The Wrong Sister

“I’m going to bed now,” I announced, stepping out of the master bedroom in a hot pink sleeveless nightgown. I glanced down the hallway into the living room, where Lisa sat on the couch with her laptop. She set the laptop on the footrest and stood up. “Going to give me a hug goodnight?” “Sure,” I said, playfully racing down the hall into her arms. “Aw,” she said, squeezing me tightly. “Sleep well, sweetie.” “I will, and thanks again for dinner. Gute Nacht.” “What’s that?” “I said goodnight in German.” I turned and headed back down the hallway just as I saw her crack a smile. I fell asleep practically as soon as my head hit the pillow, but I did anything but sleep well. Nightmares plagued me, and I awoke with a cry, startled in the night. I heard movement in the guestroom across the hall. Dammit. We both slept with our doors open, and a few seconds later, a silhouette appeared against the nightlight in the hall. “You ok?” Lisa asked softly, flipping on the lamp. She wore a sleep shirt with the San Francisco 49ers logo across the front, the shirt covering almost half of her thin yet strong-looking thighs. “Yeah. I’m so sorry I woke you up.” “It’s okay, honey. What happened?” “Just a stupid nightmare.” “Do you want to talk about it?” I shook my head and flopped back on the pillow. “Later.” She sat on the edge of the bed. “You sure you don’t want to talk about it? Stacey says it’s not good to suppress things, and I think it’s safe to say she’s the expert.” I moaned, too tired to form any words. I expected her to return to the guestroom, but instead, she flicked the lights off and slid into bed next to me. She never touched me, of course, but her close presence was comforting, and I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep in no time. I awoke in the morning to the smell of coffee. After using the bathroom, I shuffled down the hall into the kitchen. Stacey was due back in a few hours. “Good morning, Miss Neon Pink. Sleep any better the second time around?” “Much.” I slid onto the stool behind the counter. “I can make us something today since you took care of breakfast yesterday.” “Oh, that’s sweet of you to offer. I’m really not hungry for anything more than a piece of fruit and coffee, though. Would you like some coffee?” “Yeah, I’ll have that after my thyroid meds take hold, along with a protein bar. It was bees.” “What’s that?” Lisa blinked, caught off guard by the sudden change of subject. “A bunch of bees attacked me in my nightmares last night.” “Aw, I’m sorry to hear that. That must’ve been pretty scary.” “It was. It seemed so real. I was wearing nothing but my bra and panties, and I talked too loudly, which startled a bunch of bees out of their hive. I can still feel the damn things sticking to the side of my waist where they first hit. I wanted to scream and panic, but I was frozen in fear at the same time.” Lisa studied me as she took a bite of her apple. “Sorry I screamed out for real and woke you up.” “No problem at all.” Not long after, I ran into Stacey’s arms, nearly knocking her over before she was fully in the door. “Oh, my little stick of dynamite! How ya doing, babe?” she asked, kissing me on the lips. “I had a nightmare last night, but otherwise Lisa and I had lots of fun.” Lisa laughed. “We missed you, though. At least I did.” They both laughed this time. “So, how was it?” I asked Stacey. “Pretty boring for the most part.” I yawned. “Nightmare leave you tired?” “Yeah, a little bit.” “Well, why don’t you drag my suitcase into the bedroom and go lie down for a while, Green Eyes? Then I’ll catch up with Lisa, and we can hang out later when you’re better rested.” “I could definitely use a little more sleep.” I started to wheel the suitcase down the hall, knowing Stacey wanted a few minutes alone with her sister. I looked from Stacey to Lisa. “I’ll come say goodbye before I leave,” Lisa said. I put some of Stacey’s things away and dropped onto the bed, falling into that space between sleep and wakefulness, head turned toward the open door. I was aware of Stacey and Lisa’s voices at the other end of the house, sprinkled with occasional tinkles of laughter. Eventually, Lisa crept into the bedroom. She placed two fingers to her lips and moved her hand toward me. I copied the action, raising only my left arm, and then she was gone.