Shelby had never been scared of her room before. She never woke in a cold sweat, chest pounding and heart racing, only to be met with the suffocating darkness of her room. She never felt unsafe in her own bedroom until she witnessed the twisted place it could've been.
Could've been? No, that's not right. Was. Until she witnessed what kind of place her room was at one point, Shelby never feared anything in the attic.
When Shelby woke up late one night, she was surprised to see Cyd laying awake, scrolling through her phone. Shelby whispered, "Cyd?"
Cyd rolled her head to the side and offered a small smile. "Morning, Shelbs."
"How long have you been up?" Shelby pushed herself up and leaned against the bed board.
"A few hours. I've been playing Battleship with Naldo basically the whole time."
"What's Naldo doing up?"
"I dunno. I played him back when I woke up and he responded almost immediately. Why are you up?"
Shelby couldn't help but glance around the room. "Just a bad dream."
Cyd propped herself up on her elbow, flicked the lamp on beside her, and laid her phone down. "Do you ever dream about Janet Smythe?" she asked, her voice filled with curiosity. Shelby was taken back at how casual Cyd was about the subject."
"Um… Yeah, sometimes. I also dream about Sebastian."
Cyd nodded. "Me too. I've been having them ever since we fought Janet the first time, when she lived in your house. I still remember it clearly, the dream. Well, it wasn't really a dream, more like me reliving that day over and over. That… That tanning bed of doom really hurt. I remember every detail about it perfectly."
"I have dreams about that, too," Shelby admitted quietly. "I dream that I was too late, that Janet already took your power and you were gone." She felt a tear slip down her cheek. Shelby crawled out of bed and raced across the room before Cyd could process it. Shelby climbed on the bed as Cyd scrambled to sit up.
"Do you ever sit back and think, really think, of everything we've done this past year?" Shelby asked softly. "How many times we almost lost the boys, each other, ourselves…"
"All the time," Cyd answered, her voice trembling. "You were almost lost forever with Sebastian. Who knows what he would've done?"
"And when you beat him in that fight? When he grabbed that dagger and came at you? If I hadn't… Hadn't…" Shelby choked on her sobs. Cyd forced a smile, trying to mask the heavy fear she felt when she turned and saw the knife, so close, so close.
"But you did," Cyd reassured her. "You saved me, Shelby. I'm okay now."
"Are you, really?"
Cyd's eyes widened slightly; she wasn't expecting that. She stared at her hands and pursed her lips.
"I don't think either of us are, Shelby." When they met each other's gazes, neither was surprised to see a pair of eyes filled to the brim with tears.
"How do we get through this?" Shelby asked, wiping her damp cheeks.
"Should we tell the boys? They should know, right? Maybe they feel the same way."
"Maybe. Barry did just lose his first ever girlfriend."
"He lost you, too," Cyd pointed out. "When you jumped through the time rift, we all lost you for a while. Even Barry didn't know if we'd get you back."
"From what Barry told me, Naldo almost lost you, too." Despite how awful she felt, she smiled. "He protected you, Cyd."
"He's been protecting all of us for years, Shelby," Cyd argued with an eye roll.
"But you were his top priority that night. He really likes you, Cyd." Cyd blushed and whipped her cheeks.
"So I take it we're telling them."
"I'd feel better if we weren't the only ones carrying this on our shoulders." Cyd nodded and squeezed her best friend's hand reassuringly.
••••••
"You're lucky Barry skipped P.E. or I never would've dragged him over here," Naldo said as he yanked Barry through the back door. Barry glared at the girls and pouted his lips.
"This better be good enough to miss school," Barry warned.
"Anything's good enough to miss school," Cyd argued.
"We've been talking about everything that's happened this past year," Shelby began, glancing at Cyd. "We've all almost lost each other so many times… It's just a lot of stress to bottle up. So, we're hiding away from the rest of the world today and watching movies. Are you guys with us?"
"You seriously dragged me away from school to watch movies?" Barry asked, looking between the girls in disbelief. Naldo was already in the kitchen making popcorn.
"It's been two weeks, Barry. You can't be over Daisy already," Cyd sighed. "Besides, I remember how scared you were every time you lost us in a different time." She looked at Naldo. "You both were. We have the nightmares, we know just how bad this affects you."
Barry pursed his lips. "You might be onto something. Okay, I'll pick the movie."
Shelby followed him around the couch. "And I'll make sure to pick a good one." Cyd smiled and walked to the kitchen to help Naldo.
"Hey, Naldo."
Naldo smiled down at her. "Hey, Cyd. Extra butter?" He held up a box labeled Butter Lovers.
"Yes, please!" As she watched him open the box, she couldn't help but ask, "Have you had any dreams, Naldo?"
Naldo didn't answer right away. He loaded a bag into the microwave and turned back to Cyd. He sighed and shrugged. "A few, yeah. But sometimes it's when I'm awake."
"When you're awake?" she asked, confused.
Naldo nods slowly. "Sometimes I forget that Shelby actually made it back."
"Oh yeah. I do that, too. Sometimes, I forget Janet's machine didn't actually kill me." Cyd swallowed hard. Naldo looked at her funny.
"What machine?"
Cyd smiled sheepishly and turned to open the microwave. "Aha, forget I said anything. You guys have something picked?" She looked across the room at Barry and Shelby as they argued over a movie. She leaned on the counter and watched them for a moment.
"Would it be totally crazy if I thought they liked each other?" she asked after a moment. Naldo looked up and chuckled.
"Barry and Shelby? Nah, I don't see it."
Cyd shrugged and walked around the counter. She dropped on the couch behind Shelby and settled the argument by picking Harry Potter, the only film Cyd and Barry have ever agreed on. Shelby groaned, but agreed and opened the VCR.
A few minutes later, Naldo sat next to Cyd with a large bowl of popcorn in his hands. They exchanged smiles as Barry sat next to Naldo and Shelby on the end.
Together, the four friends say squished on a couch, laughing the day away and temporarily escaping the realities time has traveled into their lives.