Heart Rate

- RAYA -

I wake up panting with a nurse who isn't Christie hovering over me, checking the machines while the beep of my heart is going off much too quickly. 

Oh my god, it happened again. It happened again, and now I'm hooked up to a machine so everyone can clearly hear and see how my body reacts to the dream version of Dex Mobius. 

"Are you okay?" She asks. "I was down the hall and heard the alert that your heart rate had spiked." 

"I'm fine," I tell her, gulping in breath and sitting up in bed much too quickly. I groan at the pain this causes and hold my side. 

"Careful." She touches my shoulder. "Was it a nightmare?" 

"Yes. It was. It was a horrible nightmare." I nod much too eagerly. At least I'm a better liar than my father. "It was about the accident," I add. Okay, maybe I should stop there. Rule one of lying: give as few details as possible.