REMINISCENT

CHAPTER TWELVE: Finding Her (FINAL EDIT)

Aiden's POV
After that weird encounter with Ashley at the park, I barely made it home before Jake called me.

I hadn't even reached for my phone yet, but there he was, already calling—saying he needed to "interrogate" me. Apparently, I'd been acting distant, and he knew I was hiding something. Which... he wasn't wrong.

Jake might be a pain in the ass most days, but he's still my brother. And, annoying as he is, he's actually a pretty good listener—bromance-wise, I guess. So yeah, I figured it was time to come clean. About everything. Starting with the dreams.

"Dude, go right! Go right! He's behind you!" Jake yelled from his spot next to me on the floor of my room.

"I got him, chill," I muttered, firing just in time to shoot the guy clean in the head.

"Okay, nice one. Now the last one—" He paused, scanning the screen. "There he is!" we shouted together.

A moment later, the round was ours. Jake fist-bumped me like we'd just won a tournament.

"Next round?" he grinned.

"Hell yeah." I queued it up again.

A few minutes passed—just us and the game—before he slid in a casual question.

"So... what's been up with you?" he asked, eyes still on the screen. "You haven't been sleeping, I can tell."

"Not much. I just haven't felt like sleeping," I lied with a shrug.

From the corner of my eye, I saw his brows pinch in confusion. He glanced at me a second too long before focusing back on the game.

"Bro, I might act dumb most of the time, but I'm not that dumb," he said, not even hiding the irritation in his voice. "I know you're lying. So what's really going on?"

"Yeah!" he suddenly shouted, shooting another enemy. Showoff.

My grip tightened on the controller as the memories crept back in—those damn nightmares. The way they left me gasping for air, afraid to blink, afraid to sleep.

God, that was so pathetic to admit. What was I supposed to say—Hey bro, I'm scared of my dreams?

"Aiden?"

I didn't answer.

"Aiden?" Nothing.

"AIDEN! The dude's dead, man!" He yanked my controller away and paused the game. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

I exhaled sharply and ran a hand through my hair, leaning back against the couch.

Jake tossed the controllers aside, shifting to face me. "Talk to me."

Another sigh. "Remember when I went home early that day because of an asthma attack?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, you never really said how it happened."

"Well... it's been a long time since I had one like that."

Jake looked more confused than ever.

"I know that. So what does that have to do with you not sleeping? You've been having attacks at night?"

"Yeah. Kinda." I paused. "But there's a reason. And it's the same reason I can't sleep."

He stared. "And that reason is...?"

I rubbed my neck, avoiding his gaze not wanting him to think less of me. It's a guy thing. "It's... a dream."

He raised a brow, with a sarcastic tone "A dream?"

"yeah, well not really... Uh it's a... I-it's a dream then it turns into a nightmare" I stuttered not daring to look at his reaction not ready for judgement. I don't know why I was thinking this way when Jake has never been one to judge anyone