Ch 1 – The Nightmare
I thrashed back and forth in my bed, the nightmare I was having made it impossible for me to get a restful night of sleep.
In the dream I was constantly running uphill from an unknown aggressor. The more I ran, the more difficult it was to keep up my pace but when I would slow down, the closer it got to me.
Save me, please. Stop.
Just then, gentle hands shook my shoulders, trying to snap me from my nightmare.
"Bells, wake up babe! Come on, wake up!" My best friend, Alice, was trying to rouse me from my sleep.
My eyes popped open and I looked at her perched on the edge of my bed, her face ridden with concern. The dreams had become more frequent lately. Each time the dream would get worse and more terrifying.
I sat up and rubbed my bleary eyes as drops of sweat trickled from my forehead, dripping onto the bed. I sat there, shivering, with my knees drawn to my chest protectively.
"Bells, I'm worried. This is the fourth night in a row I've had to wake you up from a nightmare and this time you were whimpering in your sleep. Maybe you need to talk to someone." Alice looked at me with concern.
I nodded in agreement, waiting for my ability to speak to return. It had been many nights of fitful sleep and my body couldn't handle it anymore, neither could my sanity. Alice dashed to the kitchen. I could hear her filling the teapot with water and setting it on the stove. She ran back to my side and pushed the hair out of my eyes.
"There's a great doctor here in Chicago that my friend Tanya went to for a while. She was having severe night terrors about vampires coming after her and stealing her daughter. It was silly, I mean, really, vampires? The nightmares were seriously affecting her life and Dr. Cullen made it possible for her to sleep again," Alice suggested.
"Alice, that sounds great. Give me the number and I will call Dr. Cullen tomorrow," I agreed. I cleared my hoarse throat as the tea kettle whistled for Alice's attention.
After some soothing tea, I began to feel a bit human again, but the strong feeling of despair was still in the pit of my stomach.
Something was wrong.
I didn't know what it was or what could possibly be triggering it, but I knew that something was causing the nightmares. Alice had left Dr. Cullen's phone number for me on the message board before she darted off for work. I had to convince her that I would be fine before she left my side. Alice had a tendency to worry too much. I reminded her I had a classroom full of fourth graders that wouldn't give me a moment's rest. I did promise that I would take the train instead of driving; as she worried I would fall asleep at the wheel.
Grabbing my bag, I walked out into the morning sunshine, while I sipped the tea from my mug and headed towards the train. I kept replaying the nightmare in my head. Since I was no psychologist I gave up and decided that Dr. Cullen could tell me what was wrong with me and was absolutely certain she'd have me committed. Who dreams night after night about running uphill from something she can't see? Well, I did certainly.
My day moved fairly swiftly after that as texts from Alice bombarded me throughout my day at school. I taught a fourth grade class. In our curriculum we taught all the subjects. My strengths were English and History. Math and Science weren't my favorite subjects, but I still tried to make it fun. At this moment we were in the history section of class. While my students excitedly played Oregon Trail and tracked their wagon's progress as they moved out West, I took the time to glance at my phone.
Alice: B! Feeling better? Set up the appt?
Bella: Ali, yes. Called DrC at lunch and will be going in on Friday.
Alice: Good. Drinks with Rose after work? Sunset?
Bella: Sounds like a plan. Meet at 6:30?
Alice: Confirmed with Ro. Perfect.
"Ms. Swannnnnnn, we need help," one of my students yelled, reminding me of my job.
"Sure, what's wrong?" I asked her. I walked over to find that my student lost two of her oxen and was upset. I told her she'd have to bargain with someone to buy more and she grumbled in dismay while I reminded her to log the loss in her journal.
I loved this exercise. The creativity of these students was amazing and they really seemed to enjoy the assignment as well. Each year I would have my students play the classic Oregon Trail game. We were learning about the hardships of the 19th century and traveling the trail. The game allowed them to have fun and learn at the same time. I required each of the students to document their journey into a journal as if they were the settlers moving out West. Reading their journals when the exercise was complete was the best part of my job.
