“Where on earth did you get germaphobe from?”
“Web MD.”
The two laughed until their faces and stomachs began to hurt, and then finally, they were able to stop their laughing fit.
Elle wiped away the final tear. “It also says we might have cancer.”
Eleven
Stuck Between Realities
Chloe lay stiffly in the bed, staring at the white ceiling. She hadn’t thought this far into a sleepover.
Her sleep had been non-existent, but when she did, the nightmares came for her. She had gone many nights without sleep since what had happened to her, and she was going to do that tonight.
Staring at the blank ceiling for hours, she watched her nightmare play before her, unmoving like she had done every night, praying sleep would never come to throw her to the devil once again.
* * *
The screams were what first brought Elle out of her deep sleep. The violent shaking of the bed was what had completely awakened her.
Sitting up in bed, Elle looked down at the sleeping girl beside her. In sleep was where you found peace, but the dark-haired girl looked like she had found the opposite: torture. Even in the night, she could see the glistening tears that fell from Chloe’s hollow eyes and pained face.
“Chloe … Chloe …” She hoped her voice would be enough to wake her, not wanting to touch her, afraid it would make the nightmare worse.
Chills ran up her spine from witnessing what seemed like possession.
“Chloe!” She reached out…
* * *
The cold, metal table underneath her was a stark contrast to her burning face from what seemed like pointless crying.
“Please! Stop!” No amount of her kicking and fighting was a match for what felt like millions of hands holding her down.
The laughter from the evil man who held a knife rang through her ears, mocking.
“Stay still, little girl”—he drew the knife closer to her face—“or it’ll just hurt worse.”
Looking at his abnormally large, black eyes, she was sure she was looking into the eyes of the devil …
“Chloe!”
Waking up to a hand coming for her, she jumped up from the bed. Her breathing was heavy and rushed, feeling as if she were slowly suffocating. She couldn’t catch her breath.
Elle quickly turned on the bedside lamp so she could see she was no longer in her nightmare. Then she ran toward Chloe’s side.
“It’s okay. It was just a dream. Breathe, Chloe.”
Taking deep breaths and looking around at her surroundings, Chloe realized she was no longer trapped in her nightmare.
Exhausted, she sank to the floor, holding her knees to her chest and silently crying into them, unable to show her face to Elle. She knew what Elle would think of her now. Freak.
Her skin still crawled from the devil’s touch. That was how vivid her nightmares were. It was as if she were reliving it all again.
Elle sat on the floor beside her, making sure there was plenty of space between them. “What you dreamed about really happened to you, didn’t it?”
Chloe didn’t respond, continuing her silent cries.
Taking that as a yes, Elle asked a different question, “Will you tell me what happened?”
Again, no response.
Elle took a deep breath. “I come home every day and lie straight to my parents’ faces, telling them about all my friends and how I had such a great day at school. It’s a heck of a lot easier than telling them how scared I am at school to even use the girls’ bathroom.
“When the kids started getting violent, that’s when I told them I joined the soccer team. It helped explain why I was getting bruises every time I was pushed into a locker or whatever mean thing they had planned for me that day.
“My parents believe whatever lie I tell them because they haven’t figured out how to handle my father becoming paralyzed yet. My dad’s addicted to his painkillers, so it’s like he’s not even here, and my mom is working as much as she can to support us all, along with caring for Josh and now Dad. I help with whatever I can when I get home, but I mostly fade into the background. I can care for myself, and I pretend that everything is fine.”
Chloe looked up to see that some tears had fallen down Elle’s face.
“I have a feeling that whatever happened to you doesn’t compare to what happened to me behind the school that day. But I do understand what you’re going through more than anyone else probably.
“When I came over to your house yesterday, I thought your dad’s drinking might be like my dad with painkillers, but now I’m not so sure. I asked my dad to take it easy since you were coming over, and he did. His pills also don’t make him mean; they just make him non-existent.”
Chloe didn’t know what to say.
“Now that you know all my secrets, whatever you tell me about what happened to you or about what it’s like at home, I swear that I will never, ever tell anyone. I lie and pretend every day, too, and I don’t want my parents to suffer with the truth, and I definitely don’t want Cassandra or Sebastian to find out that my dad is addicted to pills. I wished every night to find someone to talk to so I know that it’s real, and now I can with you.”