Chapter 7 Kit
Kit
My parents are going to wonder why there are so many markers lying in the driveway.
Maybe I can sneak out there in the morning, pick them all up before they notice.
I bite my lip, taking the yellow marker from the box and throwing it out my bedroom window as hard as I can.
I can’t see in the dark well, nothing but the streetlights out front illuminating the driveway between our houses, but I hear it smack against something.
Hopefully, their window.
I’ve been trying to get their attention for so long now. It normally only takes two markers, but my pack of twelve is almost gone.
“Brett,” I whisper yell out my window, then look down at the driveway to make sure no one is outside. “Bowen?”
I hold my breath and wait. Their bedroom light finally flicks on, blinds pulling up. Two faces are there. One rubbing his eyes, the other yawning and pushing open their window.
“Is’so late,” he mumbles. “Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” That’s definitely Bowen.
I was sleeping. But then I woke up covered in sweat and couldn’t breathe.
In my dreams, Brett and Bowen were trying to rescue me from an evil witch, but they were being chased by a giant, slimy monster with huge, sharp teeth.
Brett was running so slow, and Bowen kept tripping.
I was stuck in a stupid tower, watching them almost get eaten over and over.
This happens sometimes, and the only thing that calms my racing heart is seeing their faces.
Brett knows about my nightmares; I tell him everything.
He doesn’t make fun of me like Tucker does; he always knows what to say.
“You okay, Kit?” Brett asks sleepily, pushing his brother out of the way so he can lean out the window to see me better.
I just nod, because I feel like crying. I hate nightmares. I hate the dark. Tucker makes fun of me for still having a night-light at ten, but I can’t fall asleep without it.
“Do you still have that thing we gave you?” Brett asks, and I hold my finger up before dashing over to the bed.
I run back, holding up the stuffed dragon they gave me over the summer when we were at the cabin.
It used to be his favorite toy, but he said he didn’t need it anymore.
He said it would keep me safe in my dreams. Nothing could hurt Kat-boy if he had a dragon.
It was silly, because obviously dragons aren’t real. But it made me feel better.
He smiles, and I hug it to my chest, pretending it’s one of his hugs.
“Remember what I told you?” I nod, hugging Red tighter. “I’ll keep my window cracked, okay?”
“Thanks, Brett-man.”
I went to sleep with Red the dragon and woke up to Bowen cuddled next to me. I don’t even know how he got in.