Page 56 of Sweet Thing

My eyes fluttered closed as sleep got the better of me. But then they snapped wide open. I’d heard a noise.

Downstairs? No. Closer. I sat up, quieting my heartbeat, straining to listen.

There it was again. A whimper. Perhaps Mabel was awake.

I padded toward the door and into the corridor. The sound came again, louder, more distressed. The guest room door was ajar. I pushed it a few inches wider and poked my head in. The room wasn’t completely dark. Moonlight filtered through the blinds, illuminating a sleeping Mabel in stripes.

Movement in the bed caught my eye. Adeline shifted, turned, and cried out. Mabel stirred but didn’t wake.

Adeline was having a nightmare. I recalled that first night I came home early, how she’d reacted as if I was an intruder. I didn’t want to scare her again, but if I let this go on, she might wake Mabel.

Cautiously, I stepped forward just as Adeline thrashed again. That decided it. I sat on the bed, figuring that would be less intimidating than being caught looming over her. Placing a hand on her shoulder, I gently shook.

“Adeline.”

She was awake instantly, her body simultaneously curling in on itself and moving away.

“Adeline, it’s me. Lars. You were having a nightmare.”

Shallow breaths punctuated the air, her chest rising and falling quickly. She was terrified.

“It’s okay. You’re awake and you’re safe.” I leaned over to put on the nightstand lamp. It was dim enough that it shouldn’t wake Mabel.

Adeline wiped at her face, drying tears.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

“J-just a bad dream.” Her breathing was coming more evenly now, but I didn’t believe her. Sure, maybe she was embarrassed to have someone wake her up in the middle of the night—Adeline was on the shyer side when she wasn’t bossing me around—but something seemed off.

“Are you that frightened of me?”

“You? No, not at all. I feel safe when you’re around.”

“Except you had a nightmare even though I’m in the same house, making you feel safe?”

“You can’t always control your dreams.”

Tell me about it.“What was it about?”

“I-I can’t remember.”

Another lie. “Did something happen to you, Adeline? Something that made you feel unsafe?”

She burst into tears and covered her face with her hands, her shoulders shaking. I couldn’t stand it a minute longer. I pulled her into my arms and held her close to my chest.

“Tell me, sweet thing. What happened?”

“It’s nothing. It’s over. I-I’m fine.”

I rubbed her back. “Clearly you’re not. What’s over?”

“Greece. It was stupid. My fault, really.”

“Someone hurt you?”

“I was mugged.”

Fuck. “How bad?”

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