"Brian," I whispered. He looked down at me.

"Yeah," he responded, sounding a little hesitant.

"Why did you lie to Matt?" His hand stopped going in circles on my back.

"What?" I leaned back so I could see his face.

"You told Matt this was the second time in months that I've had the nightmare." A look of understanding took over his features as he caught onto what I was saying.

"I wasn't lying to him, baby." I stare at him for a few seconds.

"I didn't have it the other night-"

"Yes, you did." I watched him as I waited for an explanation. I crawled off of his lap and sat in front of him as he thought about how to explain. "The only thing I lied about to him was that I carried you to my room. It was the night before last, and you were already here. You actually started screaming into the pillow."

"What was I screaming," I asked quietly.

"First you started moaning in pain," he said, looking pained as he remembered everything. "Then I felt you turn over and you screamed, 'no, save them'." I felt like the wind got knocked out of me as I tried taking that in.

"Can I go to Matt's," I said in a rush. He froze and stared at me for an estimated thirty seconds before even blinking.

"You really think that will help," he said doubtfully. I nodded. He looked around before standing and walking to his closet. He pulled out a duffel bag and threw it at me. "Get some of your shit packed and you can go." I knew he wasn't happy. At all. I got up anyway and tried walking past him. He caught me around my waist and pulled me into a kiss. It wasn't harsh or forced, but sweet and gentle. He broke away after a few seconds and walked out. I walked after him but to my room instead of to the kitchen like he went to. After changing into jeans, I put a few shirts and pair of sweatpants into the bag, then put some essentials in. When I finished, I took it out to the living room and set it on the couch. Brian looked in from the kitchen.

"You didn't change your mind," he asked, sounding a little disappointed. I shook my head and sat down, pulling my knees up to my chest and hugging them. Brian walked over and kneeled infront of me. "You sure about that?" I nodded shakily. Just as an expression of anger flashed across his face, someone knocked on the door and Matt walked in. Brian instantly stood up.

"Hey, Courtney," Matt said with a smile, then looked at Brian. "Did you ask her?"

"Yes," I said. "I think it'll be a good idea." Matt glances wearily at Brian.

"Then I can take you back now and you can get used to it-" I answered him by standing up and rushing over with the duffel in my hand. He smiled warmly at me, then looked to Brian. "I'll call you later." I saw Brian nod out of the corner of my eye and I walked outside with Matt. We got into his car and he started driving away from my personal hell.

"Brian didn't look too happy to hear that you're spending the next few days with me," Matt said, looking over at me.

"He needs to chill out," I muttered, not thinking he heard me. He did.

"Why do you say that?" I shrugged.

"He's annoying as hell," I vented. "Always around constantly."

"Isn't that what big brothers are for?"

"No, he's lost it," I chuckled. Matt didn't say anything until we got back to his house when he took my bag for me and we went inside.

"You can sleep in my room and I'll sleep on the couch," he started saying, but I stopped him.

"You stay in your room," I said. "I'll sleep on the couch."

"You sure?" I nodded. "Okay, well... you know where everything is, right?" I nodded again. "Then you can make yourself at home, I'll be down in the studio working on everything." He smiled so I returned it genuinely. He walked over to the stairs that led to the basement, but stopped and looked at me.

"You know, that's the first time since a few months ago that I've seen a real smile ony our face?" I didn't do or say anything as his smile faded a little. "Too bad Brian wasn't here to see it." He went downstairs and I collapsed onto the couch, turning the TV on and finding something to watch. That was how things were for the next few hours until about 7pm when Matt came back upstairs. He sat down next to me on the couch and I tensed up a little. A look of confusion flashed in his eyes before he thought I could notice.

"What do you want to eat?" I shrugged.

"I don't care."

"Brian told me you haven't been eating that much lately. Don't think I'll let you starve while you're here." He took my hand and brought me out to the kitchen. He let go so he could start looking through the cupboards. "What do you wanna have?" I crossed my arms over my chest.

"I really don't care. Whatever is fine." He pulled out a box of spaghetti, showing it to me with a questioning look. I nodded so he got out a pot and started boiling water. I sat down at the dining table and looked around. "Where's Valary?"

"At her parents'. We got in an argument." I looked back at Matt.

"About what?"

"The new album, of course." I chuckled.

"She's afraid you're gonna be gone all the time?" He nodded.

"You should be scared your brother will be gone, too." He was right. Brian would be gone a lot more while Avenged Sevenfold was working on their new album.

"It's not like he'll be gone forever."

"Yeah, I guess." It was obvious Val was on his mind, so I didn't say anything as he finished with dinner and brought two plates with spaghetti and sauce to the table. We ate in silence; he ate his whole plate along with a second helping and I ate only half of what he put on my plate. By the time we finished it was 9:30 and I was really tired. He got me a blanket as I sat down on the couch.

"If you need anything, you know where I am," he said. He walked to his room after shutting all the lights off so I lay down. It only took seconds for me to slip into darkness.

***

"Courtney," Matt yelled in my ear. I jolted up into a sitting position with my heart pounding. The only light in the whole room was from the lamp on the end-table. I looked at Matt and saw that he had a scared look covering every inch of his face. I noticed his hand was on my back when he started rubbing it soothingly like Brian does.

"Why did you wake me up," I murmured. His eyebrows furrowed.

"If I didn't wake you up, you would have woken everyone else up with your screaming." Shit, not again...

"I didn't know I was... I'm sorry, Matt-"

"Was it the nightmare again?" I nodded. He looked towards the hallway then back at me. He sat down on the edge and stared at me for a couple of seconds before saying anything.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine-"

"Courtney." The way he said my name made me stop talking immediately. He was worried. Determined. "In general. Are you okay?" I looked down and nodded.

"I'm fine, Matt. It was just the nightmare." He sighed. He knew I was lying.

"Do you wanna sleep in my room tonight? Just so I know you're really okay?" I nodded again so he shut off the lamp and guided me in the dark to his room. The moon shone through his window, so I could pretty much see where everything was. He walked me to my side of the bed before climbing in on his own side. He didn't lie down yet as he still looked at me. "Do you trust me?"

"Yeah, of course," I whispered. He moved closer and my muscles tensed visibly.

"Stay still, okay?" I swallowed back fear of what he was going to do, and I closed my eyes. I felt his hands drift around my hips and he pulled me closer to him. "You okay?"

"Yeah." My back rested against his bare chest as I relaxed best I could.

"Goodnight, Courtney." I smiled a little.

"Goodnight, Matt." This was so different from what Brian and I did. There was always something more to Brian's actions, but Matt... he just cared a lot. Like any friend would. How could I ever look at him and tell him I was afraid of him just like I was afraid of my brother?