Nightmares Never Go Away

Chapter Twenty Five: Bad Dream

(Jayden)

"Do you read to escape here?" I ask bored of the monotony every day of the week. Curious to understand Jordan's interest in reading when I can't pick up a book. I can't focus my energy on something that will remind me I'm in here. I can't experience life but isn't that my fault?

"Isn't that what reading is? To escape life and fall into another world?" he says folding the right corner of his book and placing the book on the table.

"Sorry." I apologize for interrupting his reading.

"For what?" he asks.

"Disturbing you. Stopping you from reading because I decided to ask a dumb question." I reply

"You're not bothering me. Jayden I was done reading for right now anyway. You can only do so much escaping in a day."

"I guess." I haven't done much escaping not even in my dreams.

"The book was getting boring as it is. Plus I already read it before." he places the book on the table.

"Then why read it again?" I look over it noticing it looks familiar. I think I read it for class but I can't remember what it's about.

"I don't know." he shrugs. "Looking outside isn't interesting enough."

"Unless you want to look at the river." I add, despite being away from people and buildings there is a river close by. Not far away and a bridge leading the cars, people who work from here in and out.

"And dozen of birds." he says staring out the window, his hand messing with the worn out book cover.

"Yeah." I reply, lost for words to continue our conversation. What can I say? What is there to say that both of us don't already know?

"I guess it isn't such a bad thing. It's better than being at home." he mumbles, staring out as a flock of birds decide to take off near the tree.

"Why's that?" I ask finding it impossible to believe he would want to be here than at home away from this confined place.

Then again I don't know why he's here than his, 'I just couldn't take it anymore' answer."Doesn't matter." he says as Shawn walks over to us and begins to ask what we're talking about.

Quickly the conversation that was about to go somewhere is cut short. Ended just as I was about to get to know something more about Jordan.

*****

I fall asleep, too easy once I'm in my room and I'm in another dream. Another nightmare trying to wake up. Pounding at the door in my sleep I can't get out of. Messing with the doorknob that's jammed.

I begin to dig my nails into the door, doing anything to get it open. I just need the door to open to escape the dark house I'm terrified of. But I can't.

I start to panic. I don't want to have to face what's behind me. It's not what I want to see.

My hands are bleeding while the pain doesn't faze me. I don't care about pain when I want out. I need to get out of this place before it's too late. "It isn't such a bad thing." he whispers into my ear standing behind me.

"Leave me alone." I try to say out loud but it stays in my head. I can't speak out loud when he's behind me, near me and my body becomes frozen.

I can't move as he continues to patronize me. "Turn around and I'll make all your dreams come true."

No.

"Yes." he reads my thoughts. "Don't you want to escape your life to another world. All you have to do Jayden is turn around and see what I created for you, for us."

I tremble in place as my skin crawls with anixtey. He leans closer and I can feel his hot breath against the side of my face, his mask scratching me as my heart plummets at the feel of his hand touching mine. He turns me around in a quick motion and I face him. Nowhere to go. No one to save me. No one to save Vivian.

*****

"I'm told you had a nightmare last night, one of the nurse's had to wake you up. Do you want to talk about it Jayden?" Doctor Chamberlain asks.

I want to say no. Deny what he's been told by someone else but it's the truth. I had a another nightmare and I couldn't wake up. I couldn't open my eyes to make it stop. It went on and on until someone walked into my room and shook me awake. I had to be calmed down as if I'm a kid needing comfort after a bad dream.

"It was just a dream." I say invisioning the scene in my head. I was being forced to look at her, see Vivian there motionless on the floor covered in blood and I couldn't bring her back to life again.

"About what happened?"

I nod my head staring at the floor in his office as my mind goes back to what happened next. His mask came off and the face I saw wasn't me. It wasn't a blank face either but someone I know. "I saw.."

"You saw what?" he questions studying me as he always does.

"Everything." I say, forgetting to mention the part of the dream where the person under the mask is someone I know.

*~* Sorry again for taking a week to post this. I had wrote a chapter out but then I realized it would become part of a later chapter. Next chapter will be posted Wednesday. :) *~*