The Jerk

The Catcher

1

ONEIROPHOBIA

--Fear of dreams.

“HE WHAT?”

“I’m not entirely sure, it’s just something that came to me through the gossip mill, I mean it could be totally wrong, for all I know. Never trust those sophomores, never did never will. I swear something they say the most...” Chloe shut her mouth when she realised my frown. “Sorry.”

“Can you please just tell me what’s going on?” I asked her, snatching her elbow as we raced through the corridors, my heart racing a million miles a minute. “Because whatever the hell is going on right now...”

“Rose,” Chloe whimpered, pulling her elbow from my hand and clutching at my biceps. I tried to shrug her off but she held me tight. “Rosswen, listen to me. Just hear me out?” I almost glared at that pale face that waited for my response, her green eyes glittering with something I could not read. Why was it that people were becoming so hard to read lately?

“Fine,” I breathed.

“It’s...” she let out a sigh, closing her eyes tightly, “nothing.” My blood ran cold. “You should really stay out of this one, Rose, this doesn’t concern you now, okay? Look, you’re already beginning to shake.” Her fingers were digging into my arms and I winced, pressing my back harder against the plaster of the corridor’s wall. “Let’s get out to first aid; I think you need some help.”

I shoved away her hands, tripping over my feet as I dashed around the corner, ignoring her angry cries for me to come back to her. My hands ran along the walls as I ran, my body aching and my legs numb. A sharp pain radiated throughout my skull, my neck stiff as I turned another corner, tripping over my own clumsy feet before crashing to the hard floor. My chest burned as I lay whimpering on the ground, my already broken ribs aching. I squeezed my eyes shut, curling myself into a ball, biting my lip to keep myself from screaming, but in a final throb of my head and a sudden surge of adrenaline, I slid forward on my belly, pushing myself up onto my hands and knees, crawling towards the loud noises that echoed around the rabbit warren of corridors.

A harsh hand caught my ankle and I let out a scream, twisting in their grasp, kicking and snarling like an angry badger. Chloe’s green eyes glowed with hunger and hatred, her face a pallor that same colour as the whitest of snows. Her thin, pale lips were pulled back into a menacing leer as she dragged me along the corridor floor.

“Maybe you should have come when I told you to.” Her green eyes flickered like a bolt of electricity, turning a dark black as she stared down at me with those darkening eyes that looked like deep pits. “Maybe you should have listened.”

The glint of the silver of her switchblade made me scream.

I sat up, awakened to light of my hospital room, flowers decorating the cabinets and tabletops around me. The room smelt overpowerfully of flowers and pollen and I thanked heaven that I didn’t get hay fever. Mom wasn’t asleep in the chair beside me and neither was Alice, I felt a sudden stab of loneliness that was never there before.

“Just a dream,” I muttered under my breath, lowering my head back onto the soft pillow, my fingers still knotted in the white cloth of the light hospital blankets. “Just a stupid dream.”

“Rosswen.”

I let out a scream as a hand clasped over my mouth. I caught their wrist but all fear soon fell away and I felt myself turn red. Had I seriously just screamed because Quinn had said my name?

“You alright?” He breathed, pulling his hand from my mouth and giving the room a once over, checking the doorway for rushing nurses.

“Oh, yeah,” I hissed, my words drenched with sarcasm, “I’m totally fine with you sneaking into my room after I had a darn nightmare. What are you doing here anyway? It’s after visiting hours.” I pointed out; narrowing my eyes at him with what Mom would call my ‘suspicious pirate look’. Quinn shook his head, laughing as he dropped into the empty seat by my bed. “It wasn’t funny.”