Warnings: none.
Another long chapter for you all!
Words 1722
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• Awake •
Tyler flipped through his notebook quickly, searching for an empty page he could use.
"The map, the map, the map." He repeated to himself as he ripped the page from his book and grabbed a pencil, quickly sketching out a circle.
He looked up to his computer monitor, looking around as if it would help him search his memory. He then furrowed his eyebrows in concentration as he began easily, and neatly, sketching out the map of dema from his dream. He knew it wouldn't look exactly like it, but he had to try to remember.
He flipped his pencil around, roughly swiping the pink eraser onto the page, deleting the things that didn't seem to fit right. "Alright." He mumbled, holding the piece of paper up in front of him to get the full view.
He smiled softly at his work, feeling proud that he at least remembered the basic shape and location of the map.
He then set it aside, sliding another empty page in front of his face. He guided his hand to the top of the page, swiftly writing the title to his next project.
"The World of Dema"
"I don't remember most of what happens in these dreams, yet I know they are connected as if it was a different reality. Every time I dream I feel as though I'm living another life. However, I still have my beautiful wife and child.
Although the memories of these dreams are hard to come by, I find myself remembering the most important parts with ease. Since I don't know the whole story until I shut my eyes, I will only give you the gist of it.
As I mentioned, I still have my wife; Jenna is still with me inside my dreams. No feature from her body is different in these dreams; She's still pregnant. However, she is more confident than her real life self. She seems to be how I wish she was, confident in herself, and loving of herself; she seems fearless.
Another detail of the dream that doesn't seem far off from reality is Josh. Although I haven't actually seen him in my dream— from what I can remember— I've thought of him as a best friend since childbirth. The difference in Josh is that, he's missing. He seemed to have escaped from the clutches of the wretched Dema.
My goal in the dream seems to be to follow Josh out of the gates of Dema. However, dream state or not, I am not leaving my child to grow up in a place like that. So, whether I escape or not, Jenna will be beside me."
Tyler then nodded, biting the inside of his lip in thought. He didn't know why he was taking this so seriously, it wasn't like dema was real or anything. However, he felt as though his whole life depended on it. Like he said, he felt like his dream had some sort of reality to it. I mean, who has the same reoccurring dream every time they shut their eyelids? Maybe he had to escape dema before he could move on from the dream.
That's exactly what he planned on doing.
"Baby?" Jenna called from behind him on the small steps towards the studio. Tyler turned his head, his eyes landing on Jenna's sleepy round figure. His eyebrows lifted for her to continue. "It's four in the morning, what are you doing?" Her voice was hoarse, she had been sleeping since 7:30 in the evening.
Tyler looked back at his page, the gray markings of the pencil suddenly fascinating him as he thought. "I just had an idea and I didn't want to forget it."
Jenna sighed, "Oh, well, will you come back upstairs soon? I'm very uncomfortable."
Tyler furrowed his eyebrows, twisting his chair around from the desk to face Jenna's figure leaning on the wall supporting the stairs. The soft squeak from the chair accompanied the small hum of the built in air conditioner. "Why, is everything okay?"
Jenna nodded, "yeah, I just woke up. My head is hurting me real bad tonight." She pressed her fingers into her forehead.
Tyler plumped out his bottom lip in sympathy as he made his way over to embrace her. "Do you want me to get you Motrin?" He whispered, and she shook her head.
"No, just come to bed." She said in an unintentional whine. Tyler pressed her head to his chest gently.
"Okay," he said under his breath, rubbing her back. "You go upstairs. I'll be right there."
Jenna nodded, yawning as she turned around and headed up the stairs slowly.
Tyler turned, walking over to his desk and shuffling his papers into a pile, shoving them inside his drawer to continue with later.
Jenna moaned in discomfort as she buried her nose into Tyler's arm to maybe help relieve the pressure of her pounding headache.
Tyler pressed her closer, rubbing his hand on her curved sides to comfort her. "Just stay still and relax." He mumbled, "you'll fall asleep."
Jenna only sighed, covering her head with her arms as she pressed the top of her head into the side of Tyler's chest. It was a slightly awkward position but it seemed to lessen the ache. Tyler didn't mind. He wasn't planning on sleeping again anytime soon, he was only there to lay with her and help her feel comfortable. She hated trying to fall asleep alone with a migraine.
