Too Late to Wake Up.

Sam couldn't sleep. After rolling around in bed for awhile, she decided to get something to drink. Staggering down the hall, scratching her head, she paused outside of Brooke's room.

She could picture the blond girl inside, sleeping. Curled up under blankets, wearing – oh God! What was she wearing? Sam pressed her forehead to the door tracing her fingers along the doorway. She almost pressed her lips to that door, thinking about who was behind it, but she was interrupted by the sound of Brooke crying.

She knocked, peeking into the room. Seeing Brooke crying, she ran to her, wrapping her in an embrace. She didn't ask right away, letting Brooke cry, her face was pressed into Sam's shoulder. Sam almost couldn't hear when Brooke finally whispered, "I'm losing my mind Sam."

Any other time, Sam would have sarcastically agreed, but now she merely whispered "Why?" kissing the blond girl's forehead.

"I've been... I've been seeing things," she said.

"Like what?"

"Hallucinations, dreams, whatever – even since we..." she let her shrug finish the sentence.

"Do you feel guilty? about us?" Sam's voice cracked slightly as she asked the question.

"No!" Brooke answered, kissing Sam's face. "It's just... I keep having these dreams where everyone's turning on me – my dad, Jane, our friends, Harrison."

"Well, that happened Brooke."

"I know – No! – that's not what I mean – He was here, watching you fight with dad and your mom. They were saying that you 'took advantage' of me. I was going to scream at them that I wanted this – us – but he stopped me, said it was my fault that it was happening."

"Sounds like him," Sam sneered. Leaning into the other girl, she asked, "Are these... things... all the same."

Brooke lay down on the bed. "No, once I was in school and everyone was insulting me – saying horrible things about... us."

Sam lay down next to Brooke, pulling her close. "It's okay baby, I'm here and it was just a dream."

"I wish I could be as sure as you. It seemed so real – almost as bad as when I was in the hospital." Brooke's eyes widened as she realized what she said.

"What happened in the hospital?" Sam asked, leaning over Brooke.

Brooke's voice was trembling. She knew that Sam would think she was insane. She also knew that she never wanted to lie to this girl she loved so much it hurt to be away from her.

It was an hour later when a sobbing Brooke finished telling Sam every detail, every slur, every blow she'd suffered in what she could only call hell. Sam listened, her eyes watering. How tortured could this girl be to imagine such things? to imagine that she, of all people, could deserve such things? The thought made her want to pull Brooke to her. Eventually, Brooke dozed off. Sam didn't dare move.