Silently Screaming

Chapter Fourteen

"No...No..I'm not like you." I'm awakened from my dreamless sleep to him mumbling. I look over, to see him twisting and turning on his bed. It almost seems as if he's fighting someone.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please don't. I didn't mean to. It was an accident! Please!" He's whimpering, obviously in a nightmare. It's been a couple days since he came home drunk, and we haven't talked about it. We pretended like the night never happened, and nobody asked about it.

But right now, I have to do something. If his nightmares are anything like mine, he's in hell right now.

Thinking fast, I reach over to my nightstand, and hit play on my iPod dock. Immediately, Love Isn't Always Fair by Black Veil Brides starts blasting through the speakers, at full volume. He visibly jumps awake, and looks around, confused.

"What was that?" He mumbles, his voice thick with sleep. He reaches up and rubs away some of the sleep from his eyes.

Hitting pause on my dock, I grab the legal pad I keep next to the dock, and flip on my lamp. 

YOU WERE HAVING A NIGHTMARE.

I make the words big and thick, the sharpie squeaking as I write. When I'm done, I show him, and watch his eyes as he reads it.

"Oh, um, yeah I know that, but why'd you wake me up? A normal person wouldn't even have been woken up by me. I'm not that loud. I don't think, at least." He's sitting up in his twin sized bed, the sheets cinched around his waist. I can't help thinking about how cute he looks with messed up hair, and an appearance of pure innocence.

I rip up the first paper, and start writing on the new, blank one.

FIRST OF ALL, IF YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED, I'M NOT REALLY 'NORMAL.' I'M A REALLY LIGHT SLEEPER. PLUS, IF YOUR NIGHTMARES ARE ANYTHING LIKE MINE, YOU WOULD BE THANKING ME FOR WAKING YOU UP.

"No offense, but yeah you aren't normal. I don't mean that as a bad thing. And thanks, I guess for waking me up." He smiles, a small half smile, and I get butterflies in my tummy.

It's ironic, how my life is in danger at the moment, and at the same time I can be getting butterflies in my tummy from a boy I hardly know.

WHAT WAS YOUR NIGHTMARE ABOUT?..SORRY IF I'M BEING TOO NOSY I flash him the sign, sort of praying that he trusts me enough to tell him.

"You really want to know?" He raises an eyebrow questioningly, and I nod my head. Sighing, he pats the spot on his bed by his feet.

With my pad and sharpie in hand, I get up and walk over to his bed. I had ripped up the stupid duct taped line after Halloween, as a silent apology/forgiveness thing. Sitting criss-cross on his bed, not quite touching his feet, I turn towards him, waiting.

 "For you to understand the nightmare, and understand why I'm anorexic, I have to tell you the whole back story. Are you sure you want to hear all this at-" He glances at his bedside clock. "3 in the morning?"

YES, YOU'RE ANOREXIC? 

I feign surprise, but in my heart I already knew he had some kind of eating disorder. No one is naturally that skinny.

"Oh come on. It's pretty obvious. I hardly ever eat, and when I do, it's barely anything. So, here goes."

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"When I was a little kid, I lived with both of my parents. We were the perfect little family. We were that picture of the white picket fenced, freshly mowed grass, little square house family. It was my mom and dad, and my brother Mavox and I.