Dreams

Part 2

Pov: Garrett
   I was trying Cody's eggs when Ty got a call back from Coby. We were all worried about Cory, and had all been waiting for almost ten minutes for Coby to call back. It really made wrinkles stressing over your friend.
   Cody, who sat across from me, spoke. "Put it on speakerphone," he insisted.
   Coby's voice came over the speaker.
"...really tired."
   "Ok. You're on speakerphone now," Tyler informed him.
   "Well, he's sleeping now, but he had woken up. I'm on my way to his house. I didn't get to ask him anything before he fell asleep."
   "You sure he's okay?" I asked.
   "Yeah, Gar, I think he's okay. I just think he was so exhausted."
   "When he came in this morning, he looked like a ghost," Coby added.
   "I thought the same thing," Tyler agreed.
   "Yeah, he could barely sit up. I wonder what's going on," Coby said. "I just pulled in at Cory's house now. I'll be back at headquarters in half an hour."
   "How about you just skip work today? Stay with Cory," Tyler suggested.
   "Ok," Coby answered. He sounded drained too.
   "Keep us posted," Tim called from his office. I had no idea he was even listening in on our conversation.
   "I will. See you later." The call ended.
   "Something tells me neither of them will be here for the rest of the week," Tyler admitted.
   "I'm sure they're both fine," Cody assured us. I agreed.
   "He was just tired," I replied. Although, I knew I was trying to reassure myself more than anyone else.

Pov: Amy (Cory's wife)
   When I saw Cory's truck pull into the driveway, something felt off. Why was he home from work?
   The feeling strengthened when no one got out. Coby finally jumped out of the driver's seat a couple minutes later. He stumbled up the path with his head down. I said a quick prayer that everything was alright.
   I pushed open the door to greet my brother-in-law. "Hey, Coby. Is something wrong?"
   Coby looked away: the tell-tale sign that something was wrong.
   "Where's Cory?" I tried again.
   Coby took a deep breathe. "Can you help me get him inside?"
   "WHAT! What happened! Is he okay?!" A million thoughts rushed to my head as I raced out to my husband's truck.
   "Amy, wait!" He called after me.
   I pulled on the passenger's door, and Cory tumbled into my arms, knocking me down. "Cory!" I screamed. Coby was by my side in an instant, pulling Cory's unconscious body off me. Tears ran down my face as Coby helped get Cory up. He supported him by his shoulder.
   "Is he d--dead?" I whispered between sobs.
   Coby shook his head. "He's sleeping. Can you support his other shoulder?" He requested.
   I made my way to Cory's other side and did the best I could of holding him up. We dragged him into the house in silence and laid him on the couch.
   I bit my lip as I watched my husband. He had scrapes on his legs from us dragging him in and bruises from falling out of the truck. I didn't do anything for a couple minutes, just watched him. I knew I should tend to him, but I didn't want to leave his side. Coby had disappeared.
   I took a deep breathe, before letting it out. Then I went upstairs to grab bandages.
   As I gathered supplies from the bathroom cabinet, I heard a muffled sound. I left the supplies on the vanity and walked towards the noise. As I approached the guest room, the sounds became familiar: it was the sound of crying behind a locked door. I put my head on the door and listened to Coby's cries. I figured I should let him alone so I went back to tending to Cory.
   I would occasionally hear a thud upstairs, but I didn't feel like leaving Cory, so I let Coby be.
  
