Next thing I knew, I was screaming and back in the patrol car. I looked out of the windows, confused, only to hear Dex beside me laugh. I jumped against the door, still shaken from that.... what the hell had it been anyway? A nightmare? Nightmares never felt that real before. My heart was pounding in my chest, and I was having a bit of trouble breathing. With each beat of my heart, I felt my lighter.
“You okay, Jack?” I heard Dex say between chuckles.
I payed him no mind as I fumbled for my lighter, patting myself all over to make sure I wasn't on fire just in case. When my fingers touched the chrome of the Zippo, it was warmer than usual. I shuddered, shaking my head as I pulled the lighter from my pocket. Why was it so warm? I couldn't help but think back to my nightmare. The burning had started with my lighter, but why? Why did I have that dream? Why was I getting so worked up over a silly nightmare?!
“Jack, you alright, man?” Dex put his hand on my shoulder.
Like before, I recoiled a bit, although this time it was much smaller of a reaction. I shook my head, dropping my lighter back into it's proper place.
“I'll be fine,” I assured him. “Fuckin' nightmare.”
“You, afraid of a little dream?! C'mon, Jack, you gotta be pullin' my leg!”
“I'm serious, Dex. I ain't had a dream like that since I was a kid!”
“Bullshit! Na, you're not the kinda guy to get worked up over a fuckin' dream, Jack. I know you better than that!”
“Can we just fuckin' drop it!?” I didn't realize it that I'd started to raise my voice.
“Jesus Christ, always with the God damn 'You ain't this' or 'You ain't that'! Lemme tell you somethin', partner, you might be a damn good cop, but you ain't no Dick fuggin' Tracy!”
I was fuming. At what, I didn't know. I knew I was angry at Dex for pressing the issue about the dream, but I really wasn't sure just why. Dex retreated back to his seat, watching the road in front of us quietly. I'd probably really hurt the guy's feelings, but dammit, he deserved it!... I think. There was something about the dream that was... familiar but not. It was a weird sense of Deja vu.
My heart skipped, no stopped, when my phone went off. I tried to ignore it, but with Crazy On You filling the car, Dex just looked over while I continued to ignore it. If I didn't answer it, then whatever bad news came with the phone call wouldn't reach me!
“You gonna get that, Jack?” Dex asked. I shook my head in response.
Of course, eventually, towards the end of the phone's ringing, I answered it. Morbid Curiosity, I suppose. I took a deep breath before actually saying anything.
“Yea-yeah?”
“Jack,” Dianne sounded annoyed. “I thought I asked you to take out the trash this morning before you left?”
I started laughing. Dianne didn't like that at all, and started yelling at me. Dex looked over at me, confused. And I couldn't help but keep laughing at my own stupidity! Stupidity and Relief!
“The hell's wrong with you, man?” Dex asked.
“Oh God, I'm sorry!” I choked out between laughs. “Oh, Di, I'm sorry, it's just a relief to hear you right now!”
Dianne said something, but I couldn't hear her, having pulled the phone away from my ear to get a hold of myself. Dex joined in on my laughter until the voice of Samantha, our Dispatcher, came over the radio.
“'ey, Jack, we got work, man!”
“Alright,” I turned my attention to Dianne, moving the phone back to my ear. “I'll take it out as soon as I get home, okay, Di? I gotta go keep the streets safe! Love ya!”
“Be safe, okay, Jack?” She said, the anger and annoyance replaced by a soft worried tone. “I swear if you make me have to go to a hospital, I'll kill you!”
“No worries, babe! See you when I get home!”
I hung up the phone. Sam was still calling our car, Dex was mocking me for the “lovey dovey shit”. With a smile, I socked him in the arm, glad I was finally getting over my anxiety from the nightmare. Glad that Dex was Dex and wouldn't hurt a fly. Well... as long as he liked the fly, he wouldn't hurt it.
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