Don't go to Sleep!

Don't go to Sleep! Chapter 11

"Are you sure it's okay for us to stay here?" Brittney asked for the third time.

"Yes! Matt said it was fine and that he didn't mind at all so please stop bugging me about it!" Liam said, exasperated.

"Okay, okay. I suppose it'll be fine. I just don't want to intrude on him or his life" Brittney said, holding up her hands.

Liam smiled at her before turning into his and Kendric's room at the end of the hall. Brittney smiled back, her face turning into a grimace as he shut the door. She wished that he would talk to her more than what, to her at least, seemed to be just necessary. Maybe he doesn't like me? she thought as she plonked herself on one of the dining table chairs.

Liam and her had been friends for years, forever it seemed to her. She'd had a crush on him from the moment she'd seen him. A skinny, emo looking kid in blue jeans and a black hoodie wouldn't sound like the guy that you would instantly crush on, but for her it had been. Over time their relationship had progressed from nothing, to acquaintance, to friend, to best friend. She knew that his life had been rough at times, but she admired so much his ability to cope with it and still move on in his life.

Despite that, he wore a mask over his emotions. He was a sincere and caring person, but once you drew close to him and became able to distinguish how fake his reactions at school were, you began to get the eerie feeling that you didn't know him at all. He was a complex person who shut his emotions away in hope that they might just disappear.

The only peron he'd trusted before now was Kendric. Now he was beginning to trust Brittney too. That night after the party when Liam had started crying was the first time she could remember him actually showing true, unrestrained sadness. He was just not that type of person and he built walls around him so thick that it was nearly impossible for anyone to get in. Impenetrable walls really.

She knew that this was a stupid thing to be thinking about this considering all the things they were being forced to go through, but it was better than thinking about the alternative. Liam and Kendric had explained why this was happening to them. She knew that Liam had some ability that made him too dangerous for the dark forces chasing them. Liam had described how he had destroyed one of the shadows people, but he had no more understanding of how he'd done it than they did.

None of them truly knew what those...things were. All Brittney knew was that they terrified her more than anything else had or very well could. She even shuddered now, just thinking of them. They were like ghosts except more tangible and not transperant. Whatever they were, they not only affected Liam in real life, but in his dreams as well. Awful nightmares plagued Liam at night and none of them knew anything that could help. 

Brittney sighed. She wanted answers, yet none seemed to force themselves into being for her sake. There was a loud bang and she jumped, almost believing that they were being attacked, but holding herself back when she saw it was just Matt, slamming the door behind him as he exited his office. It was the first time she'd seen him in hours and she was somewhat surprised by his loud entry.

He smiled at her with his lazy surfer-boy grin. She had to admit that he was quite good looking, but to her he had nothing on Liam's easy, unpresuming attitude.

"Hey" he said to her as he poured himself a glass of milk, guzzling it all down in one go. He looked at her with his milk moustache, causing her to break out into a grin too.

"Hi. I hope we're not being a nuisance. We'll leave tomorrow I'm sure" Brittney said.

Matt waved her away.

"You're no nuisance at all! Don't worry so much. You can stay as long as you like. Any friend of Liam's is a friend of mine" he said genuinely.

Brittney nodded her head.