We all sat down and ate. After we were all finished, Kyla did the dishes. Spencer and I sat there talking. We decided to go to bed around 9. Spencer was really tired and I was kind of getting there myself. We went upstairs and got changed. We laid in bed and cuddled up.

            “Spence,” I said.

            “Yeah,” she said looking up at me.

            “I love you,” I said. “You know that right.”

            “Yes,” she said. “I love you too.”

            “I’m sorry,” I said.

            “For what?” she asked.

            “For this happening to you,” I said.

            “It’s not your fault,” she said.

            “Yes it is,” I said. I started to cry. “If I hadn’t gone inside, he would have never had the chance to grab you.”

            “It’s not your fault,” she said. She wiped away my tears. “This would have happened sooner or later. We couldn’t have stopped this no matter what we did.”

            “I’m still sorry,” I said.

            “You don’t have to be,” she said. She kissed my hand. “You didn’t do anything.”

            “I love you so much,” I said.

            “I love you too,” she said. She leaned up and kissed me softly. She laid her head back down. “Are you going to school in the morning?”

            “I don’t know,” I said. “Do you want me to stay here?”

            “Yes,” she said. “But school is important. You should go.”

            “We’ll figure it out in the morning,” I said. “Let’s get some sleep.”

            “Ok,” she said.

            I could hear the tiredness in her voice. She fell asleep quickly. I watched her sleep for a few minutes before I fell asleep myself. Around 2 A.M., I woke up. Spencer was screaming and crying in her sleep. She was rolling around and kicking.

            “Spencer,” I said. I grabbed a hold of her. “Spencer, wake up. It’s just a dream.”

            I kept holding her and repeating what I was saying. She woke up and she was still screaming.

            “Don’t let him get me,” she cried.

            I held her tightly as she cried onto my shoulder. “Everything’s ok now,” I said soothingly. “I got you. No one is going to touch you. It’s ok.”

            “Ash,” she said, “I’m so scared.”

            “It’s ok,” I said. “I’m here.”

            “I think I will go see someone,” she said.

            “Good,” I said. “We’ll call someone in the morning.”

            “Will you go with me?” she asked.

            “Of course,” I said. I held onto her tightly, glad she decided to get help.