I could barely concentrate at school the day after, the dream was still haunting me. It vividly played in my mind as the teacher went on with the class, oblivious to my absent mind. I had tried pushing it off as a nightmare, but the little throbbing of my arms made it hard to ignore. How was it possible to feel the pain of a dream in reality? I rubbed my legs and arms again for the hundredth time, trying to shake off the feeling of those hands on me
I had spent a better part of my day trying to research online for what could have caused this unbelievable circumstance and found several articles that agreed that although it was rare it was possible, something to do with the brain but as I remembered how it felt when I awoke that night I couldn't help but feel unsatisfied with the answers. My mum had reassured me several times that there had been no one else in the house, and although I wasn't a strong believer, a part of me wondered if perhaps some evil spirit was to be blamed for my despair
The bell rang briefly managing to distract me from my thoughts and I slowly packed my things as my classmates rushed out chatting about all sorts of things, a part of me wished I held the same excitement especially since it was lunch and I'd be meeting my best friend but my dream had done a number on me so I could only slowly walk to the cafeteria cussing whatever or whoever was responsible
I spotted Brea chatting with a girl, beaming as they waited in line. A small smile formed on my lips as she proceeded with what she was saying, making the other girl laugh. Brea had always had that effect on people wherever she went; joy followed as if she were its master. I took a seat at our usual table and took out my lunch, My mum had always made a point of making us something to eat whenever we had a bad day; she always said that a home-cooked meal helped lift the spirit
Brea soon joined me, smiling brightly, and after a brief greeting, she immediately started digging into her food. She obviously hadn't had breakfast and probably slept in again, I thought, shaking my head in amusement, and went back to my food
"Lyl! Lyl! Hello, are you listening?" she said, snapping her fingers in front of me
"Sorry, what did you say?"
"What's up, you seem lost." I hadn't even noticed I had zoned out again
"Nothing, don't mind me."
"Spill it."
"It's just I had this very weird dream...." I went on to narrate the dream and the still lingering effects as Brea listened attentively while still taking bits from her food
"That is indeed odd," she said, her fork pausing inches from her mouth, "but I'm sure it's nothing serious. Perhaps it is your mind messing with you; try not to think much about it. It was just a nightmare."
"Yeah, you're right. Anyway, how's my little guy doing?"
"He's gotten better. The doctor said he doesn't need to stay at the hospital anymore, which reminds me, come with me to pick him up? Mum's busy, she's working overtime, and Dad is buried in his work as always."
"Definitely," I agreed, not missing the venom in her voice at the mention of her dad
Brea's family was close, at least the two siblings and their mom were. Her father, a lawyer never really had time for the family he was always busy 'kissing rich bastards arse to give a shit about them', Brea's words. I could barely remember the last time I saw the guy, it had to be at least a year, and that spoke volumes since I spent a lot of time at their house
Brea didn't necessarily hate her father but she did dislike him, he had always been a great father and never abused them in any way in fact when she was younger he spent a lot of time with them spoiling them any chance he got but that changed five years ago when he defended a rich family and won the tough case, since then he kept getting a lot of requests from similar families and his career skyrocketed, soon he no longer had time for his family and they barely got to see him. There was a time he got too busy they didn't see him for four straight months at this point Brea's mum Lisa started suspecting that perhaps it wasn't work keeping him busy, that maybe he was cuddled up in the hands of another woman and the thought messed with her mentality, slowly seeing her family crumble made her devastated to the point she had to take therapy after which she decided that she'll do everything so that her children don't feel that gap and to some extent, it worked
I, of all people, understood how horrible it was to have your father leave you. Mine walked out seven years ago, and we never saw him again.
I closed my eyes briefly to erase the claws of the last memory I had of him that was slowly creeping into my mind, that sweet smile he had on when we had our daddy-daughter date, the more I thought about it the more convinced I was that it was all planned, he was preparing to abandon me and the thought always made my heart squeeze in pain especially when I found out he had the same date with my little brother
Brea's hand on mine brought me back to the noise-filled cafeteria, and the sad smile on her face let me know that she knew exactly what I was thinking of, so I could only smile back and divert the topic
"So you and Andrew still messing around?" Brea's sly smirk was enough to answer, and I shook my head. "I still don't see how you guys aren't dating; you're so perfect for each other."
"Maybe, but for now I only want him in my sheets and that D inside this..."
"Okay okay I get it, damn"
Brea's laugh rang loudly, making me smile fondly at her, and soon I was relaxed enough to continue munching on my almost cold food
********
"Lyla," the little six-year-old boy shouted, running towards me with a bright smile displayed on his face
"Hey, munchkin," I said with the same enthusiasm and lifted him into an embrace, "so how's my little man doing?"
"I'm good, the doctor said I could go home."
"I know that's why we're here, we're taking you home."
"Really, can we go to your house? I wanna play with Josh"
"Oh, so you don't wanna play with me," I said, feigning sadness, making him wrap his little hands around my neck again in a hug
"I do, we'll play together with Josh."
"Okay, we'll finish packing up, then we'll go."
After all was done, we headed home, much to Liam's content, he had been in the hospital for about a week and a half after his allergies acted up, causing problems with his breathing. I still remember the horror in their mom's face and Brea's teary eyes as she embraced me tightly while silently crying on my shoulders. This wasn't the first time his allergies had acted, but it was by far the worst we'd seen, and to make it all worse, their father had only briefly visited before he had to go back to work
Brea's rage erupted that day, and she followed him to the parking lot and made her mind known. I had to admit it was the angriest I had seen her. She hurled all manner of curses at her father, who didn't appreciate it that much, and he too started shouting. The whole scene was so alarming that security had to be summoned. I couldn't blame my friend, though, it was only a matter of time until her pent-up anger would be released, and frankly, her father deserved it, he couldn't even put off work for his little son, who desperately needed all the love and attention he could get in that dire situation. The man was honestly beyond selfish