Insomnia

Chapter 15: A Sickness

When Mom heard me puking in the bathroom, she told me to stay home from school. It was Friday, so I knew I'd be missing a history test, but I didn't care. I wasn't really sick, of course—not exactly, anyway—but staying home sounded good. Every time I blinked, I saw images from Mia's nightmare and they made my stomach roll. 

So here I was, at home in the daytime. Alone again. I'd tried to sleep, to go into my white void—if only to escape the pictures that kept pelting my brain like BBs fired at close range. But for the first time in years, I couldn't. 

Reliving what I'd seen in Mia's nightmare was the last thing I wanted to do, but it wouldn't leave me alone. Every flash of it brought up more questions and worries. Who sent her the e-mail? What did it say? What had started the fire that killed her parents? 

Addie had said that Mia went to therapy during the first week of school. That was good. If that fire was a memory, especially a recent one, she would need all the therapy she could get. But I'd have to get Mia to talk to me to answer the questions I had, and the likelihood of that happening anytime soon was less than zero. 

Besides, the dream had brought up more questions, beyond those just about Mia. Like, how had I been able to touch her? Was this another aspect unique to Mia? I hadn't tried for years to touch a Dreamer, so what was different now? Could I touch anyone? Had she actually seen me? Would she remember it after? 

I growled and punched the throw pillow on the couch. Just once, I'd love for something to be easy. 

There was a knock on the door. I glanced at the clock on the microwave. School was over, and I figured after last night Finn would show up at some point. 

When I opened the front door, the grin dropped from his face. "Whoa, you're really sick? I figured it was an excuse, but you look terrible." 

"Not sick, but I feel terrible." I leaned against the counter, grateful Mom wouldn't be home until later. If Finn thought I looked bad, Mom would probably freak. 

Finn pulled a chair out and sat on it backwards, facing me. He crossed his arms over the chair back and frowned. "What happened?" 

"I don't know." I shook my head. "Do you know what happened to Mia's parents?" 

"No. Addie might, but she hasn't talked to me since yesterday. Her parents were in the dream?" 

"Part of it." I walked to the table and pulled a seat out for myself. My body was too heavy to hold up anymore. I crossed my arms on the table and slumped down in the chair. "In the dream, she sat on the front lawn and watched her parents burn in a house fire." 

Finn glanced away, not speaking for a minute. When he did, his voice was quiet, somber. "You think that actually happened?" 

I considered denying what I was sure was true, but what good would it do? "Yes." 

"Watching that must've sucked." Finn walked to the fridge and grabbed a Dr. Pepper. He held one out to me, but I shook my head. 

"That wasn't even the worst part." 

Finn fidgeted as he popped the top on his drink and sat back down. "What's worse than watching that?" 

"The watching wasn't as bad as the feeling," I mumbled. Finn sat his drink on the table in front of him. 

"Huh?" 

"I could feel what she was feeling. That's not new; it's always been that way with Dreamers. It's not that bad, usually." I rubbed my knuckles across the surface of the table and looked up. "But this time, watching her parents . . . it was terrible."