A shrill scream cut into the silent house. It was followed by heavy uncontrollable sobs and the hasty footsteps moving towards them.
Gasping for breath she realise she was in her bedroom, sat in the middle of her bed. Her face was streaked with tears and she tried desperately to control her sobs.
Her bedroom door swung open abruptly causing her to jump slightly before she told herself of for being so stupid. Her two friends paused for a second in the doorway before making their way over to their distressed friend pulling her into a hug. She couldn't control herself anymore and just slumped against them sobbing freely.
Chas was sat on the end of the bed directly in front of Katie with her arms around her and Katie's head buried in her shoulder. Jennie was sat at the side of them her arms wrapped around both of them.
"hey, hey it's ok, it's ok," Chas spoke unusually softly into the back of her lose blond curls.
Chas and Jennie exchanged worried glances over her shoulder. They could feel her shaking between sobs. Neither of them had ever seen her anywhere near as distressed as this before and it was worrying them.
"Katie sweetheart, it's just a dream. It's gone now. It wasn't real." Jennie tried to comfort but instead Katie pulled away from them looking down at her clasped hands in her lap whilst trying but failing to stiff her sobs.
"Their dead," was all she managed to say in-between a couple of sobs.
"Who's dead, no love, nobody's dead." Then Chas stiffened. They were dead. Chas caught Jennie's eyes that had the same dreaded look as hers.
"That was months ago do you remember." They got a shaky nod before she couldn't hold it in any longer.
"I'm sorry," she was crying freely now, "I'm so sorry."
"Huni, you've got nothing to be sorry for it wasn't you fault," Chas paused to take a deep breath, "It was Carl. You know that."
Katie shook her head violently, "no, no, it was my fault." She admitted.
Both girls were stunned into silence.
"Katie, I want you to listen to me, I don't know what you were dreaming about but I know for a fact that it was not your fault. Look at me." Katie's scared uncertain and teary eyes found Chas's brown strong and certain ones. "I know it wasn't you fault." Katie seemed relieved and nodded trying to take it in but then she remembered.
"It is." Her voice was barely a whisper. She was no longer sobbing but tears still ran silently down her face.
"I know it is."
"How on earth could it possible have been your fault, did you make Carl do it. No I don't think so, he did it all by himself in the name of revenge it had nothing to do with you."
"Carl." She suddenly remembered Carl her eyes going wide with the realisation. He was rotting in prison because of her. Suddenly she threw back the covers running out of her bedroom leaving her two very confused friends behind. She found it, her phone.
Just as she was about to ring the phone was snatched out of her hand. "Katie," she tried frantically to get her phone back she had to make this right, "calm down. It's the middle of the night who are you calling?" Jennie stood with the phone behind her back wanting desperately to know what had gotten into her friend.
"The police, I've got to tell them the truth." She said still attempting to rescue her phone.
"Which is?" Chas prompted.
Katie look down she was in her pyjamas they all were. Hers where light blue with little cartoon cows all over them. They where the only long sleeved pyjamas she had and therefore the reason she had been wearing them even though it was too warm. Both Chas and Jennie were wearing summer pyjamas revealing both arms and legs something she would be too ashamed to do at the moment. She didn't know where to start. How could she tell them? They were going to hate her.
"Katie." Jennie spoke softly lifting Katie's hands into her own and Katie from her from the thoughts.
She couldn't she just couldn't. Snatching her hands back she looked up not to their eyes but just up, "I-I can't," and within a split second she had open the front door and bolted out, bare foot into the dark street. Leaving nothing but an open door and the warm nights air in her place.