Moral Devotions

29| Macy

"Shut up, Macy."

I go to scream, but he clasps his hand over my mouth. "Do you know what happens to little girls who don't behave?"

I shake my head as tears fall.

"They get punished."

I sit up straight, blinking my eyes open as I look around the room. When I come to the conclusion that I'm not eight years old anymore, I breathe a sigh of relief.

"Another one?" Declan's deep voice asks, causing me to yelp.

I place my hand on my racing chest. "Jesus Declan, you can't scare me like that."

He chuckles and pushes off the door frame. Within seconds his entire body is towering over mine. I lean back against the pillow. "What was it about?" He asks, his lips connecting with my jaw.

I thread my fingers through his hair. "It was about..." I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to recall, but I can't remember. "It was about..."

"Need a reminder?"

"What?" I look up and Uncle Ryan is back on top of me, only I'm still my current age.

"Stop. Don't-"

"Shut your fucking mouth, little girl."

"I'm not a little girl anymore," I whisper as tears stream down my cheeks. "You can't hurt me."

"Oh yeah?" He grabs my wrists and pins them over my head. "Wanna rethink that?"

"No. Please." I beg.

Uncle Ryan kisses his way down my neck until he reaches my collarbone. "No. Stop. Stop!"

"Macy!" My eyes fly open and I gasp, reaching out to push Declan off of me. "Hey, hey. It's okay, baby. It's me." I grip his biceps tightly. "It's Declan." He breathes out, swiping the pad of his thumb across my cheek, and I realize I'm crying.

"Mama?" I turn my head at the sound of Axel's voice. He's sitting up on his knees beside Declan, a fearful expression on his face. "Are you hurt?"

"No, Bubba," I say, but my voice comes out hoarse.

He scoots forward and pokes my cheek. "But you crying."

I pull him onto my lap and smooth down his hair. "It was just a nightmare, baby. Like the ones you have."

"Oh," He says softly. "Was it scary?"

I nod. "It was, but I'm okay now because it wasn't real." Axel shifts around. "Do need to go potty?" He nods. "Okay, go ahead. Yell if you need me." I help him slide off of Declan's bed before he runs into the bathroom and slams the door shut.

I sit up straight and look at Declan. His hand rests on my arm, his grip not loosening at all. "I'm okay, Declan."

He looks at me and swallows. "What happened?"

"Like I told Axel. It was a nightmare."

His shoulders slump. "Mace, you were screaming. I'd been trying to wake you up for multiple minutes. Axel was almost in tears."

My expression falls. "What? No. It didn't last that long. It was fast... It was..." My mind wanders off to a scientific fact I'd learned in college: You only remember about ten percent of your dreams, if you remember them at all.

"Macy, what happened?" Declan's voice is sterner.

I open my mouth to speak but the sound of the toilet flushing stops me. "Now isn't the time."