"Get her out of here!" Momma yells. 
                          
"No, wait!" I shout back but David's already yanking me out of the car. He and a new guards cover me as they rush me inside. "Will you?!" I shove them off me once behind walls. "I'm fine!"
                          
"They're gonna kill him," the new guard notes. 
                          
"I know I will," David snarls then slips through the front door and back outside. 
                          
"Are you okay?"
                          
"I'm fine!" I fix Burkhardt's coat that I'm still wearing. My sweatshirt was drenched in Sam's blood, there was no saving it. They had to throw it away so I was stuck in Burkhardt's coat all night and morning. I pull the sleeves up and see there's still dry blood underneath my fingernails. "I'm sorry," I tell the guard. "I'm going to take a shower then try to get some sleep."
                          
"Do you need anything?"
                          
"No, I'm fine. Thank you." I move around him and quickly jog upstairs. I don't bother going to my room for my anything, I grab an extra towel we keep in the bathroom closet then strip and hop in the shower. I manage to get the dry blood out of my nail. While I was scrubbing myself, I noticed a few bruises on my knees and feet. I think a nurse had given me ice packs for my feet but everything at that hospital was a blur, everything except Sam.
                          
My feet started to hurt and that's the only reason why I got out of the shower, otherwise, I would've been in there until I was a raisin. I returned to my room, threw on a shirt, and crawled into bed. 


                          
Sam's screams of agony and horror rip through me. I run faster through the dark forest. It's different this time, I can't see the river or mountains past the trees and there's a thick fog, a nearly blinding one. But the trees, don't even look like trees, more like large sticks of darkness. It all makes my skin crawl. My arms pumping at my sides like machines, my lungs are gasping for air, my heart is pounding against my ribs...yet no matter how hard I try, no matter how fast I run, I can't reach Sam. His screams only grow louder but I can't find him. 
                          
"SAM!" I cry. I saved him once, I can save him again. I have to! I just have to try a little harder, hang in there a little longer. 
                          
But then his screams are abruptly too loud, inhumanly loud like he's screaming in my head. It rips through me, not with emotional pain like usually, it rips through me with physical pain. My ears start to bleed, my bones start to shake. Screaming, I drop to my knees, clapping my hands over my ears. My heart feels like it's being crushed-literally. 


                          
"Sidra!" A voice exclaims desperately. "Sidra, wake up!" 
                          
Burkhardt? I can feel large hands grasping at my shoulders, violently shaking me out of sleep. Gasping, I jolt upright, shoving whoever is on me, off me. I'm drenched in sweat, my heart's racing, and I can't think. I'm crying...
                          
"Sidra, it was just a nightmare." Very slowly I start to recognize Burkhardt's voice. 
                          
"Sam," I say breathlessly then lift my eyes to look at Burkhardt. He's shirtless, only wearing black sweats, and his hair is messy. He must've gotten straight out of bed. "What time is it?!"
                          
"It's still early. I was trying to catch some sleep too." I remember Burkhardt trying to stay up in the hospital. He would pass out every here and there but it was only for a moment or two. He stayed up most of the night. 
                          
I shudder then start crying harder. "I don't ever want to..."
                          
"Sidra," he whispers, pulling me in his arms. 
                          
"It was horrible!" I cry into his shoulder. 
                          
Burkhardt quietly comfort me while I cried. We didn't talk much, I couldn't relive my hellish nightmare and he doesn't do well with words. He just held me and repeatedly whispered that Sam was going to be okay. But after I calmed down and cooled off, he convinced me to try to get some sleep. He left my room and I did try to sleep but then I had the same nightmare again. I woke up to Burkhardt shaking me, demanding me to wake up. I was crying and drenched in sweat again. He held me until I settled down again but this time he didn't leave. 
                          

                            

                                
                            
                              
                                  
                              
                              
                                
                                  
                                  
                                
                              
                             
                            
                            
                          
                          
                          
"Why am I more worried about Roback finding out about this than your mother?" He asks, making a bed on the window seat. "He told me to keep an eye on you but I don't think this was what he meant."
                          
I try to smile. "You'll both be fine." I'm curled at the end of my bed, tired out of my mind. 
                          
"Do you need anything?"
                          
"I'm petrified of going to sleep, Burkhardt."
                          
"What do you...see?" He asks hesitantly. 
                          
"I relive what happened last night. But I can't find Sam." I shudder. "And his screams..." I push the thought out of my head, reminding myself that it was only a dream before I start crying again. I saved Sam. He's fine. 
                          
"I owe you an apology, Sidra."
                          
"What? Why?" I ask, propping myself on my elbows as he gets up and joins me on my bed. 
                          
"I thought you guys were only fooling around." He shakes his head and picks at his fingernails. "I didn't know you-both of you were so close..."
                          
I sit up. "So close to what?" 
                          
"Love." 
                          
Love? I feel my heart flutter and for the first time in a while, I feel light and warm. "Really? That's what it looks like?" A small grin curls my lips. 
                          
"Look at you," he chuckles. "You're blushing."
                          
"I l-" I shut my mouth. If I'm going to say it then I want Sam to be the first to hear it. "I'm tired."
                          
"I'll be right here if anything." I nod, and he stands up. "Good morning."
                          
"Morning," I mutter, sliding under the covers. "Try to get some sleep."
                          
"Not until you do."
                          
"Hey!" I grab a pillow and throw it at him. "I mean it!"
                          
"So do I-so relax, clear your mind, and go to sleep."
                          
I take a deep breath. "Thank you for everything. I know your job is to protect me, and staying with me now...it's out of the kindness of your heart." His face grows unreadable, his eyes distant, and he lies back on the window seat. I frown. "I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable...I'm sorry."
                          
"Jacob," he whispers, and I gasp. "My first name is Jacob."
                          
"Thank you."
                          
I had fallen asleep with no issue but didn't stay out for long, I had another nightmare. Burkhardt-Jacob, I'm not sure what to call him. I mean I still call Robbie Jackson so. Burkhardt was more prepared this time. I woke up in his arms with him caressing my hair. It was like that for the rest of the morning. I must've fallen asleep and woke up from my nightmare four or five more times. I asked Burkhardt to leave because he looked as tired as I felt but when he argued, I left my room. I decided to hide in David's room. It's still early and he won't be in his room until later tonight. I have the room to myself and everyone's out, no one will hear me having a nightmare.