Pov: Cory
   I woke up to a loud noise above me. I swung my feet of the couch, but retracted them when I hit a lump on the floor. I looked down to see Amy's small shape underneath covers on the floor. A deep love swelled up inside of me. That was my wife. I kissed her forehead. I loved her so much.
   I felt better than I had earlier. What time was it anyway? I looked for my phone, but I didn't see it. The clock on the stove read 3:24.
   Another thump upstairs caught my attention. It honestly creeped me out. If Amy was here, who was upstairs. Fear hit my heart: the twins and Charlie were upstairs. I grabbed the broom, and crept slowly up the staircase. No matter how lightly I stepped, the steps seemed to creak louder than fans at a football game. I pushed the nursery door open, getting ready to hit someone with the broom.
   "Hello?" I called into the dark room.
   Nobody was there. I peeked into Charlie's crib. He was curled into a ball, sound asleep.
   Next I checked the twin's room. Collin and Crew were in dream-land too. Maybe I was just hearing things.
   I started down the steps, but heard a bang. Someone was definitely up there. I took a deep breathe, trying to reassure myself, trying to gather the courage to go back upstairs.
   I went up and checked the master bedroom, then the bathrooms. I tried to think of where the sound had come from. The guest room maybe.
   I stood in front of the guest room door, the broom ready for action. I turned the knob quickly, and pushed the door open.
   Someone was sitting in the corner with their back towards me. I raised the broom and took a step forward.
   "Hello?" I called to the form.
   The person lowered their head.
   I took another step forward, gaining confidence. What was I afraid of: this person was cowering from me.
   "Get up," I demanded with more authority. The intruder stood.
   "Turn around," I told him.
   He slowly turned to face me. A man with red, puffy eyes that I immediately recognized was standing in front of me. I lowered the broom.
   "Coby?" I felt like vomiting. He looked tired and hopeless and horribly in need of some self-confidence. His eyes were clouded with dark circles under them and his hands were shaking. I hated seeing my brother so weak and helpless; it made me sick inside. And to think I was the reason for this all. I knew he was stressing over what I was doing. Had he figured out what was happening?
   "Coby, come on. Let's go downstairs." I dropped the broom and approached him. He looked away, but I slipped my arm around him. "Come on," I encouraged. I led him down the stairs. He took a seat on a kitchen stool, while I boiled water for tea.
   "You genna be okay?" He asked in a shaky voice. "I know what you were doing."
   The sadness came back. Why did he have to bring that up now.
   "I was stressed. Cory, I'm sorry.  I was having nightmares, and I just felt depressed. I'll talk to a therapist." I promised my twin. I couldn't look at Coby. I needed something to do with my hands so I arranged the mugs on the counter.
   "Cory, look at me," Coby encouraged. "I know you were refusing to sleep."
   "I never could keep a secret from you," I admitted, secretly relieved he didn't know the reason behind it.
   Coby shook his head. "Are you going to tell the guys?" He asked.
   "Sooner or later they'll find out," I assured him. I got the boiling water off the stove, filled the mugs, and added a tea bag and sugar. "Here." I handed him the mug. He accepted it with still-shaking hands.
   "I worry about you a lot, Cory." He blew on the top of his mug.
   "I know," I replied.
   "Try to sleep tonight. You can skip work tomorrow." Coby informed me.
   "Are you going to skip work too?" I asked. Coby might of thought he could handle going to work, but I knew he couldn't. He just had an emotional breakdown; I wasn't gonna let him go in tomorrow. "You should skip work too," I suggested.
   Coby shook his head. He stood across from me, on the other side of the island. "I have to go back tomorrow."
   I knew he was just making excuses. "No, you don't," I protested. "How about this: if you go back to work, I will too."
   Coby looked alarmed. "No way!" He said a little to loudly.
   "Then you'll stay home," I stated matter-of-factly.
   I could tell a battle was going on in Coby's brain. "Ok." My triumph was short lived, though. "But how many hours have you slept in the last ten days?" He added. I knew I was screwed.
   I couldn't lie to Coby now. I hated to admit it, but I had barely slept at all. "Three hours before today." It was the truth.
   Coby rubbed his forehead. He was stressing again. I should of just lied. He took in a lung-full of air. "Ok. Try to get some sleep tonight," he finally decided.
   "I'll try," I offered.
   He narrowed his eyes at me. "Promise me you will, Cory," he said sternly.
   "I can't," I admitted. "I'll promise you that I'll try, but I can't promise you I will." I think Coby sensed I was telling the truth because he didn't pressure me anymore.
   "Ok, let's go to bed," my twin concluded. I took his mug and set it in the sink. Then I crawled onto the couch, being careful not to wake Amy. Coby just watched me. I could tell that the battle going on in his his head had started up again.
   "Coby, go to bed," I told him.
   "I want you to sleep," Coby answered blankly.
   "Sleep on the other couch," I offered.
   He trudged upstairs, but came down a couple minutes later with an armful of blankets.
    I laughed the best I could while being completely exhausted. "It's literally one hundred degrees outside.  You don't need that many blankets."
   "I don't know why I even brought them all down. I wasn't thinking." He settled on the other couch. I just layed there with my eyes open. I was tired, and Coby's and Amy's presences made me feel safer. I kept hearing Coby reposition himself. He was waiting for me to fall asleep. I finally drifted off around 5:30 despite my mind's objections to ward off the nightmares.