My eyes fluttered open as I came to my senses, suddenly having memories sink into my reality once more.

     I glance over and see the nurse, staring at me. It was a just another dream, Dani. Nothing to worry about. 

     But then I remember Sophie. And her seizure. Was she okay? Better yet, was she even still alive?

     I sit up, my head screaming with voices, thoughts, ideas, and crushed dreams. 

     I stand up and go over to the nurse. 

     "Is she okay?" I say softly, my throat feeling somewhat dry. 

     "Your aunt?" The nurse asks.

     I nod. 

     "Well, she is currently in ICU, which means Intensive Care Unit. She will have to stay there for a couple of days, until we know she's better."

     "So she's alive?" I ask.

     "Of course. Thanks to you pushing that emergency button." The nurse smiles and pats me on the back.

     You mean the button I pushed accidentally, thinking that in reality two people were trying to attack Sophie? But actually weren't? 

     "Do you need anything?" The nurse asks. 

     "Actually, yes. Do you have a phone I can use?"

~ ~ ~

     I climb into the back of Amity's Mom's car, into the back seat. Amity's mom gives me a sadden smile, while Amity offers me a soft, "Hey." 

     "Thank you for coming and picking me up Mrs. Eaton." I say to Amity's mother. 

     "It is my pleasure, Dani. I'm so sorry that you are having to go through all of this so—"
     Amity nudges her mom, and she stops talking.

     I was thankful Amity got her mom to stop. I didn't want to listen about my awful life. I didn't want her to throw me a pity party.

     We drove back to Amity's house in silence. Not even Amity spoke to me. But I had so much I needed to tell her. 

     After pulling into the driveway, Amity and I go up to her room. She closes the door softly. 

     Tears well up in my eyes as I try to hold myself together, but slowly my walls slip away, and I fall into the floor, unable to hold myself up any longer. I felt weak. Amity rushes to my side, and pulls me into her arms, like a mother comforting a baby.

     "Talk to me." Amity whispers in my ear. 

     And I do. 

     I tell her everything I know. About Josh and Amy, about my nightmares, about Sophie, about my delusions. 

     And she sits there and listens.

     She never says a word, until I finish. 

     "Dani." She speaks softly. "We will figure this out." 

     "What do you mean?" I sniff. 

     "You can stay here as long as you need to. And we will try to solve everything. About your dreams, about Amy, about the axe. We will work together." Amity stands up and grabs her laptop. She pulls me up onto her bed. 

     She pulls up Google and types in the search bar:

Having nightmares after traumatic experiences. 

     After scrolling through a bunch of results, one stuck out to the both of us. It was something that I had never heard of, but matched my symptoms to a tee. 

     It was called "Nightmare Disorder." 

     Amity clicked on a link, and we began to read. 

     "Nightmare disorder is referred to by doctors as a parasomnia — a type of sleep disorder that involves undesirable experiences that occur while you're falling asleep, during sleep or when you're waking up. Nightmares usually occur during the stage of sleep known as rapid eye movement (REM). You normally go through four to six sleep cycles a night, cycling through the sleep stages in about 90 minutes. Your REM stage lengthens with each cycle, from several minutes in the first cycle to up to an hour in the last. You're more likely to have a nightmare in the second half to the last third of your night.
A nightmare may involve these features:
* Your dream seems vivid and real, often becoming more disturbing as the dream unfolds
* Your dream storyline is usually related to threats to your safety or survival
* Your dream wakes you
* You feel scared, anxious, angry, sad or disgusted as a result of your dream
* You feel sweaty or have a pounding heartbeat, but do not leave the bed
* You can think clearly upon awakening and can recall details of your dream
* Your dream occurs near the end of your sleep time
* Your dream keeps you from falling back to sleep easily
You may have nightmare disorder if, in addition to the above:
* The sleep disturbance causes significant distress or problems with functioning during the day
* Medications or physical or mental disorders do not adequately explain the fact that you have nightmares."

     Amity looks at me. It's almost like she's studying me, waiting on me to agree with the website. 

     I nod. 

     "That's spot on." I say to her. 

     "Yeah," is all Amity can get out. She looks unsure of something. 

     "Are you okay?" I ask her. 

     "You mentioned that you think Josh and Amy ran your aunt off the road." Amity says. 

     "Because that's what I think happened."

     "Dani, maybe it's time you go to the police with all of this stuff. And maybe a doctor." Amity looks at me, watching my face. Studying me again. Her rust colored hair fell in curls around her face, as freckles danced on her cheeks. Amity bit her lip, something that she often does if she is nervous. And I could sense that she was very nervous around me. 

     "Amity, you don't understand. Helping find my family's killer would make me feel like I have a purpose in life." 

     Amity stares at me. "Do you know how dangerous this is?" 

     "Yes." 

     "Let me rephrase that," Amity pauses. "Do you know how stupid this is?"

     "You think that trying to help solve my family's death is stupid?" My face turns a slight red, a sign that I am getting flustered. 

     "Yes." Amity replies. "And I'm not going to let you continue." 

     "You said you would help me a couple of minutes ago!" I shout. 

     "Dani, this isn't one of your Nancy Drew books!" Amity huffs. "It's real, and these people are dangerous. Doing things like this is what can get you killed!" 

     "You don't care about them!"

     "But I care about you, Dani." Amity's voice is calm now. "Because you are my best friend. I care about you, and I don't want you to be in this mess."

     "Then help me!" I felt helpless. Hopeless or helpless? Or both. 

     I get upset and leave Amity's room. Leave Amity's house. She let me go. 

     I walk down the sidewalk. Alone. 

     I had never felt so alone.