Only in Your Dreams Chapter 5
JC quickly exited the room and made his way to the kitchen. After refilling the ice packs and rewetting the cloths, he stopped long enough in the hallway to retrieve two towels from the linen closet before he padded back down the hall to his bedroom. He glanced in Joey�s room as he began to pass by and saw that Joey seemed to have fallen asleep once again. He decided to take care of Joey first before continuing down to Lance�s room. Quietly, he re entered the room and tiptoed over to the bed. Carefully, JC placed the wet cloth on Joey�s head in the hopes that he would not disturb the sleeping man. Instead, Joey�s eyes slightly opened.
�Sorry man. I didn�t mean to wake you up,� JC said as he then wrapped the ice pack in one of the towels before lifting Joey�s head just enough to the place the icepack on the pillow and then, gently lowering it again to the pillow�s surface.
�It�s okay,� Joey mumbled. JC gave Joey a pat on the back as he whispered, �Go back to sleep Joe. I�ll be back in a few minutes. If you need me, just call. I�ll be right down the hall.�
JC remained slightly bent over Joey and watched as his friends� eyes seemed to become heavier and heavier until he could no longer keep them open. With a slight sigh, JC reached down and gently brushed a few stray locks of hair off Joey�s face before straightening up to leave the bedside. He once again tiptoed across the room, stopping long enough at the doorway to look once more at his troubled friend. With a shake of his head, JC left the doorway and headed down the hall to Lance�s room. Before he even entered the room, he could hear Lance already softly snoring. With a slight smile on his face JC walked into the room and sat on the bed opposite the bed that Lance already lay on. Chris put his arm around JC when he noted the young man�s red eyes.
�You okay JC?�
�Yeah, I�m okay,� he answered before telling the others what had just happened between him and Joey.
�I sure do hope we can help him,� said Justin as he lay back on to the bed, half on and half off.
JC nodded in agreement as he stood up from where he had sat to bend over and then carefully lay the cloth over Lance�s forehead and eyes before gently lifting the sleeping man�s head to place the ice pack behind the goose egg sized lump. Lance quietly mumbled in his sleep but did not fully awaken as his head was returned to the pillow. JC put his hand on the restless man�s shoulder and quietly shushed him until the mumbling stopped. He then returned to sit on the other bed with Chris and Justin.
�Are you sure about staying in the same room as Joey? I mean� what if he has another nightmare and is violent again?� Justin gestured wildly as he continued, his voice slowly becoming louder in the process.
�Someone could really get hurt�maybe worse than what Lance got.�
�Keep it down Justin,� said Chris as he put his hand on Justin�s arm that was coming very close to causing him bodily harm.
�Sorry about that Chris, � Justin said sheepishly. �I just don�t want anything to happen to JC.�
�I know Justin�believe me. I don�t want anything to happen to me either and right now I�m kinda feeling like a lamb being led to the slaughter,� JC said with a slight chuckle in an effort to put them all at ease.
�But, � he continued, �maybe if Joey�s not alone, the dreams won�t come and we can all get some sleep.�
�I guess you�re right, but if it�s all the same to you, I�ll just grab my pillow and blanket and I�ll sleep with you in Joey�s room on the floor.� Justin quickly stood and began gathering up a pillow. JC stood up and grabbed his arm.
�No Justin,� JC said with a shake of his head. �Sleep in your own bed. Too many of us in there might set things off again.�
Chris got up and joined the two men.
�Listen Justin, JC�s right. I�m tired�you�re tired. We�re all tired. Maybe in the morning we can try to sort out that dream or something.�
Justin looked first at Chris and then JC before walking back to the bed and sat down.
�Okay,� he mumbled as he clutched the pillow against his chest. JC and Chris walked over to Justin and again sat down and looked at Lance as he continued to softly snore. After a few minutes JC was the first to break the silence.
�I think you guys better take turns waking Lance up and making sure he knows where he is and that he knows his name and all.�
�Where did you come up with that information?� asked Justin with a tired grin as he continued to hug the pillow.
�I saw it on an old Emergency! Rerun on TV Land one night,� JC explained.
�Well, if they did it on that show, it had to be okay,� agreed Chris with a light laugh.
