Auburn really wanted to rest.

For six days straight, he and his sister Autumn had been receiving calls from people all around the state who were in need of their services. It seems that more sightings of ghostly activities occur around this time of the year than any other period.

Well, that's what they get for being some of the most prominent paranormal investigators around the country.

He and his sister were heading home after successfully getting rid of a rather pesky ghost that was haunting a barn, to which the farmer was grateful for, and offered them dinner (and money of course) as thanks.

Normally, after a mission, he would be the one driving them home, but since he got a concussion and a couple of cuts and bruises on his face and legs after being thrown around the barn multiple times, Autumn had to drive instead.

The van suddenly screeched to a halt as the light turned red. The investigator was too dizzy to react quickly and ended up being thrown forwards his seat. Had he not worn his seatbelt, he would've hit the dashboard and made the throbbing worse. Auburn groaned as he slumped back to his seat, hissing as he leaned his sore head to the window on his side of the vehicle. It still hurt from earlier, though not as hard as before. He glared at Autumn, who gave back a nervous chuckle and an apologetic smile.

"What was that for?! Are you trying to send me to the hospital?" He yelled at her.

"Sorry, forgot to slow down. And no, I'm not trying to send you to the emergency room. " She replied sarcastically, to which Auburn replied with a grunt as he clutched his head. Autumn made a mental note to change her brother's bandages as soon as they get home.

Autumn noticed how tired and stressed out her brother was from all their investigations, yet he was too stubborn to admit it. Auburn was starting to get sleepy, but the young man forced himself to stay awake, which did not help at all because of his injuries. She was concerned about her slightly older brother's well-being, so she took off her jacket and handed it to him. Auburn was confused as to why his sister gave it to him.

"You should get some sleep bro. You're tired as hell, especially after that blow. I'll wake you up when we get home. Use this as a pillow." She explained and tossed the navy blue jacket to his lap as the traffic light turned green. He leaned backwards on his seat and looked outside the window, forcing his eyes wide open whenever it started to droop.

" 'M not tired, Autumn." He argued, his eyelids growing heavy with the rain pouring down the streets. Auburn reached for the coffee cup on the dashboard, only to be held back by Autumn, giving him a stern look.

He tried to grab for it once more, but she cut him off.

"Auburn. Vincent. Montenegro."

'Oh no. Not this again.'

Every time his slightly little sister said his full name with that stubborn look in her fiery, amber eyes while punctuating each end, it almost always meant one thing:

(Overly) Protective Sibling Mode

She began her rant.

"Your eyebags beg to differ. I mean, look at you Auburn! It's like you haven't showered in three days. Plus, you always bury yourself in research, sometimes literally, and every morning, I see at least three to four mugs of coffee in the sink with you wide awake from caffeine that you drank from who knows when. I'm starting to think that you don't sleep anymore!" The brunette exasperatedly retorted, setting her attention back to the road.

Her shoulders sagged back down, and the look on her face softened. She sighed heavily and faced him once more.

"Please just get some rest. I don't want to see you so stressed out like that."

Auburn sighed and glanced at his reflection by the window, mentally flinching as he saw the dark circles around his eyes. He knew what had caused them, but refused to admit it.

He had been plagued with nightmares of what had happened when they were thirteen, dreaming of him dying over and over again until waking up either on his bed or on the couch and refusing to go back to sleep. He doesn't want to let his sister know about them, for Auburn feared to be seen as weak by other people.

He didn't want to relive that scene over and over again, he and his sister arriving too late to—

HONK!

The honking of a rather large truck passing by them jolted the investigators, making Autumn pull their van over. They saw the trailer truck pass by them on the left and continued down the highway. The driver was complaining how slow they were going and decided to overtake them. Auburn turned his head towards his sister, asking if she was alright, and saw something he definitely didn't want to see.

Autumn was pissed.

She gripped the steering wheel tightly, not noticing her knuckles turning white. A flash of anger shone on her eyes, and Autumn's foot was preparing to step on the gas to catch up to the truck. "Why, when I get my hands on that bastard, I'll—" Autumn threatened, until her brother interfered.

"Language!" He shouted,pinching the bridge of his nose, and exhaled loudly. "Sis, I know you want to teach that idiot a lesson,– I'll admit, I actually want to do that as well– but now is not the best time. You don't wanna be arrested for road rage and attacking that old man, do you?"

The brunette just huffed in annoyance and irritation, and attempted to start the engine up again.

He faced the window again, and saw a kid looking at him right across the alley.

It was that of a boy, looking up at him with bright hazel eyes. His red shirt and black shorts were tattered and muddy. His hair was wet, his bangs almost covering his left eye, and he was missing a shoe. There were scratches on his right arm, and a poorly dressed bandage on his left hand.

But there was something off about the boy.

'He almost looked like–'

Suddenly, the boy smiled.

And his mouth was bleeding.

What the–?

He rubbed his eyes and looked for the boy, but he was nowhere to be found.

'Am I hallucinating?'

Then, at the worst possible moment, all of those memories came back at full force.

The adrenaline, the pressure and, oh God, him,him,him–!

'STOP IT!'

He realized he was sweating, and his breath was starting to get shaky.

Signs of a panic attack.

'Breathe. Just stay calm and breathe.'

He wasn't sure why did those memories started to haunt his mind just now, even though it seemed like a lifetime had passed. The last time Auburn had one was five months after the incident, and over the years, he thought he finally moved on.

But he can't. And now, it's back.

After calming down without Autumn noticing, Auburn tried to get his mind off of those painful memories. Eyeing his sibling's jacket, his mind contemplated on whether or not sleeping would be a good idea. Auburn didn't want another nightmare, but he also didn't want to upset Autumn. He knew his sister just wanted for him to get a little rest.

...

You shouldn't sleep, you don't want another one, do you?

She just wants what's best for me.

I can't stand the terror anymore! Besides, she doesn't understand all of this!

Neither do I, but I can't risk her being mad. You saw what happened earlier!

Yeah, she'll DEFINITELY be mad when she finds out about the attacks, and when she hears about your "pathetic excuses" as to why you wouldn't tell her.

Just shut up!

...

Reluctantly sighing, he folded the jacket up and placed it in between his head and the window. Auburn slowly made himself comfortable on his seat, trying not to hit his head (again) by accident. The soft pitter patter of the rain outside was soothing, and before he knew it, it slowly lulled Auburn to sleep.