It's difficult to move quickly with a very large black and ginger cat threading his way between your ankles. No wonder Little Ozzie moved as little as he did. With his very great bulk, disaster could only have been moments away. Still, Stormy manages to drop neither coffee nor ice-cream as she walks into the rec-room, making a bee-line for her husband, who looks troubled.
From between her ankles, Terrible Chester hisses with gusto.
"You look terrible, Oddie," she says, handing him the ice-cream.
"I had a nightmare," I answer, taking the ice cream from Stormy with a small smile, knowing that she will understand what I'm really saying when I speak the word 'nightmare'. There is nothing simple about my nightmares, nothing that can be calmed away like a child's fears with a night light and a small teddy bear.
That said, I do feel the sudden urge for the only stuffed bear I ever had and I haven't seen him since I was sixteen.
"I don't remember completely," I say after a take a moment and let myself indulge in the comfort of Stormy's hand against the top of my head. That and the cool weight of the ice cream against my hand are both more welcome than I can say.
"You were there and so was Tim. Shari, too, I think. There were..." Even now, in this world where they don't exist or I simply don't see them, I dislike speaking of them out loud. "Bodachs. Everywhere."
The hiss of the cat makes him jump and turn away from the shelf in time to see Odd, apparently in some kind of distress, though he'd been sleeping perfectly peacefully moments before.
"Huh?" I answer, ever the wordsmith, then feel a faint flush of embarrassment begin to creep up my cheeks at having been caught in the throes of a nightmare by Eric Taylor. There are few people on this island who are as authoritative as Chief Wyatt Porter was capable of being, but Eric is one of them.
"A nightmare, sir," I admit, planting my feet firmly on the ground as if that might banish the horrible images from my mind. "Just a nightmare."
He nods. He'd suspected as much. "Looked like. Bad?"
He's had more than his share since arriving here; mostly to do with Tami and Julie and those he doesn't like to think about in any detail, but there have been other ones, nosebleeds that don't stop and watching his skin turn yellow. As good as this place can be, maybe it's just a part of living here.
Though I do trust Tim, I sometimes wonder if perhaps he's told anyone my secret and when I look at Eric for a moment, I think about telling him everything. Instead, just for now, I nod.
"The worst," I answer with a soft sigh. "Before I came here there was a horrible attack at home. That sort of thing never really goes away."
Lily's just coming in from the kitchen when, the next thing she knows, there's a large cat by her feet and Odd is sitting up, looking what she'd describe as pretty distressed. At first, she just stands there, and for a moment, a flicker of a sympathetic smile crosses her face. It fades, though, and with a mug of hot coffee clasped between her hands, she crosses to where he's now sitting. He'd been good to her when he'd found her in the same position, after all.
"Hey," she murmurs, glancing over at him from over her shoulder. "You okay? You...don't look so good."
"Lily," I say and although I'm not surprised to see her -- it seems right, after all -- I am momentarily startled by the sound of her voice and I draw in a short, deep breath.
"I had a nightmare," I explain a moment later, then offer her a faint smile. "A far too vivid nightmare." I wish I could blame what I'd seen on stress, on the attack six months ago, but this was something new.
The feeling is one Lily knows all too well, and so she just nods, her expression softening even more as a sign of just how well she understands. The fireworks nights before had made things both better and worse -- they'd gotten her outside, but brought back memories she'd been trying to move past of buildings burning and the explosions that had come with the monster, or whatever it was.
She doesn't comment on any of that, though. Instead, she takes a quick sip of her coffee and shifts slightly to face him more. "Is there anything I can do, get you?"
Slowly, I shake my head and say, "I'll be fine, really. It isn't the first time I've had a dream like this." It isn't even the hundredth time and although I can't say I'll ever really get used to them, they've settled into me. They're a part of him.
"I suppose you know all about that, though," I add, offering her a small smile. I haven't forgotten our first meeting, of course.
Comments 65
From between her ankles, Terrible Chester hisses with gusto.
"You look terrible, Oddie," she says, handing him the ice-cream.
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That said, I do feel the sudden urge for the only stuffed bear I ever had and I haven't seen him since I was sixteen.
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"Oh." She reaches out and rubs her hand over the top of Odd's head, a familiar, utterly comfortable gesture.
"What happened?"
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"You were there and so was Tim. Shari, too, I think. There were..." Even now, in this world where they don't exist or I simply don't see them, I dislike speaking of them out loud. "Bodachs. Everywhere."
Reply
Eric frowns, concerned. "Odd? You alright?"
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"A nightmare, sir," I admit, planting my feet firmly on the ground as if that might banish the horrible images from my mind. "Just a nightmare."
Reply
He's had more than his share since arriving here; mostly to do with Tami and Julie and those he doesn't like to think about in any detail, but there have been other ones, nosebleeds that don't stop and watching his skin turn yellow. As good as this place can be, maybe it's just a part of living here.
Reply
"The worst," I answer with a soft sigh. "Before I came here there was a horrible attack at home. That sort of thing never really goes away."
Reply
"Hey," she murmurs, glancing over at him from over her shoulder. "You okay? You...don't look so good."
Reply
"I had a nightmare," I explain a moment later, then offer her a faint smile. "A far too vivid nightmare." I wish I could blame what I'd seen on stress, on the attack six months ago, but this was something new.
Reply
She doesn't comment on any of that, though. Instead, she takes a quick sip of her coffee and shifts slightly to face him more. "Is there anything I can do, get you?"
Reply
"I suppose you know all about that, though," I add, offering her a small smile. I haven't forgotten our first meeting, of course.
Reply
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