It was never effortless to love Aaron Warner. He was a difficult teenage boy who seemed to forget a lot of the time that that was what he was-a teenage boy. He'd always felt that loving or even caring for him would be impossible for all the world to...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
THE NIGHTMARES ARE never-ending. Impossible to escape from, like inevitable death. They strip me of all potential peace and happiness, chaining me to misery and guilt and fear over something that happened nearly two months ago.
When will I be able to move on? When can I not remain right where Anderson left me? When will it be too late for me to turn back?
"Hey," Juliette nudges me and I'm startled out of my haze. "You okay?"
I glance around as if I'm a complete stranger to this place. I'm not. We're in the breakfast room, all having food (obviously) and chatting amongst each other. At least, that's what the others were doing. Meanwhile, I sit here, daydreaming about reaching a time in my life where I don't have to be scared of falling asleep.
"Oh," I say. "Right. Sorry, I was just—the windows are super dirty, I should probably get someone to—"
"It's alright, Mara," Juliette whispers to me whilst the others continue their conversations. As per usual, Aaron's not here. Juliette offers me a kind smile, a special glimmer of trust shimmering in her blue eyes. "I had them too. Back in the asylum."
"Sorry?"
"The nightmares," she assures me. "They came all the time. And then right before we came to get you back. . ." She trails off, her cheeks flushing red. It's no surprise—no one here talks about what happened to me. At least not comfortably. "It's normal. You're not crazy. You'll be able to sleep normally again one day, I promise,"
My gaze studies the room, watching Winston and Brendan playfully banter. Kenji and James are entertaining one another as Isaac and the others talk deeply of what they think The Reestablishment has planned. Haider and Nazeera have cancelled on breakfast due to work—not that I believe that for a second—but I'm glad they're not here. Especially Haider, he makes me feel odd.
And then there's Aaron. I fell asleep in his bed last night, comforted by his presence. At first, he went to sleep on the floor of his own room without question. The next second I was practically begging him to stay in the bed with me so I wouldn't feel alone. Also because I felt bad for kicking him out of his bed. Anyway, this morning he was still fast asleep, snoring away softly. He only snores when he's exhausted. And he never oversleeps.
So I took the chance and sprinted all the way back to my room to change and come down for breakfast. Now I'm here, picking at my fluffy pancakes that I usually scoff down like a fucking animal.
"Isaac told you?" I side-eye him, sort of mad yet simultaneously thankful that I don't have to bring it up on my own.
"He kept pacing outside our room," she tells me. "Well, that was after I told him to go for a walk instead of reading books about politics."
A smile creeps up on my lips. "He can read?"
She grins back at me. "That's what I said."
There's a beat. Then I shrug uncomfortably and say, "I don't know, I guess sleep's just been difficult to come by the last couple weeks. I can't close my eyes without seeing or thinking about. . ." I swallow the memories. "Everything."
