Logan

71. When Dreams Haunt Us

She leaned over me, pointing the gun at my chest, her eyes steady and firm. There was no way I could run, no way I could get the gun away from her.

"You're always in the way Natalie, well, not any more." Before I could react, Victoria took the shot, the bullet penetrating into my chest.

Boom.

"NO!" I sat up in my bed, holding my chest to stop the bleeding, my chest pounding.

Aeron didn't stir.

I wiped the tears that had streamed down my face, I looked around frantically, trying to ground myself. I ripped myself out of the bed, looking down at my clean hand. I felt dizzy, but I went down the steps anyway. I slipped on the last step, banging my hip against the banister. My movements were mediocre at best, and I attempted to fill part of the glass with water, my hands shaking from my dreams. I placed the glass against my lips, but my hands failed me. The glass slipped from my fingers, hitting the floor with a shattering crash. I bent down instinctively to clean the floor, and then I felt the sting of glass against my hand.

"Shit!" I held out my hand, wincing and gasping in pain as I pulled the glass out, letting it hit the floor.

"Natalie?" I heard Logan's voice as he bound down the stairs, seemingly wide awake. I looked up, blood seeping from the cut in my hand dropping onto the floor, but I was speechless. "Natalie!" He spoke louder. The glow from the kitchen light turning on glinted against the scarlet dripping down my hand, the more I looked at it the more faint I felt. "Natalie, what happened?"

Logan grabbed the towel from the oven, wrapping it around my hand and lifting up my arm. "What happened? Are you alright?" I couldn't talk, the blood dripping down my elbow threw me off, and I staggered. "Whoa," his right arm hooked around my waist, "Here we go, we're going to walk this way. Okay, just a few steps and we'll be able to sit down. Just look away."

I was aware of the immense closeness he held to me, he made sure I sat down on the toilet seat before he reached for the hydrogen peroxide.

"This is gonna sting," I tried to look away as he poured it against my wound. I let out a cry of pain, and he began working on my hand.

"I don't think you'll need stitches, I've seen worse. But, you should probably make a doctor's appointment just to be safe." Logan was quiet as he cleaned my hand and my arm, a few moments went by and he walked out of the bathroom and came back with a couple of cookies and a glass of orange juice.

"You're going to want to drink some of this, before you go back to sleep." I took a few sips, ignoring the way he looked at me.

"I'm okay, I just... I had a, I mean, I just wanted some water."

"Natalie, if you had a nightmare, you can tell me. I mean, we're not... we're not together anymore but that doesn't mean you can't still confide in me. I'm... I still consider myself a friend... at least, I hope. Right?" I nodded, but I could see the hesitation in his eyes.

I reached into the cupboard above him, shuffling the labels around. I know what happened... I had mixed up the ibuprofen and my meds. I slipped one of my meds into my mouth and swallowed, I was not ready for more nightmares.

I felt his eyes on me, and I looked back at him. His fingers traced lightly against the skin on my face, trailing along the edge of the black eye Scarlet had given me. One finger stopped, and we both became aware of just how close we were.

Logan pulled away first, taping up my hand and then stepping back. "You're all set, you should probably go back to sleep. I can clean up in here and in the kitchen, I don't want you to get hurt... again."

I nodded, "Okay, thanks Logan." I was halfway out of the bathroom when I heard his whisper.

"I'll always be there for you, you know."

I nodded slightly before I closed the door behind me. I rested my head against the wall, letting out a soft breath.

I could hear his voice echo against the bathroom walls, the sounds of heavy breathing. "You're going to be alright, she's alright, it was just a dream. Just a bad dream, she's going to be alright." I heard him quiet for a moment, before I heard sniffling. I had already gotten to the top of the steps before I heard him exit the bathroom and grab the broom and dustpan.

When I laid back down, I looked over at Aeron. I felt envious of his medication, it let him sleep the night away, no stress, no sadness.

I tried to fall back asleep, but every time I thought about sleeping, Victoria seeped into my thoughts.

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*Aeron's POV*

I opened my eyes, rolling over to face Natalie. I placed my hand on the pillowcase, and no one was there.

"Natalie?"

I sat up and found a note, "Had to go to the doctor's office, then meeting up with AB," so I decided to get ready. I stepped down a few steps, hearing the conversation between Logan and Alex.

"She was, I don't-"

"Shh, I think he's coming."

I stepped down the extra steps, feeling the awkward silence between the three of us.

"Logan, I didn't expect to see you here." I took a few bites of egg, waiting for a response.

"Logan's my best friend, actually, he spends a few nights here sometimes, although, since his sister's breakup, he'll be crashing for a few days until he feels like going home. My mom's gone all the time so she really doesn't care as long as our side of the rent and groceries are paid." Alex was an oversharing type, his desire to suffocate the silence seemed to overwhelm both Logan and I.

"I noticed there was some blood in the bathroom, is everything okay?" I noticed Alex and Logan lock eyes, and Logan slightly chuckled.

"I had a nosebleed, you know, dry nose, allergies, that kind of thing."

I nodded, "Right." I had finished my breakfast, and was going to put it in the sink when I noticed the glint on the floor. Glass.

"Oh, hey, there's some glass on the floor, Alex." I noticed the two of them share a look, so I grabbed the dustpan and broom. "I've got it," I swept the floor, noticing a couple drops of blood on the floor as well.

"I'm going to do a little bit of sightseeing, I think." I felt the summer breeze against my face as I walked out the door. I don't know what happened, but I had a feeling I would find out eventually.