40

He woke up in his bed drenched with sweat. He looked beside him and see his wife was still sleeping soundly in peace. ‘She’s alright… They’re alright. She’s here with me.. It was just a nightmare.. Only a nightmare..’ He tried to calm himself and went back to sleep but the terrible dream wont go away, it’s still right there behind his eyelids. Streams of tears ran down his cheeks.

Azalea woke up with a jolt to find Sidney breathing hard and his heartbeat faster than normal. “Sidney, Sidney, are you okay?” she asked quietly wiping away his tears gently. “What happened? Did you have a bad dream?” She sat up next to him and looked down at him worried. Something definitely scared him, she just didn’t know what.

“Yes… I-I was.. They wouldn’t go away.. You..you were killed in that dream, and Nicolette was there too. She was being raped and, …in the end the two of you died and I couldn’t help because…I feel so useless..” He blurted all of it out and slumped into her arms, trembling.