Overwhelmed

nightmares

After hours in the sun, my skin is tender to the touch. Using sunscreen helped, but the warm rays still left behind a pink glow. Outside, I can hear the boys laughing around a bonfire they built hours ago. I stayed outside with them for a while, but swimming knocked me out early. 

Everyone agreed to the same sleeping arrangements as last night, so I'm still settled in George's room. I feel bad that he has to sleep on the couch in his own house, but he assured us he doesn't mind. I'll still offer to trade tomorrow even though I'm certain he'll refuse.

With the sound of crickets and laughter to comfort me, I fall asleep almost immediately. My dreams are pleasant at first, full of memories from today. First, George and I are doing yoga in the park again. Everything is a little off, though. There's no one else around, the sun is a bit brighter than it should be, and everything is completely silent. No birds, no bugs, no natural city noises.

My next dream takes place at a large pool, so big that I cannot see the ends of it. Around me, other members of the olympic team are swimming. Samantha from prelims stops and splashes me with water. "Where have you been? You're falling behind!" She yells over the loud swimmers around us. I try to answer, but am suddenly thrown under a violent wave.

It's a struggle to get back above water again, but when I do, I find that every other swimmer has disappeared. Instead, Clay is floating on a pool noodle a few yards away. "Y/n! There you are. We've been searching for hours." He shouts, not moving from his comfortable position.

"You don't look like you were working too hard..." I find myself saying. An expression of pain crosses his eyes before an emotionless stare takes over once again

"Of course I was. We all were." As he says this, he motions behind me. Where there was once empty water now sit all of my friends and family. "Thomas is here too, y/n."

"Thomas is dead. Stop it." Thomas disappears from the crowd. "My parents are in the United States and so is Samantha." They also vanish, leaving empty pool floats behind.

"Who else?" I look around at the remaining party.

"Half of them are still in the United States..." Many of the ones who vanish are old friends, neighbors, and even my beloved Lucy. All that remains is George, Nick, and of course, Clay.

"Just the four of us now."

"They're sleeping... Not in a pool." Nick and George disappear too.

"You did well... but now it's only the two of us." Around me, the water drains and I'm left standing in a white room. It's almost too bright for me to handle, but Clay blocks the light as he stands over me. "What will we do now?"

"I just want to sleep, Clay."

"Ahh... but we can."

"Please leave." I don't know why, but the look in Clay's eyes seems dangerous and greedy. My mind is blurry, but I am sure it's not safe to be in this situation. I begin to back away slowly, hoping he won't notice the movement.

"Where are you going, y/n?" I turn to run, but he catches my wrist, spinning me around until I crash into his chest. He has no heartbeat.

"Let go! Let go! Let go!" I scream until my eyes turn black and the room fades away into darkness. When I open my eyes again, I realize that I'm still in George's bed. Now, however, there is no light left streaming through the crack in the curtains and I certainly don't hear any voices outside. I wonder how long I could have possibly slept as I crawl out of the now-sweaty sheets.

My shirt is plastered to my body and my hands tremble as I turn the door handle. I head straight to the bathroom, praying that no one wakes up. My first instinct was to wake up Clay, but after that dream, I'm not sure he could comfort me. I don't bother try to understand what it meant. Honestly, it probably means nothing. I'm not new to nightmares at this point. They're usually just my brain's twisted way of torturing me even in my sleep.

In the bathroom, I splash my face with cool water and change into a new t-shirt. Just as I'm about to leave, I hear a soft knock on the door. It startles me so much that a small yelp escapes my throat before I can compose myself.

"Y/n? Are you alright?" Phew, it's just George. He probably wakes up to everything in the living room. I open the door to find him standing timidly in the hallway.

"Hey, sorry. I'm okay. Just had a nightmare." He still looks concerned.

"Was it about..." I wait for him to finish, but he just stares at the ground, suddenly embarrassed.

"It wasn't about Thomas, no. You were in it." His eyes widen in a mix of fear and surprise. "You aren't what made it a nightmare, don't worry."

"Oh, okay. That's good. I was scared. Are you feeling home sick or something?"

"Not quite," I say, leaning against the doorframe to avoid a sore back. "Maybe just a bit overwhelmed with everything that's happened in the past few months." Again, a somber expression takes over his face.

After a moment, he looks back up at me again. "Are you going back to bed then? I can tuck you in or something."

We both chuckle at this. "Sure, George. You can tuck me in." He smiles and leads me back to the bedroom. Inside, I find the sheets in complete disarray. Apparently I was thrashing in my sleep a bit. Perhaps I thought I was swimming or running.

"Do you want me to sit with you for a while? Just until you fall asleep?" At first I'm about to say no, but then Clay's emotionless face flashes in my brain and I realize it might be nice to have someone else there.

"Actually, that might make it easier to fall asleep... If you don't mind of course." He smiles and sits down on the bed next to me. Although I'm snuggled into the sheets, he sits above the covers and leans back onto a stack of pillows I threw aside. 

"Ahh, this is so much more comfortable than the couch," he says, laughing.

"George! I said I would take the couch, you idiot!" I whisper-scream, hitting his chest with a pillow. This only makes him laugh more.

"I know! I know! I'm kidding! God, you're feisty when you're tired."

"Shut the fuck up," I say, turning over and closing my eyes. He laughs for a while then just lays in silence. It only takes a couple minutes for me to begin drifting off. Just as the sleep takes over, I feel George's fingers running through my hair. Just like Clay does.

To be continued...