A Very Merry Superhero Wedding (Adventures of Lewis and Clarke) by Kitty Bucholtz
Authors: Kitty Bucholtz
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there was as fun as the silly snow statues suggested.
God, help me not to compare my family to someone else’s, but to love them for who they are. And please let Joe and his family be truly as wonderful as they seem.
Tori took a big breath and left the room, determined to love each one of her family members the best she could.
At least for Christmas.
RUNNING and running. Monsters in the darkness. Chasing her. Running.
Mom screaming. Monsters in the dark.
A dark corner with a mirror. Hiding from the monsters. Looking in the mirror.
Monsters in the mirror.
She was the monster.
Tori fought against the monsters in the dream, fought to wake up, fought the darkness and the fear. She kicked and kicked, finally realizing only blankets trapped her legs.
She fumbled for the bedside lamp. Breathing heavily and blinking against the light, she told herself it was just a dream. There were no monsters in her room. No monster under the bed.
She began to cry and rolled into a ball on her side. She hadn’t had that dream in years. What brought it back? Shivers ran down her spine.
Still crying, she reached for her phone. She texted Hayley , you awake?
Beginning to shiver, she pulled the covers back up and wrapped them tightly around her. She hated feeling so alone after a nightmare. She wanted to go get in bed with Lexie like they used to in bad times past, but Lexie had to go to work today. She shouldn’t wake her.
God, help me not to feel so alone.
She opened the texting feature on her phone again. No reply from Hayley. Probably asleep at 3:49 a.m.
She stared at the list of names on the list of recent texts. She shouldn’t wake him. Did he turn his phone to vibrate at night? Everyone did, right?
This is what Aunt Flo meant — she didn’t know Joe well enough to know if he slept with his phone nearby, if he turned the ringer off at night or not, if he was a light enough sleeper to wake up at the ding of an incoming text.
Tori buried her new sobs in her pillow. She didn’t want to wake her sister. Though she also hoped Lexie would miraculously hear her and come in and hold her until the fear left and the tears stopped.
She stopped crying enough to type a text to Joe , you awake?
Please be awake, she begged him from three-quarters of a mile away.
But no one answered. No one came. And she lay alone in her bed until she cried herself back to sleep.
When Tori awoke again, it was 8:52 a.m. She couldn’t believe she’d slept so long. Thankfully, the last few hours held weird dreams, but not nightmares.
Her eyes felt gritty and her mouth was dry. She reached for the glass of water she always kept by the bed. As she drank, she heard the light whirring sound of her phone vibrating on a soft surface. It took a minute to figure out where it was coming from — under the covers. She’d fallen asleep with it in her hand.
She pressed the middle button and saw that she’d received texts from Hayley, Lexie, and Joe. She flopped against her pillow and read them, rubbing her sore eyes gently.
Lexie teased her for still being asleep, and wanted to know if Tori would be eating there tonight.
Joe apologized for being asleep when she texted him, asked if she was all right, and said he missed her and loved her.
Tori ran her finger over the words. She loved him, too. So much.
Another text from Hayley flashed in and Tori read four from her. The last one said , Wake up sleepyhead, I’m walking to your door.
A knock on the front door made her jump and then chuckle a little. She got up, pulled on her warm fluffy robe and sheepskin slippers, and let Hayley in.
“Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”
“I called and asked Brie to hold down the fort. She is turning out to be the best employee I’ve ever hired.”
Hayley stomped fresh snow from her boots, took off her outerwear and followed Tori into the kitchen.
“Hot chocolate?” Tori asked.
“Sure, or we could go out to breakfast, my treat,” Hayley said.
Tori thought
God, help me not to compare my family to someone else’s, but to love them for who they are. And please let Joe and his family be truly as wonderful as they seem.
Tori took a big breath and left the room, determined to love each one of her family members the best she could.
At least for Christmas.
RUNNING and running. Monsters in the darkness. Chasing her. Running.
Mom screaming. Monsters in the dark.
A dark corner with a mirror. Hiding from the monsters. Looking in the mirror.
Monsters in the mirror.
She was the monster.
Tori fought against the monsters in the dream, fought to wake up, fought the darkness and the fear. She kicked and kicked, finally realizing only blankets trapped her legs.
She fumbled for the bedside lamp. Breathing heavily and blinking against the light, she told herself it was just a dream. There were no monsters in her room. No monster under the bed.
She began to cry and rolled into a ball on her side. She hadn’t had that dream in years. What brought it back? Shivers ran down her spine.
Still crying, she reached for her phone. She texted Hayley , you awake?
Beginning to shiver, she pulled the covers back up and wrapped them tightly around her. She hated feeling so alone after a nightmare. She wanted to go get in bed with Lexie like they used to in bad times past, but Lexie had to go to work today. She shouldn’t wake her.
God, help me not to feel so alone.
She opened the texting feature on her phone again. No reply from Hayley. Probably asleep at 3:49 a.m.
She stared at the list of names on the list of recent texts. She shouldn’t wake him. Did he turn his phone to vibrate at night? Everyone did, right?
This is what Aunt Flo meant — she didn’t know Joe well enough to know if he slept with his phone nearby, if he turned the ringer off at night or not, if he was a light enough sleeper to wake up at the ding of an incoming text.
Tori buried her new sobs in her pillow. She didn’t want to wake her sister. Though she also hoped Lexie would miraculously hear her and come in and hold her until the fear left and the tears stopped.
She stopped crying enough to type a text to Joe , you awake?
Please be awake, she begged him from three-quarters of a mile away.
But no one answered. No one came. And she lay alone in her bed until she cried herself back to sleep.
When Tori awoke again, it was 8:52 a.m. She couldn’t believe she’d slept so long. Thankfully, the last few hours held weird dreams, but not nightmares.
Her eyes felt gritty and her mouth was dry. She reached for the glass of water she always kept by the bed. As she drank, she heard the light whirring sound of her phone vibrating on a soft surface. It took a minute to figure out where it was coming from — under the covers. She’d fallen asleep with it in her hand.
She pressed the middle button and saw that she’d received texts from Hayley, Lexie, and Joe. She flopped against her pillow and read them, rubbing her sore eyes gently.
Lexie teased her for still being asleep, and wanted to know if Tori would be eating there tonight.
Joe apologized for being asleep when she texted him, asked if she was all right, and said he missed her and loved her.
Tori ran her finger over the words. She loved him, too. So much.
Another text from Hayley flashed in and Tori read four from her. The last one said , Wake up sleepyhead, I’m walking to your door.
A knock on the front door made her jump and then chuckle a little. She got up, pulled on her warm fluffy robe and sheepskin slippers, and let Hayley in.
“Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”
“I called and asked Brie to hold down the fort. She is turning out to be the best employee I’ve ever hired.”
Hayley stomped fresh snow from her boots, took off her outerwear and followed Tori into the kitchen.
“Hot chocolate?” Tori asked.
“Sure, or we could go out to breakfast, my treat,” Hayley said.
Tori thought
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