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"Ruby, stay on this side of the park, baby!" A mom yelled out towards the small enclosed field. A little girl then turned her head, a huge smile spreading across her face as she ran over to the swings just in front of her mother.
Jenna and Debby walked slowly together, as the boys ran along to the wall ball courts.
"Does Josh know yet?" Jenna asked subtly, her eyebrows lifting towards her friend.
Debby felt a huge smile spread across her face as she nodded. "Yeah, he's very happy. I was nervous he wouldn't be."
Jenna giggled, "I could tell he was happy. Tyler is probably drilling him about it right now." Jenna rolled her eyes playfully. Jenna set her things on the picnic table as she slid her butt onto a seat. "Maybe yours will be a boy. They can get together when they're older."
Debby snorted out a laugh at that. "Honestly, I wouldn't be opposed to that idea. But I was sort of hoping for a girl."
Jenna nodded, "let me guess, Josh is hoping for a boy?"
Debby let out a laugh, "Yes. He wants to teach his son how to play drums."
Jenna shook her head, her smile radiating as bright as the sun. "Oh my god, the whole first three months of my pregnancy was Tyler talking non-stop about what songs he was going to teach our baby."
Debby rolled her eyes, a smile teasing her lips. "I wouldn't be surprised if our babies came out knowing how."
Jenna chuckled, leaning her head on her palm as she watched her husband whack the ball with the net onto the wall. A small dull pain shot through her lower back making her squint her eyes closed and breathe out a breath. Debby turned her attention to Jenna. "You okay?"
Jenna nodded, taking a deep breath as she changed her position on the picnic table's seat into a better one. "Yeah, they're normal. Just normal back pains. But the doctor said that's a sign of getting closer to labor, and Tyler gets really nervous when I have back pains. It's really nothing though." Jenna explained, shaking her head in disbelief. "It's just when they become so frequent I can't move is when it's time.— I think."
Debby nodded understandingly. "Hey, babe. Can you toss me a water?" Josh called, and Debby smiled.
She grabbed a water bottle and tossed it over to him, which he caught successfully.
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After a couple games and a couple conversations they went their separate ways, venturing back to their cars.
Tyler wiped his hand on his shirt before nudging Jenna's hand to hold. He was a bit sweaty, but Jenna didn't mind too much. She took ahold of Tyler's hand as Tyler gave her the admiring glance that he seemed to save for her and her only.
Jenna began to sway their arms as they walked, enjoying the comfortable silence. "If we ever moved away, where would we move to?" She asked randomly, pulling Tyler's attention from his moving feet to her tan face.
He thought for a moment before instinctively ducking his head as a crow flew past them, startling him. "Holy shit." He cursed, his eyebrows furrowed as if he was expecting impact.
Jenna began to laugh, her head falling back as she stopped walking to gasp for breath. "I have never seen a bird do that!"
Tyler shook his head, a face of disbelief filling his features. "Me neither. What the hell."
Jenna calmed down, her shoulders shaking away her giggles. "You know, I literally just read that crows can't see yellow. Maybe they didn't like your stupid wall ball hat." Jenna snorted out a small laugh as she tapped her finger on top of the bright yellow bill.
Tyler began to shoo her hand away, thinking of the perfect flirty comeback before suddenly his mind cleared of anything but 'crows can't see yellow'.
He furrowed his eyebrows, his eyes slowly shifting towards the ground as he thought. His mind flashed through the events of his dream.
From the first letter he saw,
" We've studied the watchers, and know that there's no chance that we can step through unnoticed. So, instead of trying to hide ourselves, we'll make sure that all of us are noticed. "
To the yellow tiles that covered their shower, and the box with Yellow tape.
He had the perfect plan of how to escape this unrealistic reality in his mind. Just like the letter said,
Instead of hiding ourselves, we'll make sure that all of us are noticed.
Jenna's hand rested on Tyler's shoulder. "You okay, baby?"
Tyler licked his lips, suddenly feeling them dry from his mouth being slightly open. He gave her a soft smile, reaching in and kissing her lips tenderly. "I've never been better."
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Progressssssss!!!!