�You still think we don�t need to take them both to the hospital?� Justin asked JC as he stood, dropping the pillow to the bed, and tried to stretch out the tightness that he was feeling in his back due to the stress of the situation.
�Let�s just wait until the morning before we do anything.� JC was beginning to be unsure of his decision, but at the same time, he wasn�t too thrilled with the idea of facing their manager, Johnny Wright.
�Yeah,� Chris agreed, reading his younger friend�s mind. �We�ll need time to figure out how we�re going to tell Johnny Tuesday morning.�
�Well, at least we have all day Saturday, Sunday and Monday to figure something out,� said JC wearily as he then stood to stretch and make his way to the door.
�Maybe we can even help Joey with his nightmares by then.� JC and Justin looked at Chris when he finished the remark. The looks on their faces did not hold too much hope for the possibility of that idea. Chris looked down at his hands knowing that the look on his face mirrored the looks that he had just seen. Somehow, they were going to work together to help Joey�they just had to.
JC left the room as he listened to Chris and Justin quietly discussing who would be first to awaken Lance. As JC entered Joey�s bedroom, he could see that Joey had not changed position since he left him at least 15 minutes earlier. He wearily sat on the bed opposite of Joey. He watched the steady, even rise and fall of his chest as Joey slept. His quiet breathing indicated that, so far, his sleep was dreamless. �I hope he stays just like this all night,� whispered JC to himself as he lifted his feet and shifted on the bed until he was lying on his side, facing Joey. JC continued his silent vigil for a short time longer until his eyes became harder to keep open. He looked at the large bed that Joey was sleeping on. JC didn�t know if the need to comfort Joey or his own need to be comforted caused him to make his next move.
Slowly, but with little hesitation, JC slung the bedspread that he had been laying on over his shoulders. Quietly, he made his way around to the empty side of the bed. As carefully as possible, JC lowered himself onto the bed and lay beside Joey. When JC was sure that Joey had not stirred, he slowly shifted onto his side so that he could watch Joey as he slept.
The small desk lamp that he had left on allowed a soft light to play across Joey�s relaxed features. Maybe if Joey happened to wake during the night, the close presence of JC�s body would tend to comfort him. Deep down, JC also hoped that being near to Joey would help ward off the demons that might threaten to disturb the troubled man�s sleep.
It was not long before JC finally gave into sleep himself. Before closing his eyes, JC gently rested his hand on Joey�s arm just to let him know that he was there for him. His last waking thought was that he hoped that morning would come soon for everyone.
Meanwhile, down the hall, Chris and Justin sat on the extra bed in Lance�s room. They had decided that sleep was not that important to them any more. For the moment, Lance was first priority. �I know it might sound crazy,� began Chris, �but I feel like I�m not only taking care of Lance. I�m also taking care of Joey while I�m in here.�
�That doesn�t sound crazy at all.� Justin hesitated before he continued. �I mean...Joey didn�t know what he was doing when he hit Lance and all. He�d never hurt any of us on purpose.� Justin looked at Chris and saw him looking at Lance as he nodded in agreement.
�I�ve never seen someone so upset about hitting another person before,� said Chris as he continued to watch Lance as he began to stir slightly, under the covers. Both men remained quiet until they were sure that Lance had again fallen asleep.
�It�s like if we take care of Lance tonight and he feels better in the morning, then maybe Joey will feel better too, you know what I mean?� After finishing his statement, Justin stood up and moved to Lance�s side and readjusted the washrag that had begun to slide off the sleeping man�s forehead. Chris could tell that Justin wanted to say more so he waited patiently for him to return to sit on the bed.
�I wish my mom was here,� whispered Justin as he placed his elbows on his knees and leaned over, looking at the floor. �She always seems to know just what to do whenever I have a bad dream.�
�Oh yeah? Like what?�
In order to collect his thoughts, Justin picked up the pillow he had held earlier off the floor and plumped it up. After placing it against the headboard of the bed, he slid his body back until he was leaning against it. At the same time, Chris stood up and grabbed the extra pillow lying beside Lance then returned to his bed and crawled over Justin�s legs.
�Ouch. Watch it Chris,� hissed Justin as his legs were crushed by Chris� weight when he crossed over them.
