Lacrosse

24- Screams and Bad Dreams

Josh

I'm awoken at two o'clock in the morning to the sound of blood curdling screams. I shoot up in bed, my eyes opening wide, darting around the room to find the source of the screams. When I look to my right, Kendall is lying there, tossing and turning, flailing her arms wildly, crying out for help.

"Kendall," I whisper, shaking her shoulders to try to wake her. She does nothing but scream some more. I raise my voice significantly, but not so much that it will wake my parents down the hall. Not that the screaming won't have already. "Kendall!"

Kendall suddenly thrusts the comforter off of her body, her eyes opening and her body going upright. There are tears in her eyes and sweat forming on her hairline. She looks around the room, disoriented and scared.

"Hey, hey. I'm here. Don't worry. It was just a nightmare," I coo, wrapping my arm around her shoulders.

"It was happening again," she whispers, the tears beginning to slide down her rosy cheeks. "It felt so real."

"He can't hurt you anymore, Kend. You're her with me and I won't let anyone or anything hurt you again." I lift my thumb to her face and swipe the droplets of water away.

"Lets just go back to sleep," she suggests, laying back down. I lie down beside her, draping my arm across her torso, underneath her arm. She slips her fingers in between mine and leans back in to my chest. I kiss the area of her neck where it meets her shoulder and begin to close my eyes again. Until the lights turn on above my head and an unpleasant voice fills the air.

"What is she screaming for?" my mother asks, unable and unwilling to keep the annoyance out of her voice. Kendall sits up in my bed and so do I, turning my head so that it's facing the woman that I unfortunately got half of my DNA from.

"Well gee, mom, thank goodness you came," I remark sarcastically. "If either of us were being murdered you truly would have stopped the killer five minutes after we're already dead."

"Don't use that attitude with me mister. It's two o'clock in the morning. I don't want to be up and I certainly don't appreciate it being because your unwelcomed guest was having a bad dream," she spits, pulling her lips in to a pretend pout for the last part.

"Give it a rest, mom. She's staying here until her parents come back whether you like it or not."

"Well I can assure you that I don't like it."

"Your opinion is irrelevant to me. Now go back to your room and get your precious beauty sleep. You need it," I hiss. Kendall stifles a giggle from next to me and I plop back down on my back, trying to give my mom the hint that she should leave now.
But she doesn't.

Hints have never been my mom's forte.

Instead she gasps and marches across the room to my bed, so she is standing right next to me. She leans over and grabs Kendall's chin, pointing it upwards so her neck is directly in my mom's face.

"What the hell are you doing?" I ask, sitting upright once again.

"What is this?" she questions, pointing a long, pointy finger at the hickey on Kendall's neck. Kendall squeals in discomfort.

"That's not from... I mean... That's not..." I try to say, but I can't find the words. That's not from me? That certainly won't be the best thing to say right now. That's not what it looks like? No, it's exactly what it looks like.

But I'm not going to tell my mom the truth either. She won't understand. She won't help Kendall like a mother should. She'll just use it against her. Another drop of gasoline in the fuel running my mom's hatred for Kendall. She'll say she probably did something to ask for it, to lead Michael Corbin on.

"As long as you're under my roof, you will not be doing anything like that," my mother demands. She finally releases Kendall's face and she leans it on my shoulder, hiding her face from this vicious woman in the room with us.

"Like what? Kissing?"

"Hanky panky, that's what!"

"Hanky panky? What does that even mean?"

"You know what it means so don't do it," she hisses, turning around on the heels of her feet and exiting the room. As she is about to turn the light off, something posses me to spite the woman. To do exactly what it is she doesn't want me to do. And so I do it, not thinking. Not understanding exactly how what I do is going to hurt Kendall.

"Hey mom," I call. She turns back around and as soon as her eyes meet mine, I press my lips on to Kendall's and kiss her, hard. I pull her body close to mine until my mom turns the lights off, leaving us in total darkness except for the tiny bit of light coming through the curtains.

Kendall shoves me off of her and slaps me across my cheek, it stinging the area of exposed flesh that was bloodied and bruised from my fight with Michael.

"Why did you do that?" she asks quietly, her voice barely louder than a whisper. I can hear the hurt in her voice, the sadness, the pain.

"Oh my god," I whisper, running my hands through my hair. "Kendall, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to."

"Yes you did!" she cries, and from the tiny sliver of moonlight illuminating the room, I can see tears flowing down her cheeks.

"I did but I wasn't thinking about it! I just wanted to upset my mom," I plea.

"Well you certainly upset someone and I'm not sure if it's your mom," she mutters, dropping her head down on the pillow beside me, scooting as far away from me as she can get.

"I'm sorry." I reach my hand out and place it gently on the small of her back, but she shoos it off.

"Don't touch me."

I pull my hand away, putting it underneath my head on my pillow. I turn away so my back is to Kendall, regret filling every inch of my body.

I shouldn't have done that. Why did I let the wicked witch of this screwed up fairytale get to me? She's trying to ruin everything, and I may have just helped her out.

I woke up to Kendall's nightmare, and now I go back to sleep wishing that this is just another one of mine.