Bliss was hazy. It was my new home. I couldn't remember much about my old home. Just that it was bad—it was pain. Bliss was calm. It was restful and perfect.
It seemed to go on for days, weeks, months. It went on until time didn't matter. Time wasn't really a part of Bliss. Time was separate. I didn't need it anymore.
Sometimes words drifted in and out. Most of them I tried to ignore. They brought flashes of pain and torment. They ruined Bliss. There were only two voices that I wanted, two that didn't bring the torment. They brought memories of happiness, warm summers filled with laughter. Finn and Addie's voices didn't disturb the Bliss. They were good.
When I heard them, I wanted more. It was the only time I felt safe, the only time I inched closer to awareness and further from the Bliss. Eventually I got close enough that I understood them. Their words weren't buzzing noises in the background. They were clear.
I didn't know if I wanted to, but I was waking up.
"No, it was all true." The bitterness and anger in Addie's tone made me want to retreat back to the Bliss, but I couldn't—I'd come too far. "You don't know him—you've never known him."
"Why are you saying these things?" Mia's voice forced a dozen terrifying images through my head at once. I squeezed my eyes shut tighter, wishing I'd never come so close to the surface. "And why would I believe either of you anymore, after Finn lied to me—again—to get me down here? I can't believe you'd let him tell me you were in an accident, Addie."
"You'd be too stubborn to come otherwise," Addie groaned, and then continued. "And yes, Finn lied, but what Parker told you was the truth."
"How could it possibly be true?" Mia's voice sounded oddly pinched. This was hurting her.
"We don't know. He doesn't even know." Finn didn't sound much happier than his sister, but he was much calmer. "We're not lying that Parker's a good guy. He'd never hurt you—he'd never hurt anyone. He isn't your stalker."
More flashes of Dr. Freeburg's dead eyes staring on and on forever slashed through my Bliss, and I retreated to a small corner of my mind, wanting it all to stop. This had been a mistake. All I wanted was for the Bliss to come back.
"Fine, okay. But it's bizarre, you know." Mia sounded resigned but wary. "Whoever is doing it obviously wants me to think it's Parker. Why would someone do that?"
"What do you mean?" Addie must have moved, because she sounded much closer than before. In spite of the painful memories, something in her voice made me glad I'd come back.
"They came from Chipp8@gmail.com. Eight is his soccer number, right?"
A stubborn shadow of doubt hovered over a corner of my Bliss like an ominous cloud. I stabbed at it with my thoughts, willing it to go away and leave me in peace, but like any cloud, stabbing at it was pretty useless.
Finn's breath came out in a gush. "Yeah, that's his number, but not his e-mail address. He set his up a couple years ago, when his number was eighteen. It's exactly the same, but with an eighteen instead of an eight. See? We told you it wasn't him."
The room fell silent for a moment before Addie finally spoke. "This is not a good thing, Finn." Her tone was hushed, worried. "Who would want to make it look like it was Parker?"
"If I knew that, I'd know who was sending them," Mia said, her voice trembling.
Then someone came in and ushered them out. From what the stranger said, she must've been a nurse. The giant, looming oak tree flashed through my mind, and I wondered for a moment how bad of an accident I'd been in.
YOU ARE READING
Insomnia
Mystery / Thriller"It's been four years since I slept, and I suspect it is killing me." Instead of sleeping, Parker Chipp spends each night trapped in the dream of the last person he's made eye contact with. Every night he is crushed by other people's fear and pain...
