Sea Glass: Marie and Lauryn

Chapter 4

It was still dark in their bedroom when Marie opened her eyes, waking slowly. It had been a restless night, with Lauryn waking up more than usual. More like sobbing in pain. Marie had gotten up several times to give her medication before rocking her back to sleep. Now, Lauryn was still sound asleep on her side, facing her, and was resting peacefully. 

Whenever Marie woke with Lauryn still in her arms, she always was grateful. Not long ago she thought she would never have the chance again to fall asleep and wake up next to her. Every morning waking up with Lauryn so close was a gift to her, and as such, she always tried to cuddle her as long as possible. 

While she would have wanted to do that this morning and just cuddle Lauryn until she woke, she needed to get up and get organized early. Lauryn had an early doctor's appointment, her first after being discharged. Marie was quite worried about her and was curious what the doctor would have to say. She was just so thin and so tired. Her motor skills hadn't improved very much, either. 

It would be a hard day for Lauryn. With her history even before the recent long hospital stay, she really didn't like doctors and medical settings. Marie couldn't blame her. Sighing, she snuggled back into Lauryn's warm little body. 

Just five more minutes. 

"M-m-mama?" Lauryn's quiet, sleepy voice said. 

"Good morning, baby, what are you doing awake?"

Lauryn didn't say anything but instead nestled deeper into Marie's chest. 

Marie wasn't entirely surprised that Lauryn had woken up feeling little. She was sure that the constant waking up the night before had made her exhausted. And a tired and sleepy Lauryn usually equaled a little Lauryn. 

Slipping her hand beneath her shirt, Marie trailed her fingers lightly up and down her warm, smooth skin, careful not to press too hard on her bruised spine. While Lauryn had a difficult time remembering the events of that night and they often came out jumbled, she did remember that she had felt a sharp blow to her back, which made her scream and fall forward, followed by another closer to her hips. It was likely that Evan Hammersley had hit her in the back twice with the large, heavy candlestick before taking it and striking her in the back of the head. Nobody could be sure, but the result was the same. Lauryn had a lot of major bruising on her back and hips that was exquisitely painful. It was amazing she didn't have cracked ribs or vertebrae. 

The police were still investigating, but Constable Isham had said they would be calling any day for the identity parade and to talk to Lauryn again. Marie wasn't looking forward to it. Lauryn was having a few nightmares a week, and she didn't want to add to them. 

"We have to get up soon, monkey," Marie said softly, still running her fingers up her back. 

Lauryn whined softly. 

"M-m-mama, I d-d-don' wanna g-g-go."

"I know, but we have to."

Lauryn moved her arm and slid it around Marie's torso, holding onto her tightly.

"Are you going to be my koala instead of my monkey this morning?" she asked. 

She didn't answer. 

Lauryn felt little and grumpy and all she wanted was to stay in bed and cuddle with her mommy. While she hadn't been little in a few days and had gone to bed big, the night before had been one of the most painful she had experienced. While she had tried to not wake Marie, she couldn't help but cry with how much it hurt. It was a sharp, pulsing pain in the back of her head that radiated to what felt like deep inside her brain all the way to her eyes.