"Damn," she cursed as her forehead throbbed in pain. Suddenly she remembered the station wagon as her eyes pierced her rearview and side mirrors, but it had disappeared. She collected herself and made her way back to the main road.

Laurie entered the psychiatrist's office and signed her name on the check-in sheet.

"Oh Laurie, Dr. Wallace is waiting for you. Right through these doors," the receptionist said, gesturing towards the familiar plaque hanging on the cream door.

"Thank you," Laurie said. She nodded to the receptionist and made her way into the office.

Dr. Wallace sat in his black suede chair jotting some notes on a red piece of paper. He acknowledged his patient's presence with a hello.

"Sorry I'm late. I got in an accident," Laurie said, taking a seat in the auburn suede chair opposite the doctor.

"Are you alright?" Dr. Wallace asked, the concern very overt in his voice.

"I'm fine," Laurie said, trying to expedite the session.

Dr. Wallace nodded and gave Laurie's chart the once-over. He scribbled some indiscernible notes and turned his attention towards the woman sitting opposite him. After a bout of silence, he finally spoke.

"How are the nightmares?"

Laurie shifted in the chair as she felt the twinge of a headache return.

"They're better, less…uh…vivid than before," she said, as she rubbed her forehead. She kept her gaze pointed at the doctor's feet.

The doctor nodded, encouraging Laurie to keep talking.

"Before I would see him so clearly, as if he was really there, you know? I felt his breath on my skin; I felt his presence. I felt the hot blood trickling down my left arm…" Laurie shook herself out of the haunting memory and continued.

"But now, he's more like a faded outline, a blur, as if he were really…"

"Dead?" Dr. Wallace finished Laurie's thought. She nodded slightly but couldn't bring herself to utter that word.

"Good. That mean's you're progressing. And who knows, with a stronger prescription and a few more visits, you may be able to wipe it from your memory completely" he said as he jotted down some numbers next to the medication column.

"What if…" Laurie said, faintly, barely able to get the words out.

"Yes Laurie?" he urged, the rim of his glasses peaking over the top of the chart.

"What if I don't want to forget?" Laurie asserted, raising her gaze as her eyes met with Dr. Wallace's.

"Why wouldn't you want to?" the doctor replied, puzzled at his patient. "Isn't that why you're here?"

A second bout of silence filled the office.

"He's alive," she uttered; amazed her tongue let it slip out for the universe to hear.

Dr. Wallace removed his glasses and rubbed his furrowed brow.

"Laurie, we've been over this time and time again. Your brother is-

"I saw him!"

"Hallucinations are a normal side effect of PTSD, Laurie," Dr. Wallace said, trying to reassure his patient.

"I wasn't hallucinating! He was driving behind me in a brown station wagon!" Laurie pleaded.

"You told me yourself you saw him burn up in the Haddonfield Memorial Hospital fire."

"The paramedics never found his body," she countered, steadying her gaze.

"That doesn't mean-

"I'm not crazy! I know what I saw!" Laurie stood now and frantically paced the room.

"And that's why I can't forget," she continued. "I know he's still out there and he'll find me. He always does! And my only chance of survival is lodged in every horrific nightmare I've ever had – they're like blueprints. I know how he operates. If I wipe it clean, I might as well be dead!"

Laurie sat back down, attempting to fight back the tears.

"I'm not crazy, Dr. Wallace. You have to believe me!"

"I do believe you Laurie, but it is my job to ensure the well-being of your mental health," the doctor replied as his heart sank. He desperately wanted to believe this woman sitting before him, but the facts just did not add up.

Laurie wiped the tears from her cheeks as she accepted the box of Kleenex from Dr. Wallace.

"I think that's enough for today. Will you be alright Laurie?"

She nodded. "I have half a prescription left. I'll take it if needed."

"Make sure you do," Dr. Wallace advised, as he stood and opened the door for his patient.

"And Laurie," he added as she turned back to acknowledge him. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to call."

"I will," Laurie said.

She exited the office as the door closed behind her. She felt bad for lying to her psychiatrist, but she knew what was coming. And if she were going to die, she would die fighting.