Bubbles

Chapter 17

Penny

I'm walking through a dark street. I'm alone. The air is thick, so thick that it compresses my lungs. So thick that I feel like I'm drowning.
There's a sign, a rusty sign. I walk closer and I can't feel my feet touching the ground.
The sign wears a single, screaming word -
'Prison'.
"Run, Pen."
Johnny's voice, but I can't see him. I keep walking, and the air is getting thicker and thicker. I'm moving slower, and the concrete is calling for me to fall onto it.
"Go, Pen. Run."
The fence is high, the road is ending. The road is ending.
Ending.
"Stay at a friend's house tonight."
The gates are made of thick metal, there are no lights on inside. There are no guards.
I walk closer, and a man appears at the bars of the gates. He clutches the metal so tight his knuckles are pearly white.
He breathes with his teeth bared, his skin is red and his eyes are wide.
He has long hair, matted and dishevelled.
"Don't come any closer, Pen."
Johnny's voice, through this man's mouth.
I fall. My hands sink into the ground and cold sweat runs down my back.
"Help me, Pen. Get me out. Get me out. Let me out."
He reaches for me, thick fingers outstretched and shaking.
Always shaking.
"I did nothing wrong, Pen! Let me out!"
Suddenly the lights turn on in the building, and his eyes roll back into his head.
He falls back, shaking violently.
I sink further into the floor.

"Penny! Penny, wake up!"

I open my eyes.
A tanned, chocolate-haired woman is leaning over me.
Lucy.
I realise there are tears pouring down my face.
I can't stop them, I can't make my hands move to wipe them away. All I can do is grab Lucy and grip her with crushing force.
"It's okay, Penny. It's just a dream. It's okay."

After about five minutes, my breathing slows. The tears stop, and I loosen my clenched fists.
I get the feeling that I just need more of her. I need more of Lucy, to blot out the other stuff.
I flip over so that I am lying on top of her. I press our bodies together and tangle our legs. I bury my face in her hair.
Her inhaling and exhaling is all I listen to. Her warmth and her arm round my waist is all I feel.
Leaning back slightly and cupping her cheeks in my hands, I squint at her eyes in the darkness - searching for some sort of answer. I need answers. Is Johnny coming back? Will I see him again?
Is he dead?
Tears drip onto her, and I wipe them away with my thumb.
Suddenly there's light creeping across the headboard, illuminating the personification of concern on Lucy's face. I hear the creak of the door, and muffled footsteps.
"Hey, I heard some weird ass noises in here and I'm trying to watch something on the internet. Not that it's porn or anything, I just... Oh, Jesus, um... I didn't realise I was interrupting-"
Mickey's usually gruff voice squeaks in a worryingly high tone, and the light starts to disappear again.
"No, it's not like that," Lucy sits up and folds me into her arms. I cling to her neck and wrap my legs around her torso. "Come here. Sit with us. She had a nightmare, that's all."
I try to concentrate on the vibration of her voice through her chest.
Mickey clears his throat and walks towards the edge of the bed, bare feet padding quietly on the wooden floor. I feel the warmth of his big hand patting my shoulder. "Can I get you anything, Penny?"
I shake my head and hold Lucy tighter, inhaling the smell of her hair.
It smells nice, and the ache in my brain softens a little.
"Do you want to tell us about your dream?" Mickey sits down awkwardly, making the mattress tilt with his weight.
Like some sort of automatic coping strategy, I begin rhythmically tracing circles in the back of Lucy's neck.
"He said he wasn't meant to be there. He looked sick, really sick. I should have let him out but I..." I loosen my hold, letting Lucy breathe. "I sank into the floor and I couldn't. It's my fault. It's my fault they got him. We were at the park and they saw him and they got him. They got him! He said he wasn't meant to be there. It's not fair. It's my fault!"
They're quiet for a minute.
"Your brother, sweetheart?" Lucy rubs my back.
Up, and down. Up, and down. I exhale and sink into her, relaxing.
"Johnny, yeah." I mumble.
Mickey pats me again, and I can tell he's not sure what to say.
No one knows what to say to me.