Wake Me Up

Chapter 7

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I push past the officers and make my way to the middle of the intersection, where the two cars are wrecked. I see an ambulance and their crew working on him, trying to keep him alive. I sprint to his side and croutch down to hold his hand. Heart in my throat and blood rushing out of my head.

"Please, if you can hear me, please wake up. I need you. Don't leave me," tears escape my eyes and tumble down my cheeks. What am I supposed to do with out him? I love him and need him more than he can ever comprehend.

His face is all bloody with scratch marks covering every inch. Still his gorgeous self, he looks like he's only sleeping. His slowly raising chest stops and his face goes from pained to expressionless. No no no. "Archer! No! Don't die!" his hand falls limply from mine and hits the blood stained pavement. The medics exchange looks then get up, telling me they're sorry, then walk away. More tears fall from my eyes as I look at Archers bloody, lifeless body laying in the middle of the street. I didn't even get to say goodbye, or tell him how much I care for him.

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"Megan, wake up!" Archer, alive and well, yells shaking me. I open my eyes and barley make out his features in the dark. "I'm here. It's okay, I'm right here. It was just a dream," he comforts. His hands cupping my cheeks, using his thumbs to brush away the tears of fright. With his forehead pressed to mine, I breathe him in, grabbing handfuls of his shirt, to know that's he's really here and not dead. How do the dreams manage to seem so real?

"I-I thought y-you were..."

"Shh, It's okay. I'm not going anywhere," he coos. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you already fell asleep. I was at the football game," he apologizes stroking my head.

"It's okay," I say weakly. Just then Matt and my dad burst in my room, letting the light from the hallway illuminate my room.

"Meg? Are you alright hon?" my dad asks, coming to my bedside. I pull away from Archer to embrace my dad.

"I'm fine, it was just a bad dream," I tell him.

"You screamed like some one was dying," he tells me. The blood drains from my face, it's good he can't see me. Looking over his shoulder I see Matt and Archer exchange glances. I plead them with my eyes not to tell dad, he doesnt need to worry about me. They're just dreams; scary, very real like dreams.

"Sorry for waking you guys. I'm fine, go back to bed," I tell them. My dad pulls back, kisses my head and says godnight. Once he's out of the door Matt and Archer turn and face me.

"You should tell him." Matt reasons.

"You should to get some help. Find out why you have them and how you can stop them," Archer offers.

"Yeah, they've been going on for like a month now."

"Would you guys stop making this a big deal? Everythings not always about me. People have other stuff going on. Bigger problems to deal with. I don't deserve the extra attention," I vent.

"Megan, I don't care how little something is. You're my sister, I'd do anything for you. I'm always going to put you first, above all," Matt says hugging me. This is severe déjà vu. "But I'm getting worried about you." he sighs and pulls back to look in my eyes. "You're terrified beyond belief. I think you should do something about it instead of always worrying,"

"So your telling me I need mental help?" I raise my eyebrows, "I'm not crazy, I'm just having nightmares."

"Meg, your not crazy. But you should go to like a doctor of something to help you deal with them."

"I guess. Can we talk about this in the morning, I'm tired." I change the subject.

"Sure. I love you, night." he says and kisses the top my head then leaves for his room. I wiggle close to Archer and he sits me on his lap. I press my ear to his chest so I can hear the rythmetic beating of his heart.

"Was this one bad?" Archer has never asked me in detail what happens in my dreams. I figured once he saw my drawing he got some idea.

"The worst one," I hate this dream, it scares me the most. I only used to get it once a week, but it's becoming more frequent.

I feel his Adam's apple bob up and down as he swallows hard, "What happens?" his voice sounds almost scared. Does he really want to know? Do I want to tell him?

"Um, you die. In a really bad car accident," I manage to say while playing with the hem of my shirt. The familiar images flash through my mind and my eyes prickle with new tears. I shut my eyes, in hope to stop the waterworks. I feel so weak crying all the time.

Then I feel Archer wiping away the tears running down my cheeks. He holds me tighter on his lap and I place my head in the crook of his neck. The feel of his skin brushing against my lips is sending shockwaves through my body. My breath blows across his skin making him shiver. I ignore it and continue to enjoy the feeling of being in his arms. I wonder if he knows the effect he has on me.

Then he talks again for the first time in a couple minutes, "Let's get some sleep," I nod and reluctantly move away from him. I get in my side and get comfortable under the warm covers. Archer gets in next to me and drapes a arm across my side, pulling us closer.

After laying still for a while Archer speaks again,"Meg?" his lips close to my ear.

"Yeah?" My voice is coated with exaughstion.

"I'm not going anywhere. Everything's going to be fine. I promise." I turn on my other side so we can be face to face and then we are only centimeters apart. "I promise," he echoes. I see in his eyes that he truly means every word that comes out of his mouth. Then I sigh, some things are out of your hands, completely uncontrollable.

"Don't make promises you can't keep. People just end up getting hurt,"

"I plan on keeping evey promise I'll ever make to you. Every single one." my mind flashes back to when we were kids and I made him pinky promise to be my best friend forever; when we promised nothing would come between us; and when when we promised to always love eachother.

"I love you," I place my head on his chest and arms around his torso, then he returns his hand to my waist.

"I love you, too" four simple words make me bubble on the inside until I remember he means them in a brotherly way then the feeling deflates. But still, I enjoy the moment and believe the words he says to me.

They're just dreams. They're just dreams. I keep repeating to myself.