The Pact - Season 1: Episode 7

I am very sorry about the lack of pictures in this update. But I have been really busy, and I did not have time to take the pictures. I just wanted to get this update up.

The next morning, at breakfast, I asked my brother how he felt. He shrugged,

“I don’t know what happened last night. I’ve never had a dream like that. I sometimes do have bad dreams like everyone else, but that dream last night, it felt so real. I’m sorry if I scared you.” I smiled, and tried not to show him how worried I was.

“You did scare me, the way you were screaming. That’s why I came to your room.” He looked at me seriously.

“What did I scream?”

“I could not really understand that much. But I do remember you saying, Stop, Help and Please. Probably you were dreaming that someone was chasing you, or hurting you.” I was careful not to mention the fact that he had screamed David’s name. He shook his head.

“No, I don’t think so. But I really can’t remember anything. But thanks anyway, for staying with me. I thought I was going to feel stupid this morning for being so scared last night. But yet, something from that dream is still with me, and I can’t seem to relax this morning.”

After my brother went out, I went to the phone, and called my parents in America. I spoke a bit with my dad, and then my mum came to the phone.

“Hi,” she said. “How are my two little kids doing out there? Still with your boyfriend?”

“We were doing really great, until last night. I’m still with David, and Steve is seeing a girl called Mandy. But mum, I’m pretty worried about something.”

“What is it?” she asked.

“It’s about Steve. Mum, last night he had one of those nightmares.” I heard the hesitation in my mother’s voice, as she asked.

“What do you mean? Everyone has nightmares every now and then.”

“But this was just like one of those nightmares he used to have when he was a kid,” I replied.

“What are you talking about, sweetie?” she asked. Now there was no mistaking the worried tone in her voice.

“Mum, please be honest with me. I’m really worried about him. You have been lying to me all these years, but I really don’t want anything to happen to Steve. Steve did have terrible nightmares when we were kids – I remember them.” She sighed,

“I didn’t think you would remember. You were so young. But yes, Steve did suffer from a terrible thing, but now he’s ok, and he’s been ok for a long time.”

“What happened mum?” I asked. She didn’t answer, so I asked again, “Mum, we did live in Sherwood before Texas, didn’t we?” She was crying softly now.

“Yes, we did. And something terrible happened to your brother over there. We moved away, because the doctors said that it might help him to forget. And it did. And that’s why we had to lie to you – we were so afraid that if we mentioned that place, or anything that had to do with it, it would trigger your brother’s memory, and he’d be sick again.”

“What happened to him, mum?” I insisted.

“No, Michelle. I’m not going to tell you. We never told you what happened when you were a kid, to protect you. And it’s better if we keep things this way. If what you say is true, and your brother is suffering from those nightmares again, he’s going to need you to help him. Just take care of him, and don’t ask unnecessary questions.”

“But how can I help him, if I don’t know what’s wrong with him?”

“Michelle, the only thing that can help your brother is that he does not remember Sherwood, or anything that happened there. You just make sure that he keeps on having fun, and studying the music that he loves, and try to keep him away from anything that might remind him of those days.” She paused. “And Michelle, I’m really sorry that we lied to you and made you believe a fantasy, but believe me, it was for your own good. I love you two too much to let anything happen to you. Me and your dad were happy in Sherwood, but we had to sacrifice that for your best interest, so please do try to understand.” I knew I was not going to get anything else out of her, so I changed the subject, and started talking about life in Lenton.

The summer days kept going by. Steve spent a lot of time with Mandy, and I was all wrapped up in David, and I spent the mornings with Lynn. Steve didn’t have another nightmare all summer long, and I never spoke of them with him. Even David seemed to relax, and he never mentioned his forgotten childhood again, and I never brought the subject up – neither with him, nor with Lynn. It was the perfect summer – and I was not going to let anything else ruin it. We were always out, partying till the early morning hours, and then sleeping it off at the beach the next day. Everything was the way it should be. We were young, and we were living our lives the way they were meant to be lived.

And suddenly it was fall, and school started. The first month of school passed without any incident. I started my drama class, and though it was hard, I loved it. Lynn had started studying Psychology, and she seemed to love the subject. Steve and Mandy were in their second year in Music, and that made them really happy. And David – he too started his second year in Medicine, but he was still unhappy about it, and trying to find his way. Steve and David rarely met – in fact, I tried to make sure that they didn’t meet, because I was afraid that something might happen to my brother or to David. It was after about a week from Steve’s nightmare, that David confided in me, that he had had another nightmare, and this time without meeting Tyrone. I didn’t tell him about Steve, but I resolved not to let them meet for a while, until I had figured out what to do.