Who Knows What's Real...
One
He woke up from the dream soaked in sweat. The images were so real. He shook his head, then looked over at her sleeping form on the opposite side of the bed. When he reached over and touched her, he watched in horror as her body disintegrated into a pile of ash before his eyes. He jumped from the bed and turned on the light, causing her to roll over and look at him with sleepy eyes.
"Babe, you ok?" she asked with a yawn.
"Yeah, yeah. I just had a bad dream." he stammered, climbing back into bed beside her.
She slid over against him, coaxing one of his arms around her, but he pulled away.
"Hold me." she whined.
"I can't. I'm afraid to." he said.
"What? Why?" she questioned, sitting up and looking at him in surprise.
"You'll die." he said, stone faced.
"Oh don't be silly." she chuckled, placing her hand on his tattooed arm.
“I’m not being silly! It fucking happened! I saw it!” he exclaimed before jumping up from the bed.
“Brian, is this about your dream?”
“It was real Dee! I touched you and you turned to ash.” he exclaimed.
“Ok, I know your touch is powerful, but nobody’s is strong enough to turn someone to ash Brian. Did you get into some crazy drugs or something at Jimmy’s party?”
“NO! IT WAS FUCKING REAL! YOU WERE GONE!” Brian yelled, throwing his hands in the air and walking out of the bedroom.
“Where are you going? It’s four in the morning?” Dee called after him.
“TO THE COUCH! IF YOU LIVE THROUGH THE NIGHT, I’LL SEE YOU IN THE MORNING!” he yelled, stomping down the stairs.
Dee let out a loud grown and fell back into the pillows, covering her face with her forearm. Ever since Brian had dreamed that his grandfather died and it had happened two weeks later, he’d been freaking out whenever he had a dream about someone dying. Tonight was no different to Dee, other than the fact that she was the one who had died in his dream. She was becoming very concerned that Brian was heading for some sort of breakdown and she didn’t have a clue what to do. He blamed himself for his grandfather dying, although it wasn’t his fault. He however, felt differently because he had set his mind to believe that since he had dreamed of his death, he surely could’ve doe something to prevent it. Thing is, he couldn’t have stopped it. The man had a heart attack in the garden and died within seconds.
The next morning, Dee woke up still alone in bed. She got up and strolled downstairs to an empty living room. The blankets and pillow from the hall closet lay in a heap at one end of the couch, but there was no sign of Brian. She walked into the kitchen expecting to find him sitting at the table drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. He wasn’t there either. Instead, she noticed the patio door ajar and went to investigate. She watched Brian as he swam laps in the pool. She knew instantly that he was still shaken by the nightmare because only two things helped him clear his head of the demons that intruded his brain. One was surfing, but there were no waves this morning; and the other was doing laps in the pool. She watched him for a few minutes, then decided to leave him and go back inside. She started the coffee pot and decided pancakes would be a good idea as she started breakfast.
“Smells good.” Brian whispered as he wrapped his arms around Dee’s waist as she flipped the pancakes.
“They’ll be ready in a few minutes.” she spoke, not bothering to look back at him.
Brian rested his chin on her shoulder and tightened his embrace. She cold fee dampness from where the little tuft of hair on his chin was still wet from the pool and it made her giggle a little.
“I’m sorry babe. It just seemed so real last night and it scared the fuck outta me.” Brian whispered.
“I know Brian. But as you can see, I’m alive and well.” she said, leaning back against his damp chest.
Brian sighed and turned her around to face him, placing a light kiss on her lips before pulling away and walking toward the living room.
“Where are you going?” Dee asked.
“I need to change out of these wet shorts unless you want the chair cushions wet.” he chuckled as he disappeared through the doorway.
Dee smiled and shook her head, turning back to the stove to finish the pancakes.
Brian rummaged through the dresser, pulling out a pair of board shorts. As he slipped them on he heard a scream coming from downstairs, then the sound of the smoke alarm sounding. He ran downstairs into the kitchen to find Dee opening the windows and cursing under her breath.
“Babe are you ok?!” he exclaimed as he grabbed her and looked her over.
“I’m fine. I only turned my back for a second to answer my phone and the griddle burst into flames.” she said, catching her breath.
“When I heard you scream, then the alarm, I thought...”
“Shh, it’s ok.” she said, placing her index finger to his lips. “It was an accident Brian, nothing more.”
Brian nodded and pulled Dee closer to him, holding her tightly as something in the backyard caught his eye. He released Dee and went to the door. The figure seemed familiar to him, although he couldn’t see her face. He called out to her and she ran, disappearing into the crown on the beach.
“Michelle.” he whispered, as Dee put an arm around his waist and looked up at him.
“Michelle? No way. She’s locked up in that psychiatric hospital in Maine Brian. There’s no way that was her.” Dee reminded him.
