Like Broken Glass

Chapter 9

Conor's POV

I had woken up hearing agonising screams. My first instinct was to grab anything that could be a weapon, so I picked up my lamp next to me. It wasn't until I looked properly that I realised it wasn't an intruder, it was Jack. His back was arched off the bed, his arms and legs flailing around. The bed covers were tangled around him, trapping him in. Tears were streaming down his face and he was slamming his head against the pillow. I jumped out of bed and ran to stand next to him. I shouted his name, but he wouldn't wake. I shook him over and over but he was too lost in whatever nightmarish hell he was experiencing.

All of a sudden my mum and Dad ran in, panicking and looking around to see what was happening. Anna was stood behind them, looking scared. As soon as my parents realised what was going on, they sent Anna back to bed.
"Go back to bed sweetie, everything's ok"
"But Jacks in pain"
"It's ok darling, we'll make it better" my dad said, pushing Anna towards her room.

I looked at my parents, worry in my eyes.
"He won't wake up" I said.
"Poor kid, whatever he's dreaming about sounds really bad"
"Jack, Jack sweetie, can you hear me? It's Helen, I need you to wake up"
Jack continued moaning and crying, shaking his head back and forth.
"No no, leave me alone. I didn't mean to. No please I'll do anything" Jack mumbled, his face scrunched up in pain.
"Jack come on, it's ok you're safe now. I need you to wake up, it's just a dream baby"

After a few minutes of attempting to wake him up, Jack suddenly awakened with a start. He shot up, his eyes open wide with panic, looking around in distress. His breathing was laboured and he was shaking.
"Hey hey Jack, it's ok. We're here, you're safe now" my mother soothed, reaching an arm out towards him. Jack just flinched and edged away from us and made himself as small as possible. His breathing was still rapid, his lungs unable to provide enough air to breathe normally.
"Jack, hey kid. You're ok now. I need you to breathe with me ok. We won't touch you, that's ok, but you need to copy me. In and out. In and out. That's it kid, good boy" my dad said slowly, kneeling in front of the terrified boy.

I just stood there, I felt so useless. I had never in my entire life seen a nightmare so realistic, seen someone so scared of a dream. Anna had had some obviously and I had too, but never to the extent of Jacks. Something bad had happened to him and I intended to find out what. Something about him just makes me want to help him, to love him. As I watched him regain his breath and wipe his tear stained face, I vowed to help him fight whatever monsters were in his head. I feared if somebody didn't start to care, if somebody didn't help, he would snap. Snap like an elastic band that had been stretched too far. I only had one question that burned in the back of my mind. How do you fix something so broken? Can it ever truly be the same again?