The Siren at the Museum (The Girl Who Sang #1)

Chapter 10

Eda had left the room minutes earlier, her eyes practically glowing with excitement at the promised opportunity of torpedoing one of Odalia Blight's fancy parties. Amity had begun to spiral once Camila proved difficult to wake. Eda had brushed it off as normal, but the pale girl was beginning to unravel.

Luz watched Amity pace to the kitchen and back, her arms folded across her chest, her shoulders pulled up close to her jaw. She looked a heartbreaking mix of furious and terrified. The brown-haired girl patted at her mother's arm again, calling out softly, "Hey mamí, you need to wake up." She rubbed her hand on the woman's forearm, "Mamí, c'mon, let's get you off the couch and ready for bed." Luz glanced over at the jingle of King's collar, and watched the border collie trail Amity toward the kitchen and then cut her off when she turned around. She tried to step around him and he pranced sideways with a friendly woof, blocking her, then he pushed his jaw into her stomach. The pale girl dropped to her knees and threw her arms around the black dog's neck.

She knew Amity was worried about her Mamí not waking up easily, but it wasn't unusual for the woman to be completely dead to the world for a couple of hours if she fell asleep in the living room. I'll try one more time, then I'd better go talk to Amity again, Luz decided as she pulled the knitting needles and loops of yarn from her mother's limp hands, setting them to the side. "Mamí," she called, careful to keep the worry from her voice, "your neck is gonna be sore if you sleep like this for too long," Luz patted at Camila's shoulder again. The woman inhaled, sharp and surprised, then sat up straight and blinked.

"Mija?" Her mother pulled off her red-rimmed glasses, wiping at her eyes as a yawn squeaked in the back of her throat, "What time is it?" She yawned again, and Luz gave her a smile. "What, mija, is something on my face?"

Amity heard the woman's voice and scrambled to her feet to slide quickly to the couch. She sat beside the woman, reaching out as if to touch Camila's hands, but held back, her hands shaking. "I am so sorry, Mrs. Noceda-Clawthorne," the pale girl looked beside herself with worry, "I—I-I didn't know that would happen, I'm so sorry, I—"

Camila gasped and smiled at the sound of Amity's voice, and reached out to touch her unbandaged wrist, "Querida, so good to hear you," she beamed at the pale girl, whose eyes had begun to fill with tears.

"Mrs. Noceda, I— I—"

"It's just 'Camila', dear. Nada de eso, ¿comprender?" the woman interrupted with a raised eyebrow. Amity just wrung her hands and frowned, and Camila's eyes softened, "Querida, what happened?" she asked, leaning forward to lay a hand over the girl's slender fingers. Amity opened her mouth to speak, twice, but nothing came out. She looked up at Luz, pleading.

Luz knelt and laid a hand on Amity's knee, "A commercial came on the TV from her mother's company. It had her trigger music and a subliminal message to have her put us all to sleep and then phone home." Camila looked between the girls with anger and horror, before slipping into concern for the girl sitting beside her.

"I— I didn't— she," Amity had begun to cry, still tangling her fingers together, "she could have made me h-hurt you, and I don't even remember it, a-and you were so kind and then," she shivered, a whole body shudder as she shook her head, "then you weren't waking up, and—and it was all my fault, and—" Camila gently pulled her over to lean against her shoulder, and wrapped her arms around the girl, shushing and humming encouraging sounds. Amity shook her head, "There's—I can make it—I can—so I can't—don't hurt you again, please let me—"

"Amity, darling, take a deep breath," Camila used a firm voice, "Breathe with me, alright?" She rubbed at the girl's shoulder as she gave Luz a worried glance, "That's it, long, slow breaths." King tapped his way over to the couch and laid his head over Amity's leg, nudging at her hand until she began to rub his ears.