Summer of Sorrow ✅

Ch. 26 Nightmare

Drift’s P.O.V.
I haven’t seen Jamie all day since we returned from our vacation. I feel like I’m fooling myself, thinking she’s doing something with another Autobot or one of our human friends. Trying to hide how worried I am and that I’m looking for Jamie is a challenge as I go to the one room I’m hoping she’s not in.

I stare at the sight in the middle of the weapons room. Jamie lies in a pool of blood, but there’s no weapon by her. My hand shakes as a grab her wrist, and there’s no pulse.
“No!!” I scream.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. I failed to protect her.
“Drift?!” I hear Ratchet as he rushes into the room, stopping in his tracks as he sees what’s going on. Horror on his face as he’s texting, I assume, Optimus.

I find out someone has also alerted Crosshairs. He’s told to get me out of here, but he refuses. Others are called in to force us away from our friend and charge, away from the one I love.
“G-goodbye Jamie, I love you,” I whisper to myself as no one can hear me over Crosshairs’ yelling.
“Do something!”
I don’t want to know if she injured herself or died from blood loss. Either way, my girl is gone.

Crosshairs’ P.O.V.
I heard Drift whimpering in his sleep as he’s tossing and turning. I know he’s having a nightmare, but is it a nightmare about his Decepticon past or about  Jamie? His screaming answers the question.
“Drift!” I yell over his screaming, “wake up!”
Drift wakes up, disoriented. Believing he must have passed out from something. I get my answer as he cries, ‘she’s gone.’ as I feared, he dreamt Jamie ended her life. No point in questioning if it’s because she’s not here and Jamie being in a room down the hall still causes these nightmares. It’s a problem no matter what triggers this.
“Jamie is ok. She’s with the twins and Lily. Remember Lily wanted a sleepover even if their room is down the hall?”
I sit Drift up to hug him better, feeling him trembling. There’s not much I can do to comfort him when he’s like this. Hopefully, seeing Jamie is ok will help him get back to sleep.

Drift takes twenty minutes to calm down. Now I can take him to see that Jamie is ok.

I open the door, showing Drift that Jamie is asleep, though I didn’t think Sideswipe would have an arm resting across Jamie. Sideswipe wakes up, and I put a finger on my lips to tell him to be quiet. Jamie can stay here now that Drift knows she’s ok.

I lay with Drift only until he fell asleep before going back to my bed. I hate how terrified he is, but it’s not like I’m not. It’s a challenge to help Jamie and Drift struggles to be positive. Now this nightmare about losing Jamie. What the frag can we do? I fear I cannot hide how terrified I am for much longer. Mirage texts me, saying he’ll be with Jamie tomorrow morning and I shouldn’t worry. I know the twins and Lily will also be with her.

Mirage’s P.O.V.
The twins and Lily don’t question why I’m waiting in the hallway by their room. They don’t know that I’ve been here all night. Jamie can’t hide how she’s looking for her mechs. She’s frightened that doing anything with others is a setup to allow Crosshairs and Drift to leave. I hope showing her they’re asleep will help her relax. Glad she’s small enough to carry though she’s strong enough to fight me.

Jamie doesn’t relax seeing Crosshairs and Drift asleep. I don’t know what to say.
Optimus walks down the hall from his room, insisting he takes Jamie. He goes to the kitchen with the rest of us. I don’t care if she relaxes better with Optimus. As long as she’s relaxed.

Optimus sits at the island, still holding Jamie. As usual, we give Cogman our order for breakfast like this is a restaurant, and I think he likes the order compared to everyone cooking their own breakfast.
Optimus asks Cogman to make a small breakfast for Jamie, hoping she’ll eat. Though I think he thinks he won’t succeed.
I want to tell him what happened in the middle of the night, but it’s not my place to do so, even if it’s concerning that Drift is having nightmares because Jamie wasn’t in the room with him and Crosshairs. Jamie’s depression is bad when she’s not embarrassed that we’re seeing her refuse to eat.

Optimus Prime’s P.O.V.
This is concerning. I regret having to inform Ratchet and Rung about Jamie’s behavior. It’s a struggle to get her to eat, even bacon. I doubt talking to her and Drift will help. I don’t know if I want to take the chance or if I’ll only hurt Jamie more. I fear all we can do is keep her safe and hope her mental health improves.

Lightning takes Jamie after breakfast, though we need to be careful not to cause Crosshairs and Drift to panic.
“There’s got to be something we can do,” Lily comments.
“Lily!” Sunstreaker scolds.
“What? I can’t ignore that she’s hurting. I know there’s very little I can do, but I will not act like she’s ok!”
“Jamie is complicated, and it’s going to be hard to help her,” I explain, “we need to be careful.”
Lily knows a lot of Jamie’s history but not everything. I regret telling her that, for now, she needs to wait until Jamie’s guardians tell her it’s ok to spend time with Jamie. Lily sighs, frustrated.

Lighting’s P.O.V.
I go into Crosshairs and Drift’s room and out on the balcony to sit on the rocking chair. I’m unsure if she’ll fall asleep, but she should relax. I hate how there’s not much we can do. I’m terrified this will end in Jamie being dead.

Jamie ends up falling asleep. Crosshairs gets out of bed as I carry Jamie into the room.
“Rough morning already?” He asks.
I hate how he knows.
I lay Jamie in bed close to Drift. Careful not to wake him up and hug Crosshairs. We sit on his bed, uncertain of what to say at this point.
We don’t wait long for Drift to wake up. The three of us decide Jamie will be ok while we go downstairs, and we’ll be back before she wakes up.