I glanced at the clock and noticed that time was up for the history section of class. I kindly let them know, and instructed them to save their progress and to close out the computers, eliciting groans of frustration because they all knew math was next.
The rest of the day went by smoothly as my class was pretty easy to deal with. Most of the kids were still eager to learn and I tried to make the whole learning process interesting. I found it was easier to engage them if I tried to relate to them and remember what it was like to be their age.
Once the school day was over, I packed up my gear and the assignments I needed to grade and headed off to the Sunset Room which was a favorite drink spot for Alice, Rose and me.
When I arrived, the girls were already there with drinks in hand and one on the table for me. I plopped in the booth across from them and dropped my bag down, grabbing my drink and taking a long sip. My lack of sleep was starting to catch up to me. Because I was so tired, I knew that I had to limit my drinking or I'd be rip-roaring drunk fairly quickly. And let's be honest no one wants to see me wasted. Well, Alice and Rosalie enjoyed it immensely; I however, did not enjoy it as much. The last time I drank too much it ended with me on the dance floor with the lecherous Mike Newton. Even worse than dancing with him was agreeing to the disastrous date we had a few days later. I shuddered at the memory.
I noticed Rosalie and Alice were studying me cautiously and it looked like they were attempting to form the right words. Alice was probably afraid to offend me, but Rosalie was never worried about hurting someone's feelings. She didn't like bullshit and never gave anyone any since she didn't appreciate receiving it.
My friends looked like polar opposites. Alice, a dark haired pixie-like woman, had a penchant for fashion and a love for all things fabulous. She worked for Neiman Marcus
as a buyer and I couldn't think of a more perfect job for her.
Rosalie, on the other hand, was a buxom blonde that looked like a Playboy bunny. But don't tell her that, she'd ream your ass so hard you'll wish you never had one to begin with. Rose worked at an auto body shop where she specialized in customization. No one could fine tune a car like her, and no one looked better while doing it. Again, don't tell her that if you like your organs where they are. Rosalie took pride in her work and often times she felt her customers only came to her because of her looks, not because she was the best at what she did. She had to work twice as hard as men in her field to be taken seriously. It left her a bit cynical at times.
"Bella, are you ok? Are you losing it?" Rosalie asked me as she swirled the straw in her drink.
Alice glared at Rose. "She's fine, Rose. She's just not sleeping well. Tell Rose you aren't losing it."
"Who's Rose? Where am I? Can I sleep?" I slumped over in the booth, throwing my arm over my face.
I could hear Alice gasp and Rose drop her straw. They stammered and sat there in shock and I tried not to snicker at their lack of action. If I had really passed out, I'd hope they'd act faster than that.
"Shit guys, if I was dying would you really just sit there and stare at me?" I snorted.
I popped my head up and took another swig of my drink. Rose narrowed her eyes at me and frowned and I smiled at her innocently but didn't dare look at Alice. Just then an ice cube hit me square in the forehead and then fell into my lap. I grabbed it and threw it back at Alice.
"That wasn't funny Bella. I've seriously been worried about you. Don't do that again." Alice frowned at me.
"I'm sorry Alice, I swear. I'm fine. I'm tired, but I'm ok. I have a meeting with Dr. Cullen on Friday morning. I'm sure we'll sort it all out." I reassured her.
After that the subject was dropped and we exchanged stories about our respective days at work and made plans for the weekend. I really wanted to get some rest and watch movies but Alice and Rosalie figured retail therapy would be best for me with an afternoon at the spa to cap it off. Even after all these years of friendship, they still failed to recognize my lack of interest in fashion and salons. I appreciated their concern though and kept my comments to myself.
When it was time to go home, Alice and I wobbled back to our apartment around midnight. I had told them no more than two drinks and they told me I didn't qualify shots in that limitation. Two drinks and three shots later I stood unsteadily in the doorway of my room. Walking in slowly, I crawled into my bed and hoped the sheer exhaustion I felt would keep the nightmare at bay. I closed my eyes and hoped for uninterrupted sleep.