Awake

Chapter 6

After our chat in my room, Lucas, Jennie, and Jeremy all dispersed to their rooms, leaving Nathan and I alone at last. I flopped back on the bed, exhausted. "How are you feeling, Cam?" Nathan curled up next to me, playing with my hair.

"Completely exhausted. These late night chats with my siblings the last couple of days have really taken a toll on me," I sigh, wrapping my arms around his waist. "I feel like the night is still young, but I am so wiped out. Are you gonna stay with me tonight?"

"Absolutely. I have to stay and see if things are still just as awkward at breakfast or if your siblings are morning zombies like your dad." I couldn't help but giggle. My dad was a total zombie in the morning, and my siblings inherited that trait. Even though I was a night owl, I didn't mind mornings much either. Sleep was never a friend of mine, and usually it takes a long time for me to find sleep. The nights that I can pass out without tossing and turning for hours first were the nights I cherished, and they were rare. I pressed a kiss to Nathan's cheek and pulled the blanket over us, surrendering myself to sleep.

Around four in the morning, I woke with a jolt. I gasped for breath, wiping my brow of the cold sweat as the result of my nightmare. I don't have nightmares very often, but when I do, they scare me half to death. In the dark, I snuck out of bed and to the kitchen for a glass of water, still attempting to shake off the fear. Gulping down the water, I allowed myself to zone out for a minute. After putting my glass in the dishwasher, I padded up the stairs and to my room, pulling my moon chair close to my window.

In my nightmare, it felt like everything fell apart at once, and I couldn't fix anything, no matter what I did. My parents fighting escalated and they ended up getting divorced, my siblings and I all went our separate ways, and in a desperate attempt to get the family back together, Nathan and I ended up fighting and things turned ugly. I'm not sure what fight caused him to move away, but he moved across the country and ended up dying in a car accident. The worst part was I could see the accident and his still, lifeless body, and that's an image I never want to see in real life.

Before settling down in my chair, I grabbed my journal and the book light I kept tucked in my desk drawer. I was unsure of what I wanted to write, all I did know was that I needed to write. I decided to continue writing a story I had started over the summer, choosing to lose myself in a different world I had created. The characters I wrote about pulled me in, allowing me to escape from my mind and run off to a world where anything could happen, anyone could exist in peace.

Time flew by in this world, but in reality, the sun was starting to rise. Nathan stirred, rolling over and clutching on to his pillow. Quietly, I stood and tucked my journal and book light into my desk again before heading back to the kitchen to start brewing some coffee. Just as the coffee finished brewing and I poured myself a cup, Mom padded into the kitchen behind me. "Morning, sweetie." She pulled me into a quick side hug before turning back to the coffee. "Have you eaten yet?"

"Not yet," I yawned. "Are you going to make anything in particular?"

"I'm going to run to the store, whatever you have in mind I can make."

"I'm sure whatever you cook is fine," I smile at her. "I'm going to crawl back into bed, I'll be back down to help you cook when you come home if you want?"

"How about you come with me? We'll get coffee, make it a morning. Nobody else has shown signs of life yet except us," She grinned at me.

I nodded, setting my steaming mug on the counter. "Give me a few minutes and I'll be in the car."

Spending the morning with mom, just shopping and sipping our coffees, was better than I anticipated. We really haven't spent much time together in the last few years until Nathan came around, and the bond between us started to grow. Even though things were going well and we were both in a great mood, I had this nagging feeling in my mind that something was off. I didn't want to spoil the morning, so I chose to keep my thoughts to myself and make light conversation with Mom.