightmares. They almost always ended in screaming. I had just figured that getting out of the city and leaving my old life behind would make them stop, but I guess I was wrong.

"What's happened? What's wrong?" he asked, eyes searching around the room.

"It's fine. I was just having a dream," I said, casting my eyes downward. I was suddenly wary. I was afraid that he would find out what my dream was about, even though that was impossible. God knows what he would think if he knew.  If he had any idea of the things that haunted me every day, I was certain he would send me packing.

He visibly relaxed. Satisfied that there wasn't an intruder, he began to walk out of the room. Then he paused and turned around to look at me. "Does this... does it happen a lot?" he asked. It was obvious that it made him uncomfortable. I didn't blame him. He wasn't equipped to deal with unstable teenage girls.

"Um, yeah sometimes. But it's been getting better," I said quietly, desperately hoping he wouldn't pry about it. I wasn't able to talk about my bad experiences. I simply couldn't handle it.

"Oh, okay. Well goodnight," he said.

"Night," I replied as he walked out and shut my door.

I laid back down into my bed, but I knew there would be no dozing off. My subconcious would keep me wide awake, away from the dark, swirling abyss of sleep where my memories waited to manifest into nightmares. 

I laid in bed for a long time, staring into the blackness of my room. It could have been hours before I eventually fell unconscious. 

I awoke to the sound of pounding on my door. The unwelcome noise grated on my drowsy mind. 

"What?" I groaned as I buried my face in my pillow. I tried to fall back asleep. My limbs felt like they were made of iron. I was exhausted.

Suddenly the covers were ripped off of me. The rush of cool air on my exposed skin sent goose bumps up my body. I groaned and hid my head beneath my pillow. "Screw off, I'm trying to sleep," I said, my voice muffled by the pillow.