All The Dark Places

5. Distraction

        Sunrise filtered an orange glow of warmth over Rosalind's cheek. She woke to find Felicia sitting ramrod straight, staring out the window toward the lake. The child stayed awake most of the night, despite Rosalind's efforts to calm her down. Exhausted, Rosalind accidentally off and slept as if she had never slept before in her life. She vaguely remembered the little girl kissing her forehead as she drifted away into dreams. Her panic came in sleep as much as it did while awake. It was a cyclical thing, a brief revolution of time that came with a rush of pumping blood and a jolt. Under circumstances that did not include exhaustion, it might have woke her for the night. The panic became a low hum, always present but never bubbling to the surface. Rosalind bit her lip before she could say a customary good morning. It was a terrible morning, especially for Felicia. 

     Rosalind had no children of her own, and she had never been a caretaker kind of personality. Her husband, Charlie, was not the kind of man who wanted or needed coddling and so she had never experienced this kind of situation. She was child-free, grew up as an only child and was the youngest of all of her cousins who were in college by the time she was born. Nurturing had not come naturally to her, and she had chosen not to become a mother based on that fact. Not sure what to say or do, she decided the best course of action was distraction. 

      "Did you sleep at all, Felicia?" she asked. 

      "I slept enough. I miss them." 

     The little girl lowered her head and picked at a piece of lint on her pajamas. 

      "I know dear. We must wait though, and we must be strong and patient. Your father's leg is broken but otherwise he is all right and that is what is most important." Felicia's cell phone beeped.

      "Mummy!" Felicia jumped up and held the phone tight against her ear. "