“We should probably get some sleep. It’s getting late.” He whispered pulling the wool blanket from my grasp.
“I can’t sleep anymore.” I breathed, by voice a mere muffle because of my head being under a pillow.
“At least try! Tanse, it’s been three nights you need to sleep.”
“But I can’t, Dylan. I try to but then...” I stared at the ceiling as I thought about the hallucinations I’d been having and the weird whispers coming from my window. “I just can’t.” I finished grimly.
“Have you tried counting sheep?” he asked me a hint of teasing in his tone.
“Dylan. I can’t.” I muttered.
“I’ll help you if you want?” I looked back into his deep dark eyes and wondered if he was being real and not kidding. He had almost stopped teasing altogether.
“And how do you propose you do that?”
“I’ll . . .” his mind drifted off for a second before returning, “Think of something. Don’t worry. Are you tired?”
“Very.”
His hands pulled me towards him and he wrapped his arms around my waist, “You need to try, Tanse. You need to close your eyes and think of happy things. Can you do that? Can you think of happy things for me?”
“No.” He looked confused before I added, “But I’ll try. My bed doesn’t feel like a bed. It’s just too. . .” I tried to think of the word.
“Different.” He finished for me. “Why don’t you sleep on the couch? And I’ll sleep on the arm chair. Its way more uncomfortable but it might feel a tad more homely.”
“That’s not fair to you. I’ll sleep on the couch you sleep in your bed. That’s fairer.” I argued.
He sighed deeply then settled with the agreement. “OK.” He seemed reluctant but the arm chair wasn’t exactly the nicest thing to sleep on in the world. So I had to. I watched as he slid off the end of the couch and grabbed a large blanket, handing it over to me he smiled gently, “Are you sure, you’re OK here by yourself?”
“Of course I am! I’ll be fine here, honest. You go get some sleep. I’ll try I promise.”
He gently kissed my forehead before walking to the door, looking back at me and sighing then leaving the room. I lay there covered in blankets unable to fall asleep. I stared at the ceiling and imagined it was covered in sheep, all different sizes. I started to count those sheep hoping it would bring me sleep.
One, Two, Three . . . One hundred and seventy two. . .
Still no sleep. I was tired and grouchy and unable to drift off into dreamland. I twisted and turned trying to get comfortable enough to dose off. I turned my head to the clock and watched as the seconds ticked off. Tick-tock goes the clock.
Suddenly I heard soft footsteps coming closer and a shadow approached, the shadow froze before disappearing into the darkness.
“Dylan?” I asked, feeling startled I turned my head looking for the guy, but, all I saw was darnkess.
Instead of Dylan answering with a mocking: "Who else?" I heard a: “I see you have been having some trouble with sleeping, my dear.”
It sounded like an older man. Definitely. The voice sounded British. Like my accent. The man started speaking again when I didn't answer. “I was sent by some very kind members.” I huffed, members kind? Pfft.
YOU ARE READING
The Other Side
Teen FictionTansy May's life has been nothing but an unfortunate roller-coaster of events; from thinking she was going to be burned to death by a bunch of crazy religionists, to being taken to another side of the world that she only thought existed in movies. ...
