Trust Me

Everybody's Hero

"Quinn?" Jake's voice was quieter but closer, and the door to the room squeaked open, dim light spilling in onto me. It wasn’t the first time he had seen me like this. He came in and curled up next to me, putting an arm over my skinny shoulders. I heaved a huge sob and buried my face in his shoulder. We were young again, eight or nine maybe. He didn't say anything for a minute, just lied in there with me. He knew what had happened, he always knew, and I could feel the anger rolling off of him. Not at me, at my father.

"It's gonna be okay, Quinn. Someday we'll be safe, together, without having to worry about anything. We can eat fried chicken and live together forever, and play monopoly every night." he said, and it sounded like heaven. Those were all of our favorite things.

"What the hell?"

 I screamed and bolted into a sitting position, clutching Jake tightly. My father stomped into the small room, his face red and a vein pulsing in his head. He grabbed Jake by the collar, and I held on, begging him not to.

"Quinn, let go, it's okay!" Jake cried, trying to push my father off and keep me from getting hurt. "Let go, Quinn! Let go!" he kept crying. How could I let go of him? He was my best friend, my only friend, my one and only tie to the world. I wouldn’t be able to let him go.

"Quinn, let go!"

I sat bolt upright in bed, breathing heavy, sweat beading on my forehead and tears stinging the back of my eyes. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and put my head in my hands, trying to get a grip and bring myself back to reality.

I'd never had that dream before. Usually, I only had the same three or four dreams over and over again, but this one was knew, and different from the others. It was equally as terrifying, but twice as heart breaking.

I want Levy.

The thought startled me. More than anything, right then, I wanted to go see Levy, because he always made me feel like everything was going to be okay. It made me feel guilty, but yet I found myself leaving my room and heading down the hall towards the stairs.

Of course, Levy was in the kitchen, sitting at the counter.

"Levy?" I asked, my voice hoarse, and his head snapped up. His eyebrows furrowed.

"Quinn? You okay?" he asked, standing up and taking a step closer to me. The words bubbled up in my throat. I wanted to tell him no,  I was not okay, that's why I went to find him. But I couldn’t tell him that, and it would be unfair for me to just unload all of that onto him.

I sat down at the counter and looked at the dim reflection of my face in the shiny counter top.

"Yeah, I'm okay." I said quietly. He was silent for a minute, then he stood up.

"C'mon." he said, and I looked up at him, surprised.

"Where?" I asked, and he rolled his eyes.

"Just trust me." he said, and I hesitated. I assumed he wasn’t about to take me out into the woods and kill me, though I was prepared, so I got up. He offered me his hand, and, guess what? I didn't even hesitate. I just took it and felt grateful. The familiar tingles of his touch raced up my arm as he lead me to the front door.

Outside, the air was chilly but not uncomfortable. The moon wasn’t quite full, and the chirp of peepers filled the air. It was a nice night. Levy lead me, still holding my hand, towards the garage, surprising me when we walked right past it, heading towards the back yard.

"This is where you murder me and bury me somewhere on their massive property." I said, feeling better all ready. Levy had that affect on me. Levy chuckled at my statement and shook his head.