We Belong

Chapter 20

When I was ten, I was on a camping trip with Willie and Deo and my father. Willie and I shared a tent, Deo slept outside and my dad had a tent of his own. Deo delighted in tormenting Willie and I each night before we went to bed. I didn't pay it much mind, but Willie had...what some would say was an adverse reaction. He had terrifying nightmares that would wake both him and me up when he would violently punch into the air and scream. I made the mistake of trying to calm him down, only to catch a hit to the eye which resulted in a black eye. My mother was pissed at my father for weeks.

The screaming that woke me up this time was decidedly different. Molly's screams pierced through the night air like lightning. I launched up out of bed to run down the hallway. I could see her body frozen in some kind of fear while her hands gripped the sheets so tightly her knuckles were white. She cried and shook her head and she begged. She begged so intensely it stopped me cold. It was like she was reliving a moment where Kevin had terrified her to her core and now I was reliving it too.

Henry whined from his spot next to her on the bed, his huge brown eyes full of alarm as he nervously licked his lips and panted.

I'd been told in the past that you shouldn't wake someone up who is in the throes of a nightmare, but I couldn't just stand there and watch her go through it. I reached out to touch her shoulder,

"Mac." I whispered softly.

She whimpered, her head shaking from side to side as she started to softly cry,

"Please don't hurt me." She begged.

A ball of tears formed in my own throat, so huge it made my neck hurt. I shook my head as I reached forward again,

"Mac, it's me. Niall..." I whispered into her ear, "I'm here and you're safe."

I tried to be as gentle as possible.

"Niall?" I heard her say suddenly. Her head was turned in my direction, her eyes wide as she looked at me. She sniffed, her eyes darting around the room as if she was still trying to protect herself, "He's...he's not here."

I shook my head,

"No, he's not. It's just me."

She reached up to clutch her chest,

"I felt..." She swallowed, "I felt like he was here..."

"He's not." I answered, reaching up to put my hand against her cheek, "You're safe. He's in jail."

I watched as her fear dissipated into embarrassment and then sadness. She ran her hand through her hair,

"Jesus...Niall, I could see him. He was as real as if he'd been standing in front of me."
I sat next to her on the bed,

"Nightmares are nothing if not convincing."

She took a deep breath. Now that I was sitting next to her, I could feel her shaking. She also seemed to be anxious and unable to get her bearings,

"I'm...I must've...I woke you up." She finally settled on, her tone apologetic.

I shrugged,

"Salright. I've been woken up plenty in my day. Harry snores."

My lame attempt at humor seemed to calm her a bit. She sputtered out a giggle before relaxing just a touch. She sheepishly kept her eyes diverted to the comforter,

"Scary."

I leaned back onto my elbow,

"Wanna talk about it?"

She licked her lips as she leaned up against the wall behind her,

"He was here...in this room. You and Henry weren't...you weren't here. I dunno how he got in but he just kept telling me I couldn't leave him. He kept telling me he'd hurt you." She squinted her eyes as if she was still remembering pieces, "I don't know how to get him out of my head. He was so real."