Killer Dreams Read Online Free PDF

erratically. He was shaking as if he had malaria. “It’s over.”
    “Mom?”
    “Yes.” Her arms tightened around him. “You okay?”
    He didn’t answer for a moment. It always took a few minutes for him to recover even when they caught the terror before he sank all the way into it. “Sure.” His voice was uneven. “I’m sorry that you—I should be stronger, shouldn’t I?”
    “No, you’re very, very strong. I know grown men who have these terrors and you do much better than they do.” She drew a little away and brushed the hair back from his face. Tears were running down his cheeks, but she didn’t try to wipe them away. She’d learned to ignore them to avoid embarrassing him. It was a small thing, but all she could do to save his pride when he was so dependent on her. “I keep telling you it’s not a question of weakness. It’s an illness that has to be cured. I know your pain and I’m very proud of you.” She paused. “There’s only one thing that would make me prouder. If you’d talk to me about them…”
    He looked away from her. “I don’t remember.”
    It was a lie and they both knew it. It was true that night-terror victims often didn’t remember the content of their dreams, but Michael’s had to be connected to that day on the pier. Just the way he behaved when she asked him about it was a sign that he did recall them. “It would help you, Michael.”
    He shook his head.
    “Okay, maybe next time.” She stood up. “How about a cup of hot chocolate?”
    “It’s four-thirty. You have to work today, don’t you?”
    “I’ve had enough sleep.” She headed for the door. “You go wash your face and I’ll make the chocolate.” He was pale and this had been a bad one. Jesus, she hoped he didn’t throw up. “Kitchen. Ten minutes, okay?”
    “Okay.”
    He had a little color back in his cheeks when he sat down at the table five minutes later. “Dad called me yesterday afternoon.”
    “That’s nice.” She poured the hot chocolate into the two mugs and added marshmallows on the top. “How is he?”
    “Pretty good, I guess.” He took a drink. “I’m coming home Saturday night. He and Jean are going out of town. I told him that it was okay with me. I’d rather come home and be with you anyway.”
    “I’m glad. I miss you.” She sat down and cradled the cup in her cold hands. “But why? You like Jean, don’t you?”
    “Sure. She’s neat. But I think she and Dad like to be alone. Newlyweds do, don’t they?”
    “Sometimes. But they’ve been married almost six months and I’m sure there’s room for you in their lives.”
    “Maybe.” He took another drink and looked down at his chocolate. “Is it my fault, Mom?”
    “Is what your fault?”
    “You and Dad.”
    She had been waiting for him to ask that question since Dave and she had separated. She was glad that he had finally let it come out. “The divorce? No way. We were just different people. We got married in college when we were kids and we changed when we got older. It happens to lots of couples.”
    “But you guys argued a lot about me. I heard you.”
    “Yes, we did. But we argued a lot about most things. And that doesn’t mean we wouldn’t have gotten a divorce anyway.”
    “Honest?”
    She reached out and covered his hand with hers. “Honest.”
    “And it’s all right if I like Jean?”
    “It’s great that you like Jean. She makes your dad very happy. That’s important.” She took a paper napkin and wiped the melted marshmallow from his mouth. “And she’s nice to you. That’s even more important.”
    He was silent a moment. “Dad says Jean’s a little nervous about my nightmares. I think that’s why they don’t want me to stay overnight.”
    That bastard. He’d passed the buck to Jean so that he’d come out smelling like a rose. She forced a smile. “She’ll get used to them. Heck, she may not have to get used to them. Like you said, they don’t come every night any longer. You’re