A New Story

The room was dark; the only light was that coming from the TV that had been left on. Its dim blue glow bounced off the worn paint on the walls. It was warm under the covers. In the dark, warm safety of the blankets she could sleep in their arms.

Suddenly there was a loud rush of noise and a fury of pictures flashing in front of her eyes. The silence had been shattered by screams and muffled grunts. A salty taste filled her mouth; a metallic, warm liquid covered her chest.

Jessie screamed.

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Jessie sat up as fast as she could in her bed. Her eyes grew wide in her head as she stared into the undisturbed darkness of her bedroom. The scream that had exited her mouth was non-existent. Her mouth sat open but her throat was dry and her lips chapped. Jessie scanned her room carefully before climbing out of bed and making her way to the bathroom down the hall.

The entire house was dark in the early morning hours. The only thing stirring was Butters, Jessie cat. He rubbed between her legs and meowed softly as she stood in the bathroom doorway.

"Shh..." Jessie whispered and bent down to pick him up. After she turned the light on she placed him on the counter and turned on the sink. Jessie splashed some cold water on her face and looked into the mirror. All the colour had drained from her cheeks and her hair hung in sweaty strands. She looked sickly.

Butters meowed once more which drew Jessie's attention away from her horrible reflection. She gave the cat a good scratch behind his ears and sighed.

"What's wrong with me, Butters? They just won't go away."

Butters sat down and looked at his master with the typical vacant stare that answered her question with another question of his own. Jessie shook her head and chuckled. "You don't understand me. You just want some tuna."

Jessie left the bathroom and returned to her bedroom. She turned the TV on by her bed and put in a movie. She could not go back to sleep; once again her nightmares would keep her up all night long. For weeks now Jessie had been fighting dreams that were so realistic, she could almost swear she remembered the time and place they happened. Nothing seemed to be helping, and it seemed as though nothing would help.

After an hour of staring at the TV screen the sun began to rise so Jessie decided to get up and get ready for school. She lingered in the shower until she could sense the smells of breakfast wafting in from the kitchen. She dressed quickly and made her way back down the hallway to the small kitchen near the front of the house.

The house Jessie shared with her mother was small, but it was comfortable enough for the two of them. Jessie's mother, Jordan, was supporting the two of them by working as a customer service agent at the airport. Jessie's father, Ted, had left just a few years back after he was discovered by a record company. He was a folk singer in bars for the longest time, and now that he had made it big he wanted a new life. Jessie still talked to them and they got along wonderfully, but she did hold a bit of hatred against him for running off.

"Are you going to stand in the doorway the whole day?" Jordan said with a smile as she waved a plate of french toast and eggs in Jessie's face. "Or are you gonna have something to eat?"

Jessie sat down at the table and took up her utensils. She proceeded to bang them on the tabletop. "Food! Food!" She chanted. They both shared a laugh over it before enjoying the well-cooked meal.

"Were you alright last night?" Jordan asked suddenly.

"What do you mean, mom?" Jessie replied innocently.

"I've been hearing you at night...you get up early and stay up. Is there something bothering you?"

Jessie stirred her eggs around as she tried to decide how to tell her mom about the nightmares.

"Jess? You can tell me what's wrong."

"Mom," Jessie sighed, "It's nothing really. I've just been having weird dreams. I think it's because of graduation and stuff, you know?"

Jordan looked at her daughter wearily before taking her plate to the sink. She paused there for a minute. "Are you sure that's it?"

"Jeez mom you act like I've got some disease or something I'm hiding. I'm fine!"

Jessie's mother didn't say anything as she left the kitchen to go get ready for work. Jessie wondered what was bothering her mom. It seemed like there was something her mom knew that Jessie did not, and that frustrated her.

Jessie put her plate in the sink and went to gather her things for school. Her mind switched gears from the night before to the day ahead. Like she said at breakfast, graduation from high school was coming up fast and it was really weighing on her patience. She was trying as hard as she could to keep her grades up for honours. Even though she had already been accepted into a college, she still wanted to make a good placement for her graduation to have on her transcript for later use. It would also come in handy when it came to getting loans for school.

"Let's go; I'm trying not to be late for once." Jordan snapped as she breezed past her daughter in her uniform. Jessie grabbed her backpack and trotted after her mom. She locked the door and jumped into the car just as her mom climbed in the driver's side.

"You're getting a ride from Robin later, right?"

"So she says. We're staying after for a project for prom. Some planning or something, who knows."

"Give me a call if you're there after 6 ok? I want to know if you're going to be out late."

Jessie gave her mom an awkward look, but she didn't seem to notice it as she backed the car out. Her mother had always been very protective of her, but now it seemed a little more tense than usual.

As they pulled away Jessie caught sight of a bright red car parked in the driveway next to theirs. Her heart skipped a beat and she tried to fight back a smile. It was Justin Turner, her next-door neighbor. He was older than her, a senior in college, but they had practically grown up together. He had always been