A Difficult Truth

I crawl back into my room and plop down onto the bed. I shove my head under the covers and start counting, counting, counting.

I wake up with my head on a rock, and I can tell the headache I feel is real.

I stand, wincing at the pain, and walk around in the grass. I close my eyes, grabbing my head as the pain worsens, and I trip over something. I sit up to look at what it was that tripped me. It's the same book with the pictures.

"Hey, there."

I gasp, moving my jacket to cover the book.

"Hi, Jesse. You scared me," I laugh lightly.

He moves to sit beside me, and my fingers curl around the hardcover of the book.

"I was searching for you, actually." He says

"Oh?" I'm still worried about the book.

"Yeah, it's nearly time for me to be up."

"Oh. Uh, I was trying to tell my friend about this but he didn't get it," I sound sullen to my own ears.

"About this?" He looks at me, curiously.

"Ah, yes. See, apparently, these dreams I'm having are a genetic trait. Kind of a super power," I laugh, trying not to chase him away, "It, um, happened to my grandmother too... according to my sister, at least."

I look at him, giving him time, to make sure it's not too overwhelming. I mean, I'm talking supernatural psychic powers here. He's not going to be like, 'okay, cool'.

"Okay, cool." He says casually.

I frown at him, maybe he is my imagination...

"But no one believed her when she told them. So if you wanna have a sane reputation, you might want to keep it under wraps."

"Relax, these dreams are just that. Dreams. You've never actually met me, and neither have I met you. So, why would I be talking about someone I've never met before?"

Ouch. Am I obsessing too much? Should I be carefree about this while thing like he is?

"I like these dreams though. They distract me."

I nod, looking at him. He doesn't look as ragged as I do though. Does it not have that harrowing an effect on him coz it's not his mind doing all this, creating these situations, this very forest?"

He looks fascinated with something.

"What are you thinking about?" I ask

"Um, this is gonna sound weird," he screws up his mouth, and says in a tiny voice, "Can you change the surroundings?"

"...Huh?"

"Ah, the forest... since it's all your mind's work, maybe if you think hard enough, you could change it. Maybe make it a house with an air conditioner?"

"And wifi." I laugh.

Change the place with my thoughts... I close my eyes shut and think hard of this place slowly turning into a cool cottage.

When I open my eyes, I still see the same forest.

"I don't think I can do that." I tell him and he shrugs.

"Practice, maybe." He looks at his watch, "I need to wake up. Bye."

When I move my jacket to throw the book away, I see only an empty jacket. No book. Strange.

I go to sleep in the forest for some time, until it's time to get up.

College is a drag. My headache is definitely real, Creevey won't talk to me, and even got up and walked away when I sat down with him for lunch. I had a pop quiz that was a bad thing in itself, but I made it so much worse by having the teacher repeat each question thrice before I even understood the question. Then, halfway through the answer, I'd forget the question again. The professor gave me a detention slip and told me to go sleep in the nurse's office, which I didn't do, because sleeping only makes me more tired.

Now I'm walking home alone--correction, I'm walking behind Creevey.

I tried talking to him, but his ears just went red and he walked away faster. But, hey, he never said I couldn't follow him.

When we reach, he stops in front of me abruptly. With his back to me, he mutters what might be, "sorry," and walks away before I can respond.

I unlock the front door and head in, slipping my shoes off quietly when I see Professor Grant motion to me to be quiet.

"It's dark. Darker than before." Rosie mumbles from a chair in front of him. Professor Grant signals me to sit, so I silently take a seat, and watch.

"Mhmm, and in this darkness...is there anything, anyone that stands out?"

A long pause. "...no."

"Try harder."

Is she being hypnotized...?

I try not to make any sounds, slowly crossing my legs.

An even longer pause than before, and even Professor Grant is nearly going to speak up, but then, she talks, "I see a man."

I look at Professor Grant as he nods, "Who is he?"

"I...I don't know. I'm too far away from him."

He leans forward, "Walk to him."

Rosie shakes her head.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't want to get close to him."

"Why not?" He leans even closer, voice lowering into a whisper, ears keen on her every word.

Her lip trembles and I frown, not catching the words. I lean forward too, about to ask the Professor what she said when he asks her himself. "Louder, Rosie."

"It's, it's-- it's," she's shivering and all I can think is 'it's who?' Who is it that put my sister in such a state?

But, Professor Grant says nothing and lets her take her time.

"Daddy."

I grind my teeth instinctively and Professor Grant puts a hand on my knee to stop me.

"What does he want?"

"He doesn't want me." She should sound relieved, but instead, she sounds scared.

"What _does_ he want?"

Her voice is lower than a whisper, "Vanessa."

Professor Grant looks sideways at me, wondering if he should tell me to leave, but I don't look at him. I need to know what's troubling my sister.

".... how do you know that your father wants your sister?"

"He's asked me."

"What?"

