Nightmares (slow updates!)

Chapter 33

Patrick's POV

I watched as Poppy flipped another pancake, carefully setting it back in the pan as the maple smell slowly took over the house. I couldn't get a single answer out of her, not a fucking word. The thought that she didn't trust me enough to tell me made my blood boil. It was weird to see her like this, she had always been anxious, but this was different. It was like she was afraid every moment of everyday. And that panic attack she had, the screaming, the crying, there was something seriously wrong with her.

"How many?" She questioned over her shoulder, nervously chewing the side of her thumb. "Just three" I replied, knowing she would eat half of one and offer me her own as well. She tossed me a thumbs up and continued with her meal prep. I flipped through the TV channels but like most days there wasn't shit on. Sighing I tossed the remote making my way into the kitchen. I leaned against her, her back meeting my torso as she relaxed into my touch.

"It's hot as shit in here." I commented, the heat from the stove mixing with the summer warmth that drafted its way into the house from the opened back door. "Feels nice." She replied, setting the last of the pancakes carefully into a stack on the plate. I took a step back looking down at her bare legs, my t-shirt hanging loosely off her frame. "Well your half naked I'm sure it feels good to you." I rolled my eyes, walking away to slam the back door closed.

She padded her way across the room, setting her finished breakfast spread on the coffee table in the living room. She pushed a VHS tape into the tv and took a seat on the couch, staring at me impatiently as she waited for me to join her. I took a seat to her left, pulling her against my side as The Godfather began to play on screen. She leaned forward, grabbing bacon from off a plate and handing me a piece, taking a bite of her own as she set her legs over my lap, snuggling herself against me.

We watched and ate in silence until the end credits of the movie made there way across the screen. Sighing quietly, poppy laid her head in my lap, turning her body so that she was facing me. "If I tell you something, you have to promise you won't think I'm crazy." Her words caught me off guard, she had never said anything like that to me before and honestly it was a bit surprising.

I let my hand come down against the side of her head, petting her hair as I stared down at her. "I would never say you're crazy." She sighed, picking at her fingernails as if she was trying to decided whether or not she should speak again. "I...I've been seeing things." She spoke, her voice barely louder then a whisper, her eyes immediately shooting up to examine my face, to see if I was reacting to what she had said.

My eyebrows knit together in confusion, as I tried to think of what to say to not upset her. "Seeing what?" I questioned, keeping my reply's short to ensure she wouldn't shut down like she always seemed to do when she spoke about things that made her uncomfortable. "Just things. There not always the same." She shrugged, nuzzling her face against my thigh as she looked around a bit in fear, as if speaking about it would bring the images back.

"There terrifying, it's always something scary. Sometimes.... Sometimes it pretends to be you." I was taken aback by her sentiment, not actually knowing what to say, how to react. My silence seemed to spark some kind of panic, the girl gripping the fabric of my t-shirt as she searched my face for some kind of emotion. "I'm not crazy. Please. I-I know it sounds insane but it's real. Those marks on my dads desk, you can see them too." Her voice was pleading at this point, desperate for me to react.

I nodded, she was right, I could see the claw marks. Maybe she did see things, but something really was chasing her that day, that was no hallucination, that was real. "I believe you, poppy. I believe you." I assured her, gripping her face in my hands as I spoke, bringing her closer. She was shaking now, her hands barley able to hold onto the fabric of my clothing. "I'm so afraid." She whimpered, her voice cracking as tears began to make there way down her cheeks. I hated seeing her like this, she seemed completely broken.

"I'm right here." I told her, planting a hard kiss on her four head, the action feeling strange and foreign, much to sweet. She broke down, her sobs coming out one after the other as she leaned forward, crying into my chest. "I just wanna feel normal." She hiccuped, pressing herself as close to me as she could, my arms engulfing her without protest.

"You have to tell me when your seeing this stuff, poppy. I can't help you if your going to hide it from me." I explained, petting her hair as she cried. She didn't reply, only nodded in agreement with what I had said. "You don't think I'm crazy, right?" She whimpered, pulling away from me and looking up at me with wide innocent eyes. How could I ever think something like that, if seeing things was her only ailment she was far from crazy. I could only imagine what she would think if she saw the things inside of my head.

I quickly shook my head, using my thumbs to clean the tears from her face. "You are not crazy. I don't wanna hear you say that shit ever again, you understand me?" I questioned, pinching her cheeks between my fingers as I asked. She nodded into my hand, sniffling quietly as she tried to calm herself down.

I shook my head, that wasn't good enough. "I want to hear you say it." I demanded, refusing to release my hold on her, bringing her closer so that our faces where only inches from one another. "I understand." Her voice was horse now from all the tears she had shed. With that I freed her, giving her one last kiss before I stood, taking our dishes to the kitchen skin and returning with the worn out VHS tape that to read 'Alice In Wonderland' in faded lettering across the side.

"I'm only going to play this if you promise now more crying." I warned, pulling The Godfather from the tv and setting it on the book shelf. I turned to see the girl nodding frantically, a silent promise to dry it up. I sighed, pushing the tape in and pressing play, the intro song blaring loudly through the TV as it began.

I took my seat once again, lifting my arm to allow her to snuggle herself back against my side. She looked up at me once more, batting her eyes sweetly at me as she nuzzled as close as she could. "Thank you... for listening to me." I nodded, my eyes never leaving the screen as the movie began to play. "Don't thank me, watch the movie."