“He took me to a place away from the city and kept me there. He kept me locked up in a dark room, but otherwise he didn’t touch me. That’s what my nightmares are about. I remember being terrified and wanting someone to save me. I wanted to go home.
“The guy that took me left no trace at the museum, but he parked where the cameras were able to see part of his licence plate. From that, police were able to track him down and rescue me. After that, we moved to Tulsa because mom and dad thought it was a safer place. So, you were right, the nightmare was a memory, not just a dream.”
I had no idea what to say to that. “I’m so sorry that happened to you, Karma.”
“Thanks. It was a long time ago and I hardly even think about it anymore. Like I told you, I hadn’t dreamed about it for a few years.”
“Does Kayleigh know?” I asked.
“Yeah, she’s been there for a few nightmares, too.”
“Wow, Karma. I really don’t know what to say,” I told her.
“There’s not much to say. But now you know why it was hard to wake me up and why I didn’t want to be alone.”
“You are one amazing lady, Karma Webster,” I said, meaning every word.
She smiled at me. “Thank you, Bodie. And thank you again for helping me the other night.”
I nodded. “This will probably sound really bad after what you just told me, but you look like shit.”
A small laugh escaped her mouth. “I know I do. I was afraid to go to sleep at Anthony’s last night.”
I raised my eyebrows at that. “Why?”
“I didn’t want to have another nightmare there.”
“So, now you’re sleep deprived. That’s not very good, Karma. You need to go get some sleep. I’ll walk you to your dorm.”
She tried to argue, but I wasn’t taking no for an answer. I walked her all the way to the door to her dorm.
“Thanks for trusting me,” I told her, just before she opened the door. “See you in class tomorrow.”
She nodded and went into the dorm. I walked back to my building with a lot on my mind. It was hard to believe some of the things people had gone through in their lives and still turned out to be normal people. I was lucky to have the childhood I’d had, and something about Karma’s story made me feel like I needed to do something to help others. I shook my head at the thought, either I was maturing or being around Karma was turning me into a pussy.
Chapter 20
Karma
Kayleigh was sitting on the couch with a textbook when I walked into our dorm.
“Hey,” she said. “You look exhausted. Were you up partying all night?”
“No, but I was up all night.”
“Uh, okay. Is everything alright?”
“Yeah. I told Bodie about what happened to me when I was three.”
Kayleigh’s eyed got really big and her mouth dropped open.
“The reason Bodie slept with me Friday night was because I had my nightmare. And you know what I’m like after I have one. So, I convinced him to stay with me. He was a complete gentleman, but I could tell he was worried. He texted me Saturday and wanted to know if it was just a dream or a memory. I thought about it for a while and decided to tell him. That’s where I just came from.”
“Wow. I can’t believe you told Bodie. I mean, I think it’s great, but Bodie?”
“After what he saw and heard, I thought he deserved to know. And as often as he can be an asshole, there’s a soft side to him, too.”
Kayleigh nodded. “So, all of that doesn’t explain why you were up all night.”
“I was at Anthony’s and I was too scared to fall asleep. I didn’t want to have a nightmare there, so I watched TV all night.”
“I’m sorry, Karma, that would totally suck. You should probably go to bed. I’ll wake you up in a while so you can eat. Okay?”
“Yeah, okay. Thanks, Kayleigh.”
“Anytime.”
I went to my room and took off my shoes. I didn’t even change before crawling into bed. I was asleep in seconds.
I don’t know how long I slept before Kayleigh woke me up to eat, but I was already feeling better.
“Is that pizza I smell?” I asked, when I walked out of my room.
“Yep, and not just any pizza, The Pizza Fix pizza,” Kayleigh said with a grin.
“But they don’t deliver? How did you get it?”
“I didn’t,” she said, grinning bigger.
“Okay, so how did it get here?”
“Bodie dropped it off. He even got your favorite, chicken and spinach with Alfredo sauce.”
“Wow, that was nice of him,” I said.
“I think he likes you,” Kayleigh said, taking a slice out of the box.
“Yeah, we’re friends.”
“That’s not what I mean, Karma. I think he really cares about you and would like to date you.”
“You’re crazy, Bodie doesn’t date. He just feels sorry for me because I didn’t sleep last night. We’re just friends.”
She snorted. “Yeah, like Major and I were just friends.”
“That was completely different. And besides, I’m dating Anthony.”
“If it’s so different, then why did you tell Bodie about what happened and not Anthony?”
“Because Bodie was there for the nightmare. That’s the only reason.”
“Sure, you keep telling yourself that.”
“Whatever,” I said.
Bodie and I were just friends, anything more would ruin what we have. That’s why I lied to him about not remembering having sex with him. I wanted to maintain our friendship, not cause it to implode.
After I had a couple slices of pizza, I went back to bed. No matter how tired I was I still had to go to practice in the morning. Once again, it didn’t take me any time to fall asleep. At least this time I changed out of my clothes.
****
I was almost late for Psychology the next morning. Luckily, my normal seat next to Bodie was empty.
“Cutting it close this morning,” Bodie said.
“I couldn’t decide what to wear,” I told him.
He laughed. “Well, you look great.”
“Thanks.”
“You get some sleep yesterday?”
“Yeah, and thanks for the pizza. You didn’t need to do that.”
“I know, but I thought you could use it.”
I wanted to say more but the professor started talking. I wasn’t paying that much attention until I heard the word assignment.
“Fuck,” I whispered.
“What?” Bodie asked.
“With everything that happened this weekend, I forgot to do the assignment. I can’t let my grade slip. I guess I’ll have to ask for an extension.”
“Here,” Bodie said, and handed me a piece of paper.
I looked at it. It was the list of questions, complete with answers that we were supposed to turn in today. And at the top was my name and ID number.
“What the fuck, Bodie?” I said. “I can’t accept this.”
“Yes, you can, and you will. You do most of our Spanish homework, this is just a little payback.”