maddie sturniolo: the triplets younger sister♡

43 - nightmare

(maddie's pov - an hour later) TW: violent/blood
i woke up, in my bed for some reason, but i could swear i fell asleep with chris on the sofa. eh. i didn't think much of it. maybe someone carried me up to my room.
i looked at the time on my phone. it was late. i should probably head back to sleep, but i felt hungry.
what harm can having a late night snack do.
i slowly stood up, rubbing my eyes, and i put my slippers on and made my way down the stairs. the house was dark and quiet, but i turned one of the lights on in the kitchen, when i heard a noise from inside nicks room. it sounded like something fell off one of his shelves.
again, i didn't think much of it. that kid always overstacked his shelves with things he didn't need. it was bound to collapse oneday. maybe tonight it finally did.
i opened the fridge and took out some ben and jerry's ice cream, and sat down at the table and dug in.
this is just what i needed

BANG

i jolted, almost dropping the spoon. there was another crash from nicks room.
how many useless books had he put on that shelf??
i decided to go check if everything was okay in nicks room. i slowly opened his door, and i was horrified by what i saw.
nick was lying on the floor in a pile of blood. dead.
what the hell
"nick? nicky??? nick what happened? nick??" i trembled, crouching on the floor next to him and shaking his lifeless body. "NICK?? WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED???"
"nick isn't here anymore"
i turned around. it was matt.
"matt?!! what happened to nick?? is he dead???" i shouted, hot tears streaming down my face. matt didn't answer. instead, he crouched down next to me.
"i said nick isn't here anymore"
i looked at him, confused. then, nick and matt just disappeared. like that. they had vanished. i widened my eyes.
"m-m-m-matt?? nick??"
i scrambled to my feet and ran around the house, screaming.
"CHRIS??? MOM??? DAD????"
i sped up the stairs, faster than i had ever run. i was scared.
i was running so fast i could've probably ran through one of the walls if i hadn't stopped, but i was stopped at the top of the stairs by trevor's dead body, lying on the floor.
"trevor" i said, collapsing to the floor. "trevor. not you too."

BANG

i heard my mom scream from the top of the third floor staircase, and then her body came falling down, landing next to me. there was blood. everywhere. i didn't have time to speak, because then there was another bang, and my dad came crashing down the stairs on top of my mom.
"mommy? daddy? please wake up. please wake up" i sobbed, feeling sick to my stomach. i shook my dads head. but nothing. then i heard a voice come from behind me..

"why didn't you hurry up."
i turned around, my heart skipping a beat. it was just chris. i was so relieved to see him. he was standing in the doorway of my room, and he looked sick. he had raging eye bags, and his face was drained of colour.
"chris- what's happening to our family?? why's everybody dead??" i sniffled.
"i told you to hurry up. they were quicker than you. they always are." he said, maintaining strong eye contact with me.
what was he on about?
"what? whose they?"
"you know." chris mumbled, barely audible. "they're always here. they know everything."
it felt like the walls were closing in on me.
"you know who they are and you still didn't hurry up. now our family's dead. and you're next"

