False God ★ M. Schmidt

13

[ Y/n ]

"Why are you doing that?" Abby and I watch as Mike jams a chair under the doorknob. "I'm doing it because I want to." He mutters back.

"What if I need to go to the bathroom?" I settle into my sleeping bag as they go back and forth. Mike and I have been splitting his sleeping pills.

They don't always prevent the night terrors but they help a little. I've had more dreams about times I made myself forget than with the kids.

It's hard to tell which is worse.

"Why can't I hang out with them?"

"Abby, go to sleep." I reach over and gently rub her arm. "I want to go play." She pouts at me now. "When are you going to sleep? You can't sleep all day. You have school."

Abby sighs, lying down in her tent. We need to fix it up because it's sagging in the middle. "Fine."

Mike leans back in his chair. He looks back and forth between Abby and I and the monitors. He's been extremely paranoid since the break-in.

The threat has loomed over both of us like a dark cloud. It's hard not to take him seriously. My thoughts slow and my anxiety seems to slowly wear away. It's hard to keep my eyes open so I let them rest.

"Garrett! Garrett!"

I jolt up, looking around to figure out where I am. Mike is sitting up next to me. His shoulders heave with each breath he takes.

We're in his room.

"It's ok... It was just a dream." I wrap an arm around him and lean against his back. "No, no I was there... I was there, I must've missed something." He looks around the room as if he's trying to grip reality again.

"It's ok." I start running my free hand through his hair to try to calm him down. "I'm missing something." He whispers to me.

"No, you're not missing anything. You need to try to sleep." It's hard to get any sleep with him. He doesn't sleep ever but when he does he has nightmares that wake him up like this.

"I should've just payed attention. I only looked away for a second." Mike presses his palms against his face. "It was just a second."

I nod, running my thumb over the fresh scar on my index finger. "There was nothing you could've done." It's hard to comfort him. Sometimes something will be the right thing to say. Other times it will just make it worse.

"I'm so stupid." He cries, beating his palm against his forehead. I grab his wrist to stop him. "It should've been me." Mike pulls his wrist away and wraps me in a tight hug that I quickly return.

"Don't say that." I whisper. Losing Garrett is hard. He was like a little brother to me. Losing Mike would be... Unimaginable.

"I wish it was me."

I shake my head, trying to ignore what he's saying. I need to do something to help him calm down.

"Mike... It's ok, I'm here. I want you here. There's still a chance he's out there." I whisper. "You heard them... After 48 hours it's almost impossible to find them. It's been five months."