�Sorry dude.� Chris lay down beside Justin with his arms wrapped around his pillow. After a few more moments of silence, Chris looked up at Justin and then turned to his side so that he could face him, still hugging the pillow.
�Earth to Justin. Hello? Anybody in there?� Chris reached up and tousled Justin�s curls.
Instead of ducking, as usual, Justin gently grabbed Chris� hand and pushed it down onto the bed.
�Wow. You must be thinking some pretty serious thoughts little man.� Chris waited for some reaction from Justin, but received none. After a few more moments of silence Chris tried again to get Justin to tell him what was going on up there between his ears.
�Why don�t you tell me how Lynn helps you when you have bad dreams.� That was all it took for Justin to spend the next 20 to 30 minutes telling Chris of how his mom would handle each nightmare in virtually the same way then he began to fiddle absent-mindedly with the bedspread as he told Chris of a certain dream he had had early in his childhood.
�I can remember one nightmare I had when I was 5 or 6 years old,� he started without looking at Chris.
�I had dreamed that both my parents had died and I was left alone. I can remember looking for anyone that I knew around me, but everyone I thought I knew were ignoring me and walking away from me. No one would stop to help me at all.� Justin got a faraway look in his eyes as the dream replayed itself in his mind. �I can remember waking up from the dream and running into Mom and Dad�s bedroom and crawling under the covers at the foot of the bed all the way up to where their heads rested on their pillows.� Chris could only grin as he tried to picture a tiny Justin making his way, commando-style, under the covers. Justin noticed Chris� grin and sheepishly grinned himself, as he slightly turned red in embarrassment.
�Well, I was too short to just crawl up over them to get on the bed and I needed to be by them. It was the only way I knew how to get where I needed to go.�
�No need to explain any further�G-I Joe.� Chris just couldn�t let that opportunity pass him by.
Justin punched him in return in the arm before he continued with his story.
�Mom and Dad would always help me pick my dream apart so that I would understand why I was having it.�
�So, why did you have that dream?�
�Well, it was around then that Mom and Dad started having problems with their marriage. I mean, they were trying really hard to make everything work and all, but I could kinda tell that something was up.� Justin stopped speaking and looked at Chris for a second. �They tried hard to hide their arguments, and they still stayed in the same bedroom together�I still just knew that something was going to happen.� Justin turned his attention to Lance as he allowed the feelings to wash over him again.
�Yeah�and?�
�Huh?� Justin looked at Chris again. �You say something?�
�Yes� and you were a million miles away from here again.�
�Sorry man. I was just thinking about the dream.�
�Listen, you don�t have to finish telling me anything if you don�t want to. I don�t want to invade anything you hold privately.�
�No. This is something that I don�t mind sharing with one of my friends.� They both smiled at each other before Justin continued.
�Well, after dreaming about Mom and Dad being dead and all, Mom said that them being dead and leaving me alone in my dream was sort of like their marriage dying and how I felt like I was losing both of my parents. If they got a divorce then I would be living with one of them and not the other anymore. My family, as I knew it, would be dead and that would leave me all by myself.� Justin stopped long enough to run his hands through his hair before continuing. �All of the people that just passed me by, even the one that knew me, were the people I was around everyday that just didn�t know what was going on for different reasons. Some of the people around us just didn�t know and didn�t want to know, for that matter. Other people knew, but just didn�t want to get involved and ignored what was going on.�
�I�m beginning to understand. I can remember studying a little about dreams in college and how they can mirror what is going on in your everyday life...you just have to find the connections.�
�Yeah. The possibility of Mom and Dad getting a divorce caused a lot of worry for me and that caused the dream.�
�Well, what do you suppose is causing Joey�s dreams then?�
�I don�t know.�
�Lance said that in the first dream, you were killed while Joey watched.� Justin nodded at the memory.
�Then he had what...2�3 or more dreams before tonight�s doozy?�
�I think that�s what Lance said,� Justin answered.
�Tonight he dreamed about being lost in a forest and then seeing Lance being attacked.�
�Yeah.� Both men spent the remainder of the evening discussing what could possibly be causing the nightmares. But, they both knew that, in the end, only Joey himself could unlock the meanings behind his nightmares hopefully, ending the nightmares all together.