when night comes ━━ mike schmidt

𝟬𝟭𝟭 glitter

WHEN NIGHT COMES / Chapter Eleven

For the first time since she could remember, Zion had actually slept well. She woke up feeling fully rested and not wishing she had longer to spend in bed.

She woke up with her hand clutching Mike's. She squeezed his hand with a yawn, making him glance at her. He was in different clothes, meaning he'd gotten up and dressed—but had still come back to hold her hand as she slept. Zion's heart warmed.

"Morning," He smiled.

"Morning," Zion repeated, "Did you sleep?"

Mike shrugged, "For a bit."

Zion shuffled forward and leaned over to peer at the paper in his hand, "What have you got there?"

Mike's brows furrowed. "Abby drew this," He showed her a messily scrawled car with a sad child in the back. "It was when Garrett was taken. She shouldn't know about this."

"Are you gonna talk to her about it?" Zion frowned.

Mike nodded, sighing, as he folded up the drawing, "I'll have to."

Sitting up in bed, Zion stretched her arms over her head, stifling a yawn, "Well, I'll get Mía ready for school. Let me know how it goes."

Upon Mike's nod of agreement, Zion left the room and pulled out her phone, quickly sending a text.

Zion: Hey Im gonna be a bit late home this morning I slept at a friend's house Im safe tho and so is Mía
Mom: Is this friend Mike?
Zion: Yes
Mom: Is he your boyfriend?
Zion: No
Mom: I don't believe that. 🤨
Zion: 😭
Zion: See u soon Mamá I love you

She entered Abby's room to find her and Mía sat in bed, reading a book together. Mía was reading aloud; something she usually only did for her sister or her mother. Whatever had happened to cause the girl to speak again, Zion was glad.

"Mía, you need to come get ready for school," Zion told her, "And Mike wants to speak to you, Abby."

Grumbling, the girls reluctantly parted and Mía followed Zion back into Mike's room. She'd slept in her fairy dress and was insistent on not taking it off.

"C'mon, you can't wear that to school, it's not appropriate," Zion attempted to persuade her.

"I don't care," Mía responded.

"You've also worn it two days in a row, so it needs washing." Zion continued. She noticed her sister's expression falter, "Do you want to be a stinky fairy?"

"No," Mía mutter reluctantly.

"C'mon, arms up then," Zion laughed before helping her sister out of the costume. Glitter fell out of its pockets and onto the carpet of Mike's bedroom. She made a mental note to clean that up later.

Grabbing a change of clothes from her sister's bag, Zion began to help Mía climb into the outfit.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Zion murmured.

"You just did," Mía shot back, grin on her face.

"Okay, smarty pants," Zion scoffed with a similar grin on her face. She cleared her throat and swallowed thickly, "You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but..." She struggled in how to word it, "How are you speaking again? I mean, I'm so glad that you are, but I'm confused. I want to know more. Can you tell me more?"

Mía shrugged. Then, she nodded, looking down at her hands as she fiddled with them, "Sometimes, it feels like a heavy elephant is sitting on my chest and it feels very tight, and I open my mouth to speak but I can't think of anything to say. It feels like I'm in a bubble and watching a movie. But...now I don't feel the elephant anymore."

Zion listened intently, nodding along to each word her sister spoke. When the girl was done, Zion smiled and pulled her into a hug, "I'm glad you don't feel it anymore. Thank you for telling me."

"Can I have breakfast now?" Mía asked impatiently.

Zion chuckled, "Yeah, of course."

The two headed to the kitchen, where Abby was sat at the table and happily munching on some toast. Mike was making oatmeal. Letting out an excited giggle, Mía rushed toward Abby and sat beside her, stealing some of her toast.

Zion headed over to Mike and tipped her head at him, "How'd it go?"

Mike shrugged, "Uh, well, the...the kids I'm seeing in my dreams told her about Garrett. They're definitely the ones haunting the animatronics."

Zion blinked at him a few times before nodding, "Right. Didn't think I'd ever hear that."

"Didn't think I'd ever say it," Mike returned with a shake of his head, amused by how unreal the whole ghost scenario sounded, "But she said she'll ask them tonight if they know anything about the man that took him."

"That's great, Mike," Zion gave him a sad smile.

Realistically, she knew that there was a good chance Garrett was dead and gone; probably had been for a long time. He'd gone missing over a decade ago. Still, if the whole thing would bring Mike closure, then she was happy for him, and would support him no matter what.

"Oh, by the way, there's glitter all over your bedroom floor," Zion remembered, chuckling.

"What?"

"Mía's fairy costume was full of it. I don't know where she's getting it from, we don't even have any at our home," Zion replied, laughing harder as she saw Mike's surprised expression.

"She stole it from school!" Abby exclaimed, clearly eavesdropping.

Mía slapped one hand over the girl's mouth, "No, I did not!"

Mike laughed at that, shaking his head in endearment, "It's nice to hear her voice."

"Yeah, it is," Zion nodded in agreement, heart warming as she realised just how glad she was. Then, she sighed softly, "I think she has the same problem as me, and that's why she doesn't speak sometimes. She said that it felt like a heavy elephant was sat on her chest and that her chest felt tight. That's what it's like for me. And I want to help her but I don't know how to help myself...and that just...I hate it."

Mike was silent as he took her hand in his, leading her toward the sink. Zion hadn't even realised but her finger had begun to bleed again from the chafing of her ring. As he washed the crimson clean, he hummed softly.

"I think you're too hard on yourself." He mused, "And I think that's where all of this comes from. You're in your head too much."

"I already know that," Zion murmured, unable to look away from his hand holding hers.

"But," Mike continued with a smile, "I also think that you and Mía can help each other. I know that Abby will help Mía, I can tell she already has. And you have me for support, always."

Zion smiled back, unable to hide her joy. She leaned her head on Mike's shoulder, feeling calm like she always did around him. "Thank you," She glanced up at him to see him looking at her affectionately, "It really means a lot."

Mike didn't respond, only rested his head on top of hers. He pulled Zion's hand away from the sink and dried it with a nearby towel—and he didn't pull away after that. Mike held her hand, their fingers intertwined.

"Are you alright?" Zion asked, wondering if he had a problem of his own he needed to talk about. She was more than willing to listen.

Mike shook his head, smile audible in his voice as he squeezed her hand in his, "I'm just recharging."

author notes.
idk if u guys can tell but i love mía with my entire heart and i wish she was my sister irl i can endure the glitter 🤞
anyway im giving u guys ANOTHER update bcos i've almost finished writing the epilogue rn so soon i can spam u with the remaining chapters and let me say. U GUYS ARE NOT READY!!!