“I know, but she sure did remind me of her.” he said, looking down at Dee.
“How about I call Val? She’ll know for sure.” she said, running her fingers along his jaw line before placing a sweet kiss on his lips.
“Ok.”
While Dee called Val, Brian stepped out onto the patio for a cigarette. As he smoked, he thought about how five years ago he was about to marry who he thought was the love of his life. Her name was Michelle. he met her through her twin sister Valary, who just happened to be dating his best friend Matt. They hit it off instantly and had dated for four years when he decided to propose. Two weeks before the wedding, Brian started having doubts. He talked it over with Matt, who, being the dumbass he was, told Val, who in turn told her sister.
Brian lit another cigarette as he continued to play the details of that night through his mind.
When he came home that night after talking to Matt after work, the house was dark and had a strange odor. When he flipped on the lights in the living room, he was met with the sight of Michelle wielding a cast iron skillet. Before he had time to even think, she hit him, knocking him out cold. When he regained consciousness, he was tied to the dining room table with candles lit all around him. Michelle was straddling him, chanting something he couldn’t understand and holding a knife between her hands, slowing raising them above her head. He yelled her name as she chanted louder and brought the knife down. He rubbed the scar on his shoulder as he remembered the knife making contact as Matt had entered the room and pushed Michelle off him, causing her to miss her original target, his heart. He always considered himself lucky that Matt came over, hoping to continue the conversation they’d had earlier.
At Michelle’s trial, her lawyer told the court that she was under some delusion that she was a witch. This is what lead to the ritual she had attempted to perform on Brian. Once she found out he was having second thoughts about marrying her, she decided that performing an eternal bond ritual would make him forget all of his doubts and be hers forever. The judge ordered a psychiatric evaluation and it was determined that Michelle suffered from Borderline Personality Disorder and mild Schizophrenia. With this result, the judge ordered Michelle to be committed to a psychiatric program at Riverview Psychiatric Center in Maine, stating that it would be in the best interest of all parties involved to have distance between them.
In the five years since the trial, Brian had seen a therapist to help him through the traumatic event that nearly killed him. He’d also met Dee and fallen hopelessly in love with her. They were in complete bliss until two years ago when his grandfather died. Since then, things had been tense due to the terrible nightmares that he’d started having again.
“Brian.” Dee said, interrupting his thoughts.
“Yeah babe?”
Dee walked over and sat on his lap with a look of sheer horror on her face. “She’s escaped.”
Brian looked at her in disbelief as all the color drained from his face. He wrapped his arms around Dee and buried his face in her shoulder.
“FUCK!”
"Babe, you ok?" she asked with a yawn.
"Yeah, yeah. I just had a bad dream." he stammered, climbing back into bed beside her.
She slid over against him, coaxing one of his arms around her, but he pulled away.
"Hold me." she whined.
"I can't. I'm afraid to." he said.
"What? Why?" she questioned, sitting up and looking at him in surprise.
"You'll die." he said, stone faced.
"Oh don't be silly." she chuckled, placing her hand on his tattooed arm.
“I’m not being silly! It fucking happened! I saw it!” he exclaimed before jumping up from the bed.
“Brian, is this about your dream?”
“It was real Dee! I touched you and you turned to ash.” he exclaimed.
“Ok, I know your touch is powerful, but nobody’s is strong enough to turn someone to ash Brian. Did you get into some crazy drugs or something at Jimmy’s party?”
“NO! IT WAS FUCKING REAL! YOU WERE GONE!” Brian yelled, throwing his hands in the air and walking out of the bedroom.
“Where are you going? It’s four in the morning?” Dee called after him.
“TO THE COUCH! IF YOU LIVE THROUGH THE NIGHT, I’LL SEE YOU IN THE MORNING!” he yelled, stomping down the stairs.
Dee let out a loud grown and fell back into the pillows, covering her face with her forearm. Ever since Brian had dreamed that his grandfather died and it had happened two weeks later, he’d been freaking out whenever he had a dream about someone dying. Tonight was no different to Dee, other than the fact that she was the one who had died in his dream. She was becoming very concerned that Brian was heading for some sort of breakdown and she didn’t have a clue what to do. He blamed himself for his grandfather dying, although it wasn’t his fault. He however, felt differently because he had set his mind to believe that since he had dreamed of his death, he surely could’ve doe something to prevent it. Thing is, he couldn’t have stopped it. The man had a heart attack in the garden and died within seconds.
The next morning, Dee woke up still alone in bed. She got up and strolled downstairs to an empty living room. The blankets and pillow from the hall closet lay in a heap at one end of the couch, but there was no sign of Brian. She walked into the kitchen expecting to find him sitting at the table drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. He wasn’t there either. Instead, she noticed the patio door ajar and went to investigate. She watched Brian as he swam laps in the pool. She knew instantly that he was still shaken by the nightmare because only two things helped him clear his head of the demons that intruded his brain. One was surfing, but there were no waves this morning; and the other was doing laps in the pool. She watched him for a few minutes, then decided to leave him and go back inside. She started the coffee pot and decided pancakes would be a good idea as she started breakfast.
