They Don't Know (BOOK TWO)

Chapter 14

The first thing Malcolm does when he gets out of bed in the morning is trip over something laying on his floor.

"What the hell?" He mutters, rubbing the sleep out his eyes. He blinks then looks down at the lumpy pile of blankets on the floor and the crooked purple pillow. He nudges the blankets with his toe. "Sevyn?"

After a few more nudges Sevyn begins to stir then slowly wake up. She pokes her head out from under the blankets and yawns, stretching her limbs out all over the place. She opens her eyes and finds Malcolm staring at her confused.

"What are you doing in here? When did you even get in here?" He asks glancing at the time that reads 6:00 am,

Sevyn sits up and shrugs. "Late last night, probably like eleven." She says. "I had a nightmare and got scared."

Malcolm cracks a smile, "Aren't you a little big to be scared of a bad dream?"

"This one was different Malcolm. It was about mom and dad and Jackson and Keenan. I woke up sweating and crying, that's how realistic the stupid dream was." She tells him and his smile fades. "These nightmares keep happening and I just wish they'd stop!"

Malcolm watches the frustration on his little sisters face and feels bad for her. He holds out his hand and helps her off the floor. "Tell me about the dream."

Sevyn sits on his bed with her arms and legs crossed staring at the wall. She tells him everything about her dream. The grey skies, the dark water, their dad pushing their mom and then her off the cliff, Jackson saving her then transforming into Keenan, the way he physically hurt her until she passed out. Every detail gives her goosebumps and she deeply wishes she hadnt remembered the dream at all.

Malcolm listens to her dream in awe. The dream was so detailed like it was a memory of a book instead of a nightmare. Usually he gets crazy dreams like that when he eats junk food before bed. "Maybe the dreams are caused by what you eat before going to bed." He tells her. "Try drinking water before bed, it's good for the brain."

Sevyn agrees with him and decides she'll start drinking a cup of water before bed every night.

For the rest of the week Sevyn does her nightly cup of water routine before bed, but it doesn't help. The nightmares continue to bother her sleep and she finds herself either heading to Malcolm or Ty's room in the middle of the night. Even her daily life is starting to be affected.

Jackson would grab her around the waist and she would shriek and violently push him off. Sometimes she would stare at him and think about how his face would morph into Keenan's in her dreams. She would shudder and tear her eyes away from him. Sevyn has started to distance herself more and more from Jackson because of the horrible dreams she's been having. The only reason she hasn't told him about them is because she knows he'll tell her that he's not Keenan and that he would never hurt her. Sevyn knows this but for some reason she's still cautious around him.

"Sevyn are you even listening to me?" Jackson asks her as they stand by her locker.

"Jackson I heard you." She responds exasperatedly.

"Then why aren't you answering me?" He asks. "Why have you been acting so strangely lately?"

Sevyn sighs and continues to get her binders for next period. "I don't know."

"You on your period?" He wonders, earning a sharp look from Sevyn. She narrows her eyes at him and clenches the binders in her hand.

"You know what? Yes Jackson, I am. So do me a favor and try not to piss me off!" She snaps, slamming the locker closed and whirling around to face him. "Can't you give me some space?"