Living In Fear

Chapter 11 - DayDreams Can Kill

When Donnie was dragged back into consciousness again, it was because someone was gently shaking his shoulder and whispering his name. He rubbed his eyes to clear up his hazy, sleep-stolen vision and tried to make out the person above him, spotting the concerned and apologetic gaze of his oldest brother.

Leo chuckled wryly when Donnie groaned and turned back over to facepalm with the pillow.

"Wakey-wakey, sleepy-shell." Leo teased, pulling the pillow out from under him. He flashed Donnie an innocent grin when the genius shot him a pouting look in response to his ghastly crime against late-sleepers everywhere.

Seemingly unphased by this, he causally added. "Oh, don't look at me like that. Come on now, it's time to get up."

He earned another groan as Donnie swiped the pillow back, pushing the fabric over his face to block out the light that filled the room. Even though he knew that it must have been evening and that he had to get up if he didn't want to arouse the suspicions of his other siblings, he felt as though he could sleep for the next few days and still not gain back any of his depleted energy. Not that he wasn't open to trying...

"Do I have to?" He mumbled as his brain urged him back to sleep, barely taking notice of the fact that Leo had sat down on the bed next to him. To his relief, Leo didn't try taking the pillow back but he could almost feel the tense atmosphere that surrounded his older brother's every move. He had a bad feeling that he wasn't going to like what Leo had to say next, so he was grateful that he had the pillow to block any of his reactions before he had a chance to process it.

"I'm afraid so." Leo replied slowly, a thoughtful silence following before he continued. "I think it would be best to tell Mikey and Raph about your nightmares before we start morning training."

"No!" Donnie gasped, his exhaustion forgotten as a flood of adrenaline caused him to toss the pillow and lurch upright. Shaking his head, he looked at Leo with eyes wide with a new fear and pleaded. "You can't tell them!"

While he felt the immense anxiety that came with this proposal was unnecessary, the leader had been expecting this kind of reaction from his secretive brother. He'd been hoping that now that he knew, Donnie would be more open to allowing their siblings to help figure this situation out, but it was clear that whatever motivation that had made him hold the truth back before was still impeding on his younger brother's reasoning.

"Why can't I?" Leo questioned, hoping he'd be able to uncover the obstacle that had been holding his brother back from telling them sooner. "Don't you think they'd want to know?"

There was a moment of apprehension and then Donnie insisted, "You can't tell them, Leo. Please."

This was not the answer Leo had been looking for and he did his best to bury his rising irritation. Keeping his voice calm and calculated, he met Donnie's nervous gaze and replied. "Donnie, what's the point of hiding this any longer? If I found out, then there's a good chance that they will too. We both know it's only a matter of time, so isn't it better to just tell them now?"

There was a definite pause before Donnie just shook his head and turned away. Hoping that this meant his younger brother was questioning his own reasoning, Leo persisted. "But why not?"

"Because... I-I can figure this out." Donnie replied in a hushed tone, his gaze staying planted on the wall across from them. The way his voice cracked told Leo that he didn't even believe his own words and the leader got off the bed, walking in front of Donnie to retake his gaze.

Setting a hand on his shoulder, Leo tried to keep his voice both soothing and firm as he made a point. "Donnie, I think we both know that's not true. If you were able to do something about the dreams, then you would have done it by now."