Troubled Sincerity | ✓

Ch.14 | Playing Hooky

T R O U B L E D

S I N C E R I T Y

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I jerk awake roughly as I hear a scream from the room next to mine.

I quickly scramble out of bed and rush out into the hallway. Riley joins me in the middle of the dark hallway, the same worried look on her face that mirrors my own.

We both look at each other, knowing exactly what was happening.

I quickly open Lucy's bedroom door, and the both of us rush to either side of her bed. There's sweat on her forehead, and her legs are thrashing around underneath her duvet.

"Lucy." I say a little loud, trying to wake her up from her nightmare. I reach out and gently begin to shake her.

"Lucy!" I say a little bit louder, shaking her just a tad bit more.

"LUCY!" Riley suddenly shouts as loud as she can, and Lucy jerks up, immediately sitting up in bed rubbing at her eyes.

"What? What's happening?" She sobs, tears falling from her eyes.

The moonlight shines into her bedroom window, showing us her tear-stained cheeks.

"Luc, you were having a nightmare." I say calmly.

Both Riley and I sit on either side of her, as I reach out and push the sweat and hair away from her forehead.

She doesn't say anything more, but allows Riley and me to comfort her. After twenty minutes, she finally falls back to sleep, no longer sweaty and a little more calm.

Riley follows me out into the hallway, as I quietly close Lucy's door.

Once we're both in the kitchen, Riley begins to speak.

"What do you think she was having a nightmare about?"

I give Riley a sad look.

"My guess is, her mother. She used to have these nightmares for a while after her mother passed away, but they've since gotten better and she hasn't had one in a while. I wonder what could have triggered this." I explain with a frown.

Riley frowns as well, walking over to get a water bottle from the fridge. We both looked at the clock and saw that it was only a little after two in the morning.

Yesterday Riley told me briefly about her date with Dylan, and how she had spent the night with him last night. I was really happy for the both of them, and made a note to find Dylan on Monday to tell him the same.

"I wish there was something we could do for her." Riley says.

I could only nod in reply. "Me too. I've tried to mention therapy, but she won't. Although, I'm probably the last person in the world to mention therapy, being that I rejected the idea after everything that happened with Mark."

"Yeah, that probably wasn't wise." Riley snickers.

"Whatever. I mean it wasn't the right thing for me, but that doesn't mean it can't be for her. She never talked to anyone about her mother. After everything that happened, we told her we would respect her wishes to never bring it up. I don't think she's ever truly grieved properly." I sigh.

"I was still never told the entire story of what happened." Riley admits, a frown on her face again.

"God... it was a devastating night. The group decided to throw a birthday party for Connor. Well, actually, I decided on a whim... one of the many ways I kept Connor in the dark about me and Mark." I grimace, truly disgusted with how I acted last year.