Let Me Carry You (Carry You Home)

16: The First Evaluation

After Sarah was settled and asleep, her normally quiet snores amplified by whatever she'd drank, Maya and

Carina laid down for a long night with their foster daughter laying between them, and temporarily took on shifts to ensure that Sarah was safe as she slept. Given that she was drunk, it could cause danger if she had drank too much, but it didn't seem like Sarah had consumed that much. However, they aired on the side of caution, and slept in shifts.

Maya was happy to stay awake first, to lay there and watch Sarah sleep, to see her chest rise up and fall, to watch her thick eyelashes flutter with dreams...

To hear her talk in her sleep.

Maya laid there in the pitch-black room, Carina tucked into one side of her body, perfectly asleep, and Sarah, who had moved in her sleep to be half on top of Maya, on the other. Aside from their steady breathing, it was quiet, impossibly serene, and Maya treasured the peacefulness she was in. Until a little mumble broke the silence, followed by a terrifying giggle.

"There's a person over there by the window,"

As expected, Maya reacted immediately.

"Jesus Christ!" She hissed, practically jumping a foot in the air. By some miracle, Maya didn't wake either Sarah or Carina, but was freaked out enough to turn on the lamps, and begin inspecting every inch of the house.

Ten minutes later, she returned to bed, her heart still hammering a steady rhythm, confused beyond belief. She sat beside Sarah, who was still deeply asleep, Maya giving her foster daughter's arm a shake. 

"Sarah, my love. You said you saw someone?" Maya asked, and with an adorable pout, Sarah threw her hand across Carina's sleeping body.

"No, I said the cat cannot drive. He needs a license!" Sarah's mumbled declaration came with a slur, and Maya made a face. She didn't understand. Was she on drugs? She'd surely heard Sarah say that-

And then it hit Maya.

"Oh, you're sleep talking, aren't you?" She asked with a little laugh. Sarah scrunched her face, mumbling inaudibly, and Maya sighed in relief. "You rascal. You scared me half to death," Maya chuckled, climbing back into bed, selfishly taking her spot back so that she could have both Carina and Sarah beside her.

When Carina's shift came, Maya fell asleep within seconds, not able to stay awake long enough even to finish saying goodnight. Just like her girlfriend had done, Carina took the spot in between Maya and Sarah, who in their sleep, unconsciously moved to be half on top of her, like perfectly weighed security blankets. Carina couldn't feel more at ease, even if she tried.

———

By the time the morning came, the four women sat at the table, drinking coffees and chatting amongst themselves when Sarah finally emerged from the bedroom. She looked beyond hungover, and exhausted, despite the sleep she had.

"Buongiorno, bambina," Carina greeted with a big smile on her face.

"Good morning," Maya grinned.

"Yeah, good morning, little drunkie," Vic teased, and Sarah responded with a grunt as she rubbed her aching head, willing the relentless pain that had set up shop inside her head, to stop. Was this what being hungover was like? If so, she was never drinking ever again. With a jaw-cracking yawn, Sarah walked into the bathroom and closed the door, yawning a second time before looking into the mirror, and was incredibly startled by what she saw.

"Oh my GOD!" Sarah screeched. Her neck was covered in purple hickeys! When did that happen? How? Well, the how was fairly obvious, but who had done it was the bigger question. She couldn't remember! Oh wait, bits and pieces were coming back. Alex. Oh my god, Alex! Her friend... She didn't even want to begin to process that.