Getting Away With You

I lay in bed later that night, the house was nice and warm, and I could hear the faint noise of rather Matt, or Brian’s TVs playing some paid programming spot from down the hall or the TV in the living room where Jimmy was on the couch. Though they were all surely asleep by now, I couldn’t really drift off. I would fall asleep for just a few minutes, and my parents would flash into my mind, and I’d wake up. I didn’t know why I couldn’t get them out of my head. I hadn’t even turned my phone on since I left home two days ago. I could only imagine how many missed calls and texts I had. I closed my eyes once more, and my mind slowly began to shut down.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
^*Matt’s POV*^
I rolled over onto my side, Freak’s words still ringing in my head. ‘You two would look cute together.’ I had to admit, I had taken a liking to Danielle. She was an amazing girl. But…look at me, I’m only twenty one years old, a murderer, and technically, a kidnapper too, I’ve lost my wife and daughter because I declined to kill a seventeen year old boy who got a drug lord that I was supposed to protect put in jail…I’m just a broken, fucked up human being… Michelle…she didn’t mind what I was, she didn’t care about who I hung around, or the mess I was caught up in, she loved me for what was inside of me, the inside of my heart, not the outside. She looked past all of my mistakes, and flaws, and loved me for me. I don’t think I can ever find someone like her. She was who I believe I was meant to be with, and now that’s she’s gone, I have no one but Jimmy and Brian left, and trust me, I am not starting a relationship with either of them. Ever. But Danni, she’s starting to fill the hole that Michelle left in my heart. With a friendship, of course, nothing more, but I’m content around her, like…like nothing could take her away from me. She chose to run away from her life and come with Jimmy, Brian and I to Florida. She came by choice. That meant something to me. I just hope she knows what she’s gotten herself into.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
^*Danielle’s POV*^
I woke up again, and sat up, looking around to make sure I was still in Freak’s house, and not in mine. I pushed my hair out of my face, breathing heavily. I was shaken by what had just invaded my mind, and I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it at all. It wasn’t about my parents this time. It was about Matt. It wasn’t a good dream, either. It was a nightmare, one of my worst. It was a repeat of the night I met him. But there was a sick twist, instead of me coming in and finding out he had killed Riley, it was someone else walking into my house to find Matt, and he lead them to my old bedroom...where he had killed me. It felt so real, like it was some sick premonition. I laid back down shakily, and closed my eyes, and as soon as I did a picture of my body lying in a pool of blood, with Matt standing above me in an unfamiliar room flashed, and I couldn’t open my eyes for a moment to get the picture out of my mind, but soon my eyes did open, and I was up in less than half a second. What if that came true? What if he was planning on killing me because I helped him dispose of Riley’s body and now he’s going to get me alone somehow and stab me to death too? What if I find myself alone with him? What if he carried around a knife or a gun or something? What if he seriously was planning on killing me? What if he decided to do it tonight? What if he snuck in here as soon as I fell asleep and slit my throat? What if… God I need to stop. I glanced around the room I was in, suddenly fearful of all of the shadows that were large enough to conceal him in the darkness. My eyes caught one large shadow in the corner of the room, and I stared at it for what seemed like a lifetime, before I opened my mouth. At first, nothing came out, I was petrified in fear of what could be lurking. I could feel him, engraved in the shadows all around the room. But maybe that feeling was just my excessive paranoia. Either way, I was scared.

“M-Matt?” I asked, my voice quiet. There was a noise from somewhere in the house and like lightening I was out of bed, and running down the hall. I didn’t want to sleep alone. Jimmy was on the couch, Matt was out of the question, so I ran to Brian’s room. I opened the door a few inches, just enough to see Brian passed out on the bed. “Brian?” I hoped he would wake up. He barely stirred, and rolled over onto his stomach. “B-Brian?” I raised my voice a little, and after a moment he looked over at me through squinted eyes.

“What?” He asked groggily.

“C-can I sleep with you tonight?” I asked and he sat up slightly.

“Why?”

“I-I had a really bad dream and I can’t sleep alone. Please?” I asked and he sighed sitting up.

“Come on.” He said, and I opened the door wide enough for me to squeeze through before I shut it back quietly. I went over to the bed and he threw the covers back, allowing me to crawl in before he looked at me skeptically. He took his thumb and wiped something off of my cheek. “You’re crying… Is everything okay?” He asked, concern evident in his voice, and I nodded, wiping my eyes.

“Nightmare, that’s all.” I said, and he nodded as I lay down. He lay down beside me, and I curled up beside him, desperately afraid to be even a few inches out of his grasp. Thanks to that bad dream, I was becoming afraid of Matt. “Thanks, Brian.” I whispered, and he wrapped an around me.

“Don’t mention it.”

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
The next morning I woke up as someone was shaking my shoulder.

“Hey, wake up, Jimmy made breakfast.” I heard a soft voice, and I slowly opened my eyes, still lying in Brian’s arms. I saw Matt and immediately flinched, backing up in Brian’s arms even further, and Matt leaned away a little. “Clam down, it’s just me.” He said, and I relaxed the best I could. “What are you doing in here?”

“I had a bad dream, and Brian’s room was closest.” I answered, calming down. He wasn’t going to hurt me, not Matt. That other dream I had last night was just that; a dream.

