Welcome to Nightmare Land |Complete|

Chapter twenty-three

"And then, Abby fell. . .again." We all erupt in laughter as Dylan re-told one of our classic stories. Our group is sitting around in Demi's room. Her mother signed the discharged papers and dropped us off before heading to work. All of us being in her room after so long felt bizarre. For the most part, it looks just as she left it a few months ago. However, we did make a few additions. As a part of her 'welcome home' gift we painted her room with her favorite color. Crepe. Not Fuchsia , not Rose, not Salmon-- Crepe. There are countless times in which she has lectured us with the key differences of all of the pinks she owns. Honestly, I can't really tell the difference. I just pretend I do to appease her. After all, what are friends for?

She loved it, thankfully. She also loved the string of lights we adorned her walls with. It is partly for the aesthetic but mostly so she wouldn't have to sleep in complete darkness.

I didn't want to sleep in darkness either. The beast might be gone, but my fear isn't. Lurking with my paranoia are my dreams. They were not particularly the same nightmares I was experiencing.

The dreams are more like a calling from the park. In my unconscious state, it felt almost like I wanted or needed to go back to Nightmare Land. When I dream about the park, there is no fear. There is no panic, no terror. I feel almost content.

When I wake up fear consumes me.

Why would I feel this desire, subconsciously, to return to the place that murder my friend? What type of coping mechanism is this?

Everyone else seems to be coping better than me. No one has mentioned dreams that entailed desiring to go back. Instead, Mad is gardening, Dylan has thrown himself into studying engineering, and Dem has busied himself with numerous craft projects.

He had asked me to help him out with all of the decorating. During the last couple of months we have been spending a lot more time together. Although Demi had to be admitted, he needed to heal to. I wasn't much help. I just offered my ear and my presence. He was still beating himself up for not protecting her. I spent months trying to convince him that it was not his fault and that he needed to stop blaming himself.

It started with just helping him pick up a few things for Demi's care package during the first month of her admittance. He called and asked what teddy bear he should pick out. I was shocked. Dem pretty much never called me. Unless he was looking for Demi, of course. It was hard for him to describe them to me over the phone, so I offered to come down to the store to help him. He was pretty excited to be doing that for her. He really wanted to support her during this time.