"If he can meet her. Says my mother and I were always a pain, but Vanessa was sweet. He keeps calling. He wants to ruin her life, just like he ruined ours. I'm not going closer. I can't, I'm sorry."

"That's alright." He says in a soothing voice. "Now, slowly walk out of that room, leaving your father behind. Lock the door once you get out. Throw the key away. And on the count of 5, slowly open your eyes, coming back to this room."

1

2

3

4

5

She opens her eyes, widening them when they land on me.

"You said he calls. In the present tense...." I say, hands sweating.

She shakes her head, frowning at Professor Grant.

"Vee," she reaches for me.

"Is, is he alive?" I ask, looking into her downcast eyes.

She bites her lip and slowly nods.

My mouth feels parched. I lick my lips twice before asking hoarsely, "Why didn't you say so? Why did you lie to me?"

She clutches onto my hand, kissing it, tears falling from her chin. I extricate my hand from her grasp and walk out the house, heading straight for Creevey's house.

Allie opens the door, "Hey,"

I walk in, seeing Matt and Harvey in the hall.

"Matt, can I talk to you?"

I don't look up at him as I say this, but a second later, I hear his footsteps and when I catch a glimpse of his feet, I follow them as they walk up to his room.

He sits on his bed and I stand right in the middle, not saying anything.

"Look," he says, "I'm sorry for being a jerk. I just got a bit jealous."

I look up, "Jealous?"

He shrugs it off and I look back down.

"My dad. He's alive."

"....What?"

"Rosie said that-- that he was- is alive. That he wanted to meet me."

".... And.. do you want to meet him...?"

".... no."

"Well that's okay then, right?"

"It's just, why didn't she tell me? She said they both died."

"Hey," he walks up to me, holding my shoulders, "Your sister's not that much older than you. She had a lot to deal with. If she found it easier to tell her little sister that their parents were dead than that one parent didn't want them, don't you think it was up to her to decide what to do? It didn't change anything then, and it doesn't change anything now."

"Why does she need to deal with everything herself? Why can't she-- why can't she discuss things with me. She's so scared of our father that she shivers at the thought of him." I tell him

"But she still talks to him every time he calls and asks for me, just to keep me safe. And for the past 13 years, I didn't even know any of this!"

He shushes me, "Right now, she needs you more than anything. You shouldn't have left."

I nod.

"But, I'm so glad you came to me. Not to anyone else. Like Harvey."

"Why would I go to Harvey?" I ask, confused.

"Coz he's special?"

"Special? No one can replace you, you know that right?"

"You mean that? I'm that important to you?" He smiles a bit self consciously.

"Of course." That's obvious. Doesn't he know?

"Well, thanks, Matt. I should get back to Rosie."

"Bye."

"I'm sorry, Rose. I love you so much. Please don't ever take on all the burden by yourself." I tell myself. From now on, I promise to give her everything in my power, to make her happy for making the decision of staying by me. When I get inside my house, the lights are all off and Rosie's door is closed, so I think I'll talk to her the next morning.

I tell Jesse everything that happened and he sympathies with me later that night, claiming I've got a really great sister.

"That I do," I say, smiling.

"What about you? Any idea why you got sucked into this weird dimension of my mind?" I ask as we dangle our feet in the lake.

He shrugs, looking off in the distance like he's been doing recently, as though he's searching for something.

I feel something hard against my foot so I look down, only to gasp and quickly kick it away. The book.

"I gotta go." Jesse says, like usual.

"See you."

"Harvey, laptop charger,"

"Ah, thanks Allie. You're a sweetheart."

"Ugh, with all this sweet talk, I wouldn't be able to tell you were broken up."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"Zip it, Allie."

"Hmm, Matthew, could I have a word with you?"

"What?"

"I know you don't like me."

"Well, I never tried to hide it."

"Haha, I also know why."

"..."

"What? No comeback? Look, I know you like Vanessa. You know I like Vanessa. Don't glare at me, I know you know it. But, listen closely. I'm never, ever going to act on these feelings, okay? Because I know what's best for Vanessa. And that's sadly, not me. But you know who it is? You. Matthew Creevey. As weirdly similar as it feels saying this, I lost to a Creevey, haha."

"..."

"Come on, kid. I'm an adult, I know how to deal with my feelings. Now, can you help me with my suitcase?"

The doorbell wakes me.

"Bye, munchkin."

Mm, the smell of pancakes.

"Will you let go of my jacket?" Harvey laughs

"Will you learn to grow up and stop spilling maple syrup on your clothes?" I retaliate, hugging him tight.

"Bye Harvey. I'll miss you."

"Hmm,"

"Will you miss me?"

"You don't know the half of it, kid." He kisses my head and turns to leave, before coming back to pick me up and spin me around, laughing as I squeal. With a final kiss on the cheek he leaves and this time, even Matt smiles as he waves at us.