Chapter 2
Madison had always had issues with sleepwalking.
When we first found out at the beginning of the semester, we had all been nervous. But after a while, we realized that when she sleepwalked, she usually just stood by the window in a daze. Since we all got along well during the day, we gradually stopped worrying as we became closer.
We had even joked about it sometimes, asking what she had dreamed about lately.
Every time we asked, she said she dreamed of being back in her grandpa’s watermelon field in the countryside when she was little. She wanted to pick a big, sweet watermelon, cut it open, and eat it, but none of the melons were ripe.
We had laughed every single time.
Now none of us were laughing.
Thinking about the way Madison had been touching my head, it was impossible not to understand what the “ripe watermelon” in her dream had really been.
I looked down at the large kitchen knife on the floor. It was the one Reilly usually used to cut fruit in our room, big and sharp. If I had not woken up in time, Madison might have seriously hurt me.
The thought made cold sweat break out across my back.
I jumped to my feet. “Get the RA. I want to switch rooms.”
The resident advisor was clearly annoyed at being woken in the middle of the night, but after hearing our story, even she got goosebumps.
“Madison, I’ll contact your advisor and have them speak with your parents about getting you to see a doctor,” she said. “In the meantime, you’re moving to the empty room upstairs.”
Madison looked shaken too. Her eyes were red as she packed her things.
Within an hour, she had moved out.
A little later, she even sent a photo to our group chat of her new room. In the picture, she had barricaded the door with a pile of boxes and furniture.
I’ve locked the door and blocked it with a ton of stuff, she wrote. I threw away anything sharp too. Don’t worry. I won’t hurt anyone.
Reading that message made all of us feel a little guilty.