Page 75 of Valentine's Daddy To Go
In the dream, I’m stuck in the encampment again, walking towards the trailer. Everything is moving in extra slow motion. I already know who and what is inside, and that I shouldn’t bother knocking, but I can’t stop my feet from moving forward.
I get to the door and knock on it. Each time my fist raps on the metal, skin is scraped off of my knuckles. It hurts like nothing else, but it’s a compulsion. I have to get inside.
The door swings open, but there’s no old man with missing teeth to greet me this time. It’s only darkness. I poke my head in, thinking I’ll see my brother.
“Brian! Brian, are you in here?” No one answers. I call him one more time, but to no avail. I set one foot inside the rickety metal trailer, and then the other. The ground doesn’t feel steady, but I don’t fall through it, so I keep going.
When I’m fully inside, the door closes behind me. I try the knob, but it looks like I’m locked inside. The knob rattles in my hand uselessly.
“Okay, then. I guess I can only go deeper,” I mutter to myself.
I walk further into the trailer, and out of nowhere, I come across a corner. That doesn’t make sense. Trailers are one long straight line.
I don’t immediately turn the corner because I know whatever is around it isn’t something good.
“Brian,” I call for my brother again. I don’t know why I do because he’s not going to answer. I slowly bring my foot forward, when all of a sudden, I hear my name. It’s quiet, but I’m sure it was there.
“Brian!” I exclaim. I get excited and round the corner quickly only to come face to face with his half-rotted corpse.
“Oh my god!”
“Nellie!” comes a ghostly moan.
His mouth moves and my name spills from the skeleton’s lips again. “Nellie, I’m sorry,” he wails. My body shudders as I step backwards, but the corpse’s limbs move, the bones cracking in an unnatural way as he comes towards me.
He says my name over and over with increasing frequency as his movements speed up. I try to turn and run but find myself backed up against a wall. I pound my fists against it, willing it to crumble and let me out of this godforsaken place.
“Please, please! I don’t want to die!”
It doesn’t work, so I turn around, but Brian is gone now. It’s silent. I take a deep breath, relieved that I got away from him. I lean against the wall, still breathing heavily.
Something viscous and cold drips onto my cheek. I wipe it off and look at my hand to reveal a black substance.
“What the hell?”
My eyes travel to the ceiling, and blood rushes to my ears. The skeleton didn’t disappear; he merely climbed onto the ceiling.
“Nellie!” he screams, his mouth turned into a Cheshire grin as he descends on me.
I scream, and then I’m sitting upright in a bed. I slam into a massive chest, and strong arms envelop me. I start to struggle, still thinking Brian’s dead body is out to get me.
“Get off of me! Get off of me!”
“Nellie! Nellie! It’s okay. It’s me. It’s Nash!” He pushes my shoulders back so I can see his face.
ItisNash.
“Oh my god!” I wrap my arms around his neck, tears streaming down my face.
“It was Brian,” I babble. “He was dead and chasing me and he wanted me dead.” I’m gasping for breath, gripping onto Nash for dear life.
“It was a bad dream. No one is in here besides you and me.” My cries get less frantic, and I pull away from Nash, nodding.
“I know, I know. He’s not here. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to freak you out.”
“No, don’t apologize. You went through a lot. It’s traumatizing.” Nash is looking at me with so much compassion and understanding that my heart breaks. He’s been the perfect man throughout all of this, and I was a complete bitch.
I look down at his clothes, and it looks like what he was wearing yesterday. I stare at the clock and realize that I must have conked out and slept through the night.
