Sunlight fell on Sophie's closed eyes and she put her hands over them to block the intense light. She mumbled something that even she didn't understand and put her pillow over her head, jawing and stretching like a cat. Then she sat up, which made the pillow fall onto her lap and she swung her feet over the bed to stand up.

Her hair was in a roughly made ponytail and she wore a grey, big t-shirt and soft shorts when she walked tiredly down the stairs, hulk-stomping the ground at every step. A note was on the kitchen table and Sophie could discern her mother's handwriting over five feet away.

She suddenly remembered yesterday's conversation and a pang of guilt filled her body. Her mother had also been behaving badly, but not as bad as Sophie had been. She knew that when her dad had left her, she'd been having a tough time, and it wasn't a good idea to blame her after all this time.

Sophie snapped out of it and read the note.

Hi honey,

I'm out shopping; I'll be home at three.

There are some pancakes in the fridge.

Take care, and make sure that Sophie does her homework.

Love,

Mum

It sounded as if Sophie's mother was heading out in the world and would never return again when Sophie read the last sentence. Make sure that Sophie does her homework…

It was probably meant for Jamie to read the note, because Marcia knew that Jamie always woke up earlier than Sophie.

By the way, where was Jamie?

Sophie looked at the clock which was hanging over the fridge. 08.30

It was early as hell for Sophie, but quite late for Jamie. Sophie looked up the stairs.

"Jamie?" she called. There was no answer. Maybe he was sleeping. But there was something that wasn't right, she couldn't describe it better. Something horrible was happening to Jamie.

"Jamie?" she called again a bit louder and started walking up the stairs. A small cry came from Jamie's room.

"If this is a trick, then you're dead", she called, but Jamie's crying's only went louder.

Sophie shivered and started running towards Jamie's room. She flung open the door and froze.

"What the hell?" she whispered. She was staring at a black, small horse which galloped around over Jamie's bed. It seemed like it was made of some kind of black sand. Its eyes were white and terrifyingly big.

Jamie shrieked and twisted around in his bed with his eyes half closed.

Sophie ran towards Jamie and shook his shoulders. This had happened to Jamie once, but without the giant horse and Jamie hadn't been screaming this loud. Jamie was having a nightmare, and he couldn't wake up.

"Come on, Jamie! Wake up! You have to wake up!" she cried and felt a pang of fright in her stomach. The little boy looked like he was in pain, which was hurting Sophie more and more.

"Wake up!" she screamed, "it'll stop, but only if you wake up!"

Suddenly, the horse disappeared in thin air, leaving a dust of black grit.

Jamie's eyes flew open. He looked around in the room, panting and a terrified glimpse in his eyes. His gaze fell on Sophie and he screamed once again, kicking her in her stomach with both feet while crawling backwards.

"Don't touch me!" he cried, tears running down his cheeks. His kicks hadn't hit Sophie so hard, so she just grabbed them both with one hand, sat down closer to Jamie and put him in her lap, ignoring the small shrieks. Then she let go of his legs and hugged him, as if he was her lifeline.

"There we go. It's ok, it's ok..." she mumbled and rubbed his back like her mother always used to do when she had a nightmare. Jamie first tried to fight back, but sooner, he relaxed and started sobbing and pressed his face to Sophie's shoulder.

"It's ok; it was only a dream…"

Sophie was interrupted by a small sob.

"N-no it wasn't. I-it was real!"

"It wasn't real Jamie. It only seemed as if…"

"No! I-it was r-really real! I promise! I don't k-know how to prove it, b-but it was real!" Jamie sobbed and hugged Sophie hard. They stayed in the position a little while longer, until Jamie a bit awkwardly let go of Sophie's neck. He then jumped down from her lap and sat down on his bed and stared into the wall quietly. His eyes were red, and he was still shaking but when Sophie put a hand on his shoulder, he shook it away. Sophie stayed to look at him and make sure that he was all right, and then walked towards the door. When she was about to go out of the room, she turned to face Jamie.

"I'll go get you when breakfast is ready, ok?" she said quietly. Jamie just nodded and Sophie walked away, without shutting the door. She wanted to make sure she heard him if he got hurt or fell asleep again.

When she was downstairs, she sat down on a chair and put her face in her hands, while taking deep breaths. What had she just seen? Maybe she really was going mad. She didn't want to end up like one of those people who were talking to themselves on the streets. And she didn't want Jamie to find out what she'd seen. Sure, he did believe in unnatural things like Bigfoot, but he had never seen him.

Sophie put down her hands and then stood up, walking towards the fridge. She picked up a bottle of milk and then drank from it, not bothering to pour it in a glass. After that, she looked around in the fridge for something to eat, and saw the pancakes lying neatly on a plate. She shrugged and took it out, closing the door to the fridge with her foot and then placed it in the microwave, and while it was cooking, (or whatever it's doing) she made the table and put sugar and jam on it. Then she walked up the stairs and knocked on Jamie's door before she peeked in. Jamie was sitting on his bed just like before, but now he was wearing jeans and a blue t-shirt which was obviously too big for him. In fact, Sophie saw that it was hers, but decided to ignore it and then told him to come down and eat breakfast. The two walked down the stairs and sat quietly down. Jamie picked up the note and then smiled slightly when he read the homework part.

"School is really important for her, huh?" he said, smiling.

Sophie looked up from her plate, mouth full of pancakes.

"Yeah, she thinks it's bad to get a C. I'm just happy if I pass the test," she joked and Jamie laughed his amazing laugh, which made Sophie's lips curl into a wide smile. But then Jamie's face suddenly became serious and his voice was now slightly strict.

"But you have to do your homework, Soph. Otherwise, you'll get an F!"

Sophie laughed and threw a piece of pancake at Jamie. "I won't get an F if I only skip my homework. I would have to skip classes to get an F."

Jamie shrugged and then bit a piece from his pancakes.

"I'll offer you a deal, ok?" Jamie suddenly said. Sophie looked at him as if saying go on.

"You'll do your homework, and then I'll do whatever you ask me to do."

Sophie regarded Jamie cautiously and then nodded quietly.

"Ok, we've got a deal. And you promise you'll do anything?"

Jamie rolled his eyes but nodded. Sophie mimicked an evil laugh and then put her plate in the dishwasher, and then ran up the stairs. But halfway up, she stopped and looked down at Jamie while pointing a finger at him.

"When you mean anything, do you mean…"

"Just go!" Jamie laughed, and Sophie ran up the stairs to finish her homework.