“Smells good.” Brian whispered as he wrapped his arms around Dee’s waist as she flipped the pancakes.
“They’ll be ready in a few minutes.” she spoke, not bothering to look back at him.
Brian rested his chin on her shoulder and tightened his embrace. She cold fee dampness from where the little tuft of hair on his chin was still wet from the pool and it made her giggle a little.
“I’m sorry babe. It just seemed so real last night and it scared the fuck outta me.” Brian whispered.
“I know Brian. But as you can see, I’m alive and well.” she said, leaning back against his damp chest.
Brian sighed and turned her around to face him, placing a light kiss on her lips before pulling away and walking toward the living room.
“Where are you going?” Dee asked.
“I need to change out of these wet shorts unless you want the chair cushions wet.” he chuckled as he disappeared through the doorway.
Dee smiled and shook her head, turning back to the stove to finish the pancakes.
Brian rummaged through the dresser, pulling out a pair of board shorts. As he slipped them on he heard a scream coming from downstairs, then the sound of the smoke alarm sounding. He ran downstairs into the kitchen to find Dee opening the windows and cursing under her breath.
“Babe are you ok?!” he exclaimed as he grabbed her and looked her over.
“I’m fine. I only turned my back for a second to answer my phone and the griddle burst into flames.” she said, catching her breath.
“When I heard you scream, then the alarm, I thought...”
“Shh, it’s ok.” she said, placing her index finger to his lips. “It was an accident Brian, nothing more.”
Brian nodded and pulled Dee closer to him, holding her tightly as something in the backyard caught his eye. He released Dee and went to the door. The figure seemed familiar to him, although he couldn’t see her face. He called out to her and she ran, disappearing into the crown on the beach.
“Michelle.” he whispered, as Dee put an arm around his waist and looked up at him.
“Michelle? No way. She’s locked up in that psychiatric hospital in Maine Brian. There’s no way that was her.” Dee reminded him.
“I know, but she sure did remind me of her.” he said, looking down at Dee.
“How about I call Val? She’ll know for sure.” she said, running her fingers along his jaw line before placing a sweet kiss on his lips.
“Ok.”
While Dee called Val, Brian stepped out onto the patio for a cigarette. As he smoked, he thought about how five years ago he was about to marry who he thought was the love of his life. Her name was Michelle. he met her through her twin sister Valary, who just happened to be dating his best friend Matt. They hit it off instantly and had dated for four years when he decided to propose. Two weeks before the wedding, Brian started having doubts. He talked it over with Matt, who, being the dumbass he was, told Val, who in turn told her sister.
Brian lit another cigarette as he continued to play the details of that night through his mind.
When he came home that night after talking to Matt after work, the house was dark and had a strange odor. When he flipped on the lights in the living room, he was met with the sight of Michelle wielding a cast iron skillet. Before he had time to even think, she hit him, knocking him out cold. When he regained consciousness, he was tied to the dining room table with candles lit all around him. Michelle was straddling him, chanting something he couldn’t understand and holding a knife between her hands, slowing raising them above her head. He yelled her name as she chanted louder and brought the knife down. He rubbed the scar on his shoulder as he remembered the knife making contact as Matt had entered the room and pushed Michelle off him, causing her to miss her original target, his heart. He always considered himself lucky that Matt came over, hoping to continue the conversation they’d had earlier.
At Michelle’s trial, her lawyer told the court that she was under some delusion that she was a witch. This is what lead to the ritual she had attempted to perform on Brian. Once she found out he was having second thoughts about marrying her, she decided that performing an eternal bond ritual would make him forget all of his doubts and be hers forever. The judge ordered a psychiatric evaluation and it was determined that Michelle suffered from Borderline Personality Disorder and mild Schizophrenia. With this result, the judge ordered Michelle to be committed to a psychiatric program at Riverview Psychiatric Center in Maine, stating that it would be in the best interest of all parties involved to have distance between them.
In the five years since the trial, Brian had seen a therapist to help him through the traumatic event that nearly killed him. He’d also met Dee and fallen hopelessly in love with her. They were in complete bliss until two years ago when his grandfather died. Since then, things had been tense due to the terrible nightmares that he’d started having again.
“Brian.” Dee said, interrupting his thoughts.
“Yeah babe?”
Dee walked over and sat on his lap with a look of sheer horror on her face. “She’s escaped.”
Brian looked at her in disbelief as all the color drained from his face. He wrapped his arms around Dee and buried his face in her shoulder.
“FUCK!”