Chapter 23: Shopping
Ashley tossed and turned on her bed–big as it was lonely–unable to find a comfortable position. Despite her exhaustion, sleep refused to take her.
She kept trying, shutting her eyes and hugging one of the fluffy pillows tightly, until she finally drifted off. But almost immediately, the nightmare found her.
Ashley found herself standing outside, watching her parents' plane soar through the sky. Her mom's bright smile suddenly turned into something unrecognizable, twisting in agony as the world around them began to rotate. Screams pierced the air, deafening and horrific as the plane began to spiral downward...
"Mom, no!" Ashley released a piercing scream, alongside the hundreds of terrified voices echoing in her head.
She jerked awake with a sharp gasp, her body covered in sweat despite the cool air condition, her heart pounding erratically in her chest. She frantically turned on the lamp, as if its glow could erase the haunting image of her parents' agony from her mind. But the light only intensified her throbbing headache–and the guilt.
Ashley sat up, clutching the sheet tight, tears welling in her eyes.
Almost ten years had passed since that fateful day, but the pain still felt fresh each time.
Rubbing her temples, she tried to shake off the lingering fear. She wished she could explain why the nightmares persisted, but she'd long quit trying. The night was still early, so she dragged her feet to the closet, grabbed a bottle of ZzzQuil carefully hidden, and swallowed two tablets. Then went and slumped back on the bed, drifting off almost immediately.
*******
A knock on the door pulled Ashley from her thoughts. She opened it to find Madison standing there, her warm smile a gentle contrast to the chaos in Ashley's mind.
"Good morning," she greeted before proceeding to say what had brought her. "Mrs. Flynn want to know if you'd like to join them downstairs for breakfast?"