The Rules by Tracy Darnton

Author:Tracy Darnton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stripes Publishing
Published: 2020-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

A noise wakes me and I and sit up quickly. The light from my camping lantern shows Josh thrashing around in a nightmare. He shouts out again.

“No, no, no.” Josh bangs the side of his head with his palms. “Stop. No, no.”

I wriggle over in my sleeping bag and grab his hands. “Josh, it’s fine. It’s a bad dream, that’s all.”

But he’s sobbing. Gasping for air like a small child. It scares me. I don’t know how to make it better.

“Shh. I’m here with you,” I say quietly. I wrap my arms around him and lay my head against his chest, feeling him trembling. I’ve been so focused on my own past, I haven’t paid any attention to his and how come he’s in this situation. He’s bone-brittle beneath his normal bluster and non-stop talking.

“Shh. I’m here. It’s OK,” I say and slowly he calms down and his breathing steadies. His sobs subside and eventually he relaxes.

“Don’t leave me,” he blurts out.

“I’m not going to leave you,” I say. “I’m right here.”

He hugs me back, resting his chin on the top of my head.

“Promise? Do you promise me?” he whispers. “You won’t let me down?”

I nod, hoping that I’m not the latest in the long line of people who’ve broken promises to Josh.

But knowing that I am.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.