“Alright, well, Jimmy has somehow managed to make breakfast without burning us all up.” He said, and I got up and out of bed. “I’ll wake Brian up, go eat before the food gets cold.” Matt smiled lightly and I nodded.

“Alright.” I said, and walked out of the room. I took my time walking around the top floor to the other side, where the staircase was. I had another nightmare last night after I went to Brian’s room. But it was worse than the first. It was one of the worst nightmares I’ve ever had in my life. I didn’t know if I should be afraid of Matt or not. Maybe running away with him was a bad idea. I hardly knew anything about him when I decided to come with him, I had only known him for a few hours, and a few minutes before I met him he killed one of my friends, and then threatened to kill me. But, dealing with the fear of him seemed to be easier with Jimmy and Brian around, they were pretty decent guys, and it was better than being at home with my parents, sitting through another one of their historic arguments.

“Look who decided to crawl out of bed.” Jimmy smiled as I walked into the dining room. I sat down next to him at the table, and a moment later Matt and Brian came down the stairs.

“Is it true?” Brian asked, shocked, as he came over to the table.

“Is what true?” Jimmy asked with a mouthful of eggs.

“That you cooked breakfast without burning the fucking house down.” Brian said, and sat down across from me, and Matt sat next to him.

“Apparently so.” Matt said, picking up his fork and stabbing the toast a couple of times. “And the toast isn’t crumbling.” He looked up at Jimmy. “You finally did something right. Good for you.” Matt smiled. Jimmy didn’t say anything.

“Aren’t you going to snap at him or something?” I asked Jimmy, and he shook his head.

“Nope, because I made his and Brian’s plates special with extra baking soda, toothpaste, gravel, and whatever other disgusting shit I could mix into eggs, put on toast, and stir into coffee.” Jimmy grinned and Matt and Brian stopped eating, their forks clattering against their plates as their meal was paused.

“Are you serious?” Brian asked and Jimmy sighed.

“Maybe, maybe not, who knows. I’m just the psychotic lunatic.” Jimmy grinned at them, and they both pushed their plates away.

“Fuck this, I’m going out to eat.” Brian stood up.

“I’m with him.” Matt stood up also. “Danni, you wanna come with us?” Matt asked and I shook my head, taking a bite of my toast.

“I’m not that hungry anyways. You two go ahead.” I said and he shrugged. They both walked off towards the stairs to go get dressed. “Wait, you didn’t fuck with my food too, did you?” I asked Jimmy.

“Nope, and I didn’t fuck with theirs either, I just wanted to savor the looks on their faces.” Jimmy smiled.

“You’re smarter than I thought.” I said, and he looked at me indifferently.

“You thought I was smart?” He asked and laughed a little. “Wow, haven’t heard that one before.”

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Matt and Brian came running down the stairs a few moments later and said quick goodbyes before rushing out the door. After Jimmy and I got done eating, he put the dishes in the sink, and sat back down at the table.

“I wonder how much longer Matt and Brain will be gone…” I pondered and Jimmy sighed.

“Shouldn’t be too much longer.” Jimmy and, and then looked over at me. “Where were you last night?”

“What?” I asked, because I didn’t quite get his question.

“I woke up and had this weird feeling, and I went to check on you and you weren’t in bed. I didn’t think much of it, but it kind of worried me.” I was touched that he checked up on me. How sweet could he get? “Did you sneak out or something?” He asked and I shook my head.

“No, I had a bad nightmare, and I was afraid to sleep alone so I went to Brian’s room.” I said and he looked at me oddly.

“Why didn’t you go to Matt’s room? You two seem even closer than he is to Brian and me.” I wondered if I should tell him.

“Brian’s room was the closest.” I said, my voice growing quiet. I was still shaken by that dream. It still had its claws planted deep inside my brain.

“Hey,” I looked over at Jimmy. “Are you alright?” He asked and I nodded.

“Um…Matt…Matt would never hurt me, would he?” I couldn’t seem to get my voice to work right.

“Did something happen?” Jimmy asked, placing a hand on my arm. “Did he do something?” I shook my head.

“No it’s just… I had a really fucking horrible dream that he had killed me. But it seemed so real…” I whispered.

“Danielle, he would never hurt you.” Jimmy said. “Hell, if he did I give him a piece of my mind, and I’m sure Brian would too. He’s not going to hurt you, I’m sure of that. Sometimes, he does let his anger get the best of him, but there’s something about the way he acts around you, the way he trips and falls over his own feet when you’re near him that tells me he wouldn’t hurt you.”

“I’m just being paranoid, I’m sure.” I said and he looked at me concerningly.

“You don’t want to go back, do you? I mean, we could always get you a ticket back to Huntington if you want. No one’s making you stay here with us.”

“No, I don’t want to go back to that place. I like being with you guys.” I smiled at him. “You Brian and Matt are about three of the nicest people I’ve ever met. But…” I looked down, then back at him. “Can you keep an eye on Matt? I don’t feel right asking that…but after the incident with Riley, I’m having a couple of issues with him.” I admitted shyly. “Watch him…for me.” I said and Jimmy nodded.

“I will. You’re a really cool girl and I don’t want to have to ship you back to California. It’s nice having you around. You even out the sanity levels.” Jimmy said and I smiled and hugged him, and he hugged me back.

“I’m not going back without a really good reason.”