Nightmares

Chapter forty-nine: Carter

We entered the small room and I pulled the covers over Harper before sliding in next to her.

She cuddled into me and I held her. A part of me wanted to forget the entire day and start from scratch tomorrow, but I knew that was impossible.

I wasn't getting any sleep tonight.

And neither, it seemed, was Harper.

She stared at the wall, looking a million miles away.

"It'll be okay. I'm here." I whispered to her.

"What happens now?" She whispered. "What happens to us now?"

We'll fight nightmares. I thought. We'll wake up screaming night after night. We'll wonder if dying would have been better than to relive that moment every night. And in the end we'll realise that it wasn't and it never will be.

Instead what I said was:

"I don't know."

It was too early to scare her.

And too late to sleep.

We just lay there, quietly, in the dark. Holding each other as if scared to let go.

I wouldn't let go again.

Memories are there to serve as a warning. The minute you forget them, they come back to ruin your life again. To remind you that you need to remember.

I couldn't risk forgetting again.

"Carter." She said. "Tell me a story."

I smiled at the childlike request before thinking of a story.

"Once upon a time, there was a girl with eyes as green as grass and she lived in a castle by herself, scared to let anyone in." I started.

She listened as I told her the story and leaned into me.

We didn't sleep at all that night. We just lay there. Sharing stories bright enough to extinguish the dark from our world.

It was the best night I had had in a long time.

~*~

"Hey Carter?"

"Yes, my sweet?"

"I finally finished that book you told me to read."

I laughed, softly. That was a month ago.

"How was it?"

"I'm glad he got a happy ending."

I smiled. "Yeah. Me too."

"Do you think we'll get one of those?" She asked.

I thought for a minute.

"I will do whatever it takes to ensure it." I said, kissing the top of her head.

"Do you have another book I could read?" She asked.

"Hmm. Why don't you try a series this time? Like Twilight." I said.

We shared a soft laugh.

We're nearly there. And no, this isn't the end of the book. I did think about ending it there but there's a couple of loose ends I need to tidy up before I do.

Just take a breath and carry on reading. Hey that's a good quote, did I make that up or is it plagarism? I dunno. Anyway, see you soon.