3:09

CHAPTER 12 - THE RESTLESS

Her thoughts couldn't be changed no matter how badly she wanted them to. The night was sleepless once again. The TV replayed those terrible late night shows until the morning crept upon her as she perilously rested in the muddled bed. Cara tossed and turned, wanting for just one night where she could rest peacefully.

Finally, her eyes slowly closed. Her head fell to the side and her arms sat by her chest. Then suddenly, without a moment to even breathe, an echo of crying could be heard from down the hallway.

Cara sat up immediately, "Ah... yep... there it is..."

She strode into Rose's room and rocked the cot a number of times.

"Hey baby girl... you're okay..."

After a couple of minutes the room turned brighter. The day had started breaking. She placed her daughter on her chest and walked to the window.

"Shh... shh... shh..."

Her loud cries grew with immense ferocity. They engulfed the house like clouds rolling over a small town. She leisurely walked with Rose around the second floor of the house. From her bedroom to the bathroom, the balcony to the hallway. Cara ran her hand through her dry and rugged hair, leaving some strands on the floor in the process. As she walked through the hallway she slowly creeped into the second last room, his room. The office was strangely warmer than the rest of them.

"Let's see what we can find... hmm..." she mumbled.

Cara waltzed through the room looking at the computer and then the stack of books arranged in alphabetical order on the shelf. Her focus drifted towards a brownish-red teddy bear, sitting still and collecting dust.

"I swear I've seen this before" Cara said squinting her eyes.

She stood on her toes, clutching the bear by the foot and immediately left the room holding it in her hand. She eagerly walked back into Rose's room and laid her back in the cot, with the bear placed next to her.

There was silence... The cries suddenly stopped, giving Cara a chance to breathe.

Rose fell fast asleep as the bear sat on her side. Cara smiled favourably, closing the blinds on the bedroom window and shutting the door three-quarters of the way.

*BRRIINNG BRRIINNG*

She could barely hear her phone ringing in the other room, however, she made no attempt to reach it in time. Only a few seconds to spare, she glimpsed the name of the caller on her cracked, lifeless phone. It was him...

Cara froze in place. Her heart sank and elevated at the exact same time. She didn't know how to feel. How could someone's name appearing on my phone make me feel like this? She thought to herself. Should I call him back? Should I message him? Should I turn the phone off completely? Cara could feel her breathing intensifying once again. After pacing around the room in a disorderly fashion, she decided to leave the phone where it was and take some time to gather her thoughts on the upstairs balcony.

The fresh air of the morning enlightened her senses. The cold breeze carried her mind away into deep thought. She sat in the old wooden chair until time caught her off guard. Thought after thought crept its way deep into her loose mind. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, she spotted a blurry object making its way towards the house in the distance.

The object was loud, grey and speeding faster than it should have been during the early sunrise. Closer and closer it grew in sound and size. It was a car. It was him...

Cara stood up from her seat to get a better look. Aaron veered into the driveway, slammed the car door and bolted to the front of the house.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

Her hands shivered and her eyes widened. She was barely awake before. She definitely was now. Cara sneakily prodded down the stairs and walked to the window beside the front door.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

"Cara, you in there?" he shouted.

She continued to watch him from behind the curtained window located beside the front door. Cara couldn't help but pick at her fingernails and play with her hair, unsure of what would come next.

"I know you're there... can you just, open up." He flicked his hand through his dark, oily hair and checked his phone.

"Alright... y'know what, I'm gonna leave now..." he insisted.

Cara immediately left her position and forced the door open in a hurry.

"Aaron, wait!" she screamed out to him. He turned to look at her. Aaron moved directly through her, completely ignoring her very existence as he made his way up the stairs.

"Excuse me! What are you doing?" she exclaimed.

"The only reason you'd call me is if she was in danger..." he continued to bounce up the stairs.

Aaron made his way into Rose's room and opened the door as softly as he could. Just enough to not wake her. He walked over to the cot, gazing his eyes upon the beauty and softness that was laying in there.

"You shouldn't be here..." Cara said as she reached Rose's room just one second after he did. Her palms began to sweat profusely as she grabbed the side of his shirt, pulling him away from the cot.

"Something happened didn't it? What the hell happened to my daughter, Cara?" he asked.

Cara remained unfazed, walking back down the stairs as she followed his path. "Okay you saw her, she's clearly fine. I think you should leave..."

"HEY! I deserve to be here when she's in trouble" he yelled as they collided at the bottom of the stairs, pointing his index finger ten centimetres from her saddened face. "She's very lucky to have me and frankly, so are you."

Cara had stopped directing him out of the house at this point. She stood by the door and, upon hearing his words, decided to close it once again.

Aaron insisted, "I know you don't want me here... and that's fine. But don't risk our daughter's life just to boost your fucking ego. I can read you like a book. You need me here, you just won't admit it."

The tears reformed once again in her eyes. Cara paused and raised her trembling hands to her bumbling face. She had no chance of getting any words in.

"Say it. SAY IT!" Aaron moved around her with his back against the door, blocking Cara from leaving the house.

"Tell me that I'm wrong. Tell me that you don't need me. There's no way you can look me in the eye and say that. You wanna know why? Because you can't even take care of yourself. I mean look at you, you're a fucking mess."

Cara tried to pace as far away from him as she could. She reached the living room and seated herself on the couch, guiding her view away from him and towards the cracks forming in the corner of the room.

"YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO ME!" Aaron ignited.

He took a moment to gather his feelings. All of the sleepless nights, negative thoughts and regrets were pulsating within every single part of his aching body. He removed the pillow from the couch next to Cara and forced himself to sit there.

"Look at me... Cara... Look at me..." he begged.

Cara, still looking at the opposite end of the room, confessed "I can't... I just can't."

"If you can't look at me... then take my hand..." Aaron forced his hands into her palms. "Don't do this for me, do it for her."