Dangers in the Dark

Returning to School 8.1

I never slept.

After endless attempts of trying to get even a wink of sleep, I gave up. Every time I shut my eyes, I could just see that man, Victor Zsasz behind my eyelids. Truth be told, the thing that scared me about him wasn't so much the things he did when we were there, it's the things he could've done. One word from Falcone and Barbara and I could have practically been blasted out of existence; and that made me sick.

As I laid on my bed, staring up at the ceiling, I ignored the ding of my phone that was turned face down on my nightstand. It had been going on for the last hour or so and I had a feeling that it was probably Tanya asking where I was yesterday but I couldn't bring myself to give her a reply so I settled with the solution of pretending I hadn't heard it.

I rolled over on to my side and stared out the window as the sun slowly continued to rise. I watched as clouds drifted across the sun blocking it from my view. Just then, I heard a creak at my door that made me jump and sit straight up.

"It's just me," dad said from the door as he leant against it. I relaxed in my stance and leant back up against the headrest. "Are you going to be okay going to school today?"

"I need a distraction," I nodded. "And school will do that."

Dad then came over and sat on the edge of my bed. He held his arms out for me so I got up and shifted over to hug him. His grip on me tightened as he rested his chin on my head.

"How are you really doing?" dad asked.

"As well as I can do," I replied quietly.

"I can take the day off from work. I'm sure Essen wouldn't mind considering what happened," dad said.

"No, no. I'll be fine. I want to see Tanya," I said. "I have some explaining to do anyway."

"Ok, but I'm going to pick you up straight after school. I don't want you going out for a while by yourself, okay? I'll probably have a little more work to do so you'll have to come back to the precinct for a bit," dad told me.

"Mm-hm," I nodded.

Beforehand, I would have disagreed with dad and assured him I didn't need him to do that, but after what happened, I was more than happy to be in the precinct where I felt safest.

We both sat in silence for a while and then I remembered something, making me sit straight up and groan internally.

"What's wrong?" dad asked, looking at me in concern.

"Try-outs for the swim team were yesterday. I missed them," I said, making dad chuckle.

"I'm sure if you speak with the coach they'll give you another chance," dad said.

"Maybe," I sighed. "Though I know the coach is quite critical with timing and things like that."

"I can talk to the school if you want," dad offered, making me quickly shake my head.

"Absolutely not," I shook my head, laughing.

"What? I could do it," dad defended, a chuckle ringing out.

"Yeah, but you'd cause a scene," I said.

"Cause a scene?" dad repeated, mock offence on his face. "I would not!"

"You so would," I smiled.

We continued laughing and joking around for a little while longer and that just put me at ease. That's the thing I loved most about my dad, even when he was concerned or worried, he always found a way to make others forget about their own worries before his. Something I was extremely grateful for.