BANG

(a few moments later)
my eyes shot open as i sat up abruptly on the couch. sweat was tricking down my head. my breathing was extremely uneven and i felt like my chest was about to explode from how heavily my heart was pounding out of my chest.
my eyes darted around the room to check if chris was still here. he was gone. panic set in
MY FAMILY ARE DEAD
"CHRIS?!?! CHRIS?!? WHERE ARE YOU??? CHRIS?!?" i screamed, running around the house frantically. there was no chris in the kitchen. i ran into nicks room, expecting to see nick dead on the floor again, but nothing was there. no one was there. his room was left undisturbed, no blood or dead bodies in sight. tears were streaming down my face. i felt like i was gonna pass out. my family had abandoned me.
i ran up the stairs, past where trevor's body had previously been, and ran into my room. no one.
"ch-ch-chris" i managed to choke out, before collapsing against the wall and bringing my knees to my chest. i was all alone.
i knew i had just had a horrible nightmare, but it was really coming to real life now. my thoughts were going crazy. i couldn't deal with myself. i was terrified.
sobs wracked through my body. i was shaking and i couldn't breathe, but then the lights turned on, causing me to look up at the doorway. it was chris.
"maddie? what happened? why are you crying??" he asked, rushing over to me.
i could barely get any words out, or breathe. chris pushed my head into his neck as i cried into it. he rubbed my back soothingly.
"shhh, it's okay, it's okay. i'm right here" he softly spoke
i took deep breaths, trying to calm myself down, but nothing could erase that picture of my family being dead on the floor in a pool of blood.
"what's upset you so much?" he asked, pulling away slightly to look at me.
i cant tell him. what if i jinx it? what if he thinks i'm crazy.
i simply shook my head, wiping my eyes with the back of my hands, sniffling.
"it's stupid" i said, my voice barely above a whisper. he shook his head in response.
"it's not stupid if it's causing you to cry like this. you can tell me anything" he said, continuing to rub my back in circular motions.
i hesitated. but then i realised it was probably best if i told him what happened so i could lift some weight off my shoulders.
"i- i had a nightmare- a-and you guys were all killed- and you said that they had come looking for us and it was s-so scary" i sobbed, taking a breath. "and when i woke up you were gone and i thought something really happened to you"
"oh sweetheart, thats never ever gonna happen. it was just a bad dream." he frowned, holding my hand. "i promise that's all it is, it's just a bad dream. nothing is ever going to take me away from you, or our family. you're safe in here, with me. and no one's coming to get us. we're all alive, no one's dead. nothing will ever take you away from us." he gently spoke, squeezing my hand. i continued to sob uncontrollably.
"it felt so real though" i whispered, my voice shaking, as he pulled me into his chest. just holding me. i clung onto him tight, feeling safe in his embrace. but i was still trembling with fear.
"i know, maddie" he softly responded, rubbing circles on my back "but it was just a nightmare"
"but it felt so vivid. i could see everything so clearly and it felt like it really happened"
"i know, it can be like that sometimes" he began, his voice gentle and understanding. "but everything is okay now. i'm here for you"

it had been around ten minutes now, and me and chris were lying in my bed with my head resting on his chest, him gently rubbing my shoulder. we were just talking. the blue leds were on and the house was quiet.
"is the whole separation anxiety thing getting bad again?"
i nodded.
"yeah. i just... i feel like you guys will leave me. i mean it makes sense, like first sophie, then macy, now trevor."
chris laughed a bit, then said "maddie, trevor's not gone. you don't need to worry about that, he just fell down the stairs."
so that's what happened
"oh"
"how did you think he broke his arm?" he grinned. i laughed, remembering how sad matt looked.
"i don't know, i thought matt accidentally stepped on him or something. he looked really sad"
chris chuckled even more, making me laugh.
"matt was just upset earlier because he was worried about you."
what? really?
"worried?"
chris nodded
"yeah.. we all are to be fair."
worried about what?
"what is there to be worried about?" i asked, genuinely curious.
"you never leave your room, you aren't eating well, you haven't been going to school, you can't sleep by yourself, and now this" chris said.
ah.
"you guys don't need to worry about me, i'll be fine, i'm just still getting over macy moving away"
he nodded
"we know you are, but that doesn't mean you're allowed to just not take care of yourself." he said, before taking a brief pause.
he sat up slightly and got out of the bed, but my heart started racing again
"wait- where are you going??" i asked, sitting up and beginning to freak out again. he looked at me, with a look that said 'i told you so'
"this is what i mean, mads. even if i stand up to just go to the other end of the room you almost have a panic attack. i was just gonna unplug my phone from the charger" he frowned. i slumped back into the pillow.
maybe chris is right.
"i'm sorry.. i just.. i want to get better, but i'm not sure how" i hesitated "not having macy has really taken a toll on me."
he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"i'm listening"