Chapter 5 - What Dreams May Come

She thought she was back at her old high school visiting with old friends, but now she found herself in a dark, wide room, haunted by sounds of torment and anguish. It took her a while to realize she was in her bedroom, and those sounds were coming from Vegeta. She was confused for a second. She sat up and looked over at him. They were in the same bed, so it wasn't too hard to see him. He kept moaning and mumbling words to himself that she couldn't understand. He seemed to be in some sort of pain. His eyes were slammed shut and he was gritting his teeth in between noises. She has known that Vegeta had been having a problem with nightmares, but this seemed like a night terror. She didn't know what they were about, he never told her. They had to be bad.what ever they were. She was debating with herself whether to let him go through it or wake him up.

She looked over at the only bit of light in the, the alarm clock. 4 am. It seemed earlier than that. She was about to get up and go to the bathroom, when she was stopped by a sound that threw her out of the bed, literally. Vegeta began screaming bloody murder at the top of his lungs and thrashing about on the bed. Bulma started getting scared as she lied on the ground, watching him scream in pain as if he was being dissected alive. In the middle of everything, he knocked over the lamp on the night stand and it shattered on the floor. She had to wake him up before he inadvertently destroyed the house with a ki blast. She wasn't sure how, so she took the most direct approach. She got back on the bed, being very careful no to be hit, and shook his shoulder.

Before she realized what happened, sheets flew up in her face. She felt pressure on her neck, then her body began to fly. She felt her back collide into something. Her spine shook because of it. Then her head snapped against what ever it was behind her. Her vision went completely black. When it cleared up, she was met with something she couldn't comprehend at first. Vegeta, had her pinned against the wall by his neck with his fist raised, ready to strike, and a look on his face that told her he was about to kill her. It took what felt like an hour for her to fully realize what was going on. It took Vegeta a bit longer.

You could see it in his face when it clicked. First, his face expressed confusion, then he began breathing hard as it turned to disbelief. He quickly let her go and stormed into the bathroom. Bulma slid down to the floor and collapsed as she gagged and coughed. She didn't even realize through the whole thing that she wasn't breathing. She felt the blood return to her head, and it hurt. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to blink, it hurt to keep her saliva in her. She was coughing one of those really deep down, lung clearing, wet coughs before she could really grasp what happened. She was able to pull herself together and sat up. She was debating whether or not to go in or wait for him to come out.

She was trying to figure out what could invoke him to have a dream like that. She wasn't mad at him, but still shaken. Vegeta rather depressingly stumbled out of the bathroom. He looked over at Bulma, then looked terribly concerned as he stammered ,"Ah no.". He rushed back into the bathroom, and came out with a wet linen towel. He ran up to Bulma, and delicately put it on the back of her head. Bulma was a bit confused, but when she saw the look on his face, it told her not to look at the wall.

She did anyway.

Due to the lack of light, there was no color on the dark, black splotch on the wall that had lines slowly running down, away from it. She didn't know she was hurt that bad. Vegeta sat her up on the bed as he turned the towel around.

"You should be using coldwater to reduce the swelling."

"I'm sorry."

Now Bulma was scared. Vegeta NEVER apologized for anything.

"That's ok. All your heart was in the right place."

"I mean about hurting you."

Bulma was lost for words. She tried to stammer something out.

"Wha, what were you dreaming about?"

"..don't ask."

"Vegeta.I know what this is about coz it's the only thing you don't talk about when asked."

"I.I really don't wanna talk about it."

She turned around to face him. He looked in her eyes and they told him that she wasn't mad. They told him that it was ok, that she would understand.that everything would be ok. He almost broke down. He almost told her, but he couldn't. He just couldn't do it. He didn't know why. Maybe she would think less of him. Maybe she would think he was lying. There where too many maybes and Vegeta didn't want to take that chance. He didn't want to hurt what he and Bulma had, if he hadn't just now. He suddenly felt nauseous. He got up and headed for the bathroom. Bulma followed him. When he got in the bathroom, he went straight to the faucet. He cupped his hands and splashed water on his face.

"You can't keep it bottled up forever."

He picked his head up and looked at her through the mirror. "Please leave me alone about it."

"It's becoming a problem. Look at what just happened."

"Please." He put more water on.

"I'm seriously concerned. This isn't right. What ever happened to you, you can tell me."

"You wouldn't understand."

"I wouldn't? You don't think I've seen some fucked up shit in my life? Seven balls that summon a huge dragon that can grant any wish, being turned into a carrot, shape shifters, kidnappings, people rising from the grave, a holocaust that killed everyone on earth, I think I can understand what ever it is."

He turned around to face her. "How can you when I don't?"

There was a silence. Vegeta leaned back on the sink counter, staring at the floor.

He spoke up first. "Have I ever done anything like this before."

"You have screamed and moaned, but not anything this bad."

Again, silence.

"Look, I don't blame you.I just wish you would tell me so you can stop going through this pain."

He looked up at her without turning his head. "I will when I can come to grips with it."

"That's all I ask. I'm here for you. I don't want to see you like this."

Vegeta still couldn't forgive himself for what he did. The pain of the experience was killing him inside, and it was coming out. He had to find a way to relieve the pain, and confiding in her only seemed like it would make things worse.

"Look, I'm gonna get the blood outta my hair, and go down and start breakfast early. You stay here and cool down a bit."



Author's Notes

I usually don't have breaks like this in the story, and I don't plan on doing it often, but I believe it is necessary here. First, I would like to apologies for my lack of updates. The reason for this is that this chapter was not in the original draft. It was also one of the most difficult pieces of literature I have ever written. I went through several drafts, all I disliked, until I made this. I think this is a good draft to settle on, but I seriously need your feedback. Please tell me if you liked or disliked this chapter. I seriously need you guys' input. This is my first attempt ever at expressing emotions like this and I feel it is integral to the story. Once again, I do apologies. Please tell me what you think. And, if it is seriously bad, I shall rewrite it.

I seriously cannot continue writing until I know if you guys are satisfied with this chapter. Thank you for your time and reading.