Page 67 of Uprising

It’s like she’s given up.

I hate it. I hate the look in her eyes. I hate the defeat.

We come to a stop. I unclip the seatbelt around her and pull her out. She whimpers but she doesn’t do anything, she feels like a dead weight in my arms.

“We’re home Sweetpea.” I say.

She looks around and then frowns.

“This isn’t home.” She says. Her voice sounds empty. Devoid of emotion.

I let out a sigh. I know it isn’t but it’s all we have right now.

She jerks in my arms. “I want to get down.” She states and I let her. I won’t force her to do anything she doesn’t want, especially now when it feels like that trust we had has crumbled to nothing.

As she stands she looks around. Peers into the stark concrete ahead of her.

“What is this place?”

“It’s a tunnel.” I say. “We’re safe here. No one can get to us.”

She looks at me then narrows her eyes. “We’re underground?”

“Yeah.” I murmur.

She clicks her jaw. “Princesses don’t live underground.” She states. “Monsters do.”

I crouch down, scanning her red, puffy, angry face. “Now we’re the monsters Lara. We’re the ones who are going to come up, to take back everything they’ve stolen from us.”

She scrunches her face up. “I want mummy back. That’s all I want.”

“We’ll get her back. I promise you.” I say

She huffs and then walks away from me like she doesn’t believe me anymore. Like she thinks all my promises mean nothing now. I guess I can’t blame her. I didn’t save her, I didn’t save Rose, after everything I said, everything I’d promised them last time.

Ben pats me on the back. “She’ll be okay. Just give her some time.”

I grunt in reply because I’m not sure that’s true. She’s a child, she shouldn’t have witnessed half the things she has already and with Rose gone, it feels like that trauma is just festering inside her.

I need Rose back.

We both need her back.

And my guilt for leaving her there, for removing her child and leaving her alone in all this multiplies.

* * *

We gether settled into a room. Koen’s men have already supplied a bed and some essential things. Someone even managed to get her a doll, though I’ve never seen her playing with one.

She sits there staring at the blank grey walls.

And then those tears start to stream down her cheeks again.

My heart twists, I want to say something, anything to make this better but what the fuck can I say? What can I do? The one thing she wants, the one thing we both need is the one thing I cannot give her.

I turn to go, to give her a little space, but a flash of movement makes me look. Makes me pause.

Lara gasps holding her arms up and Bella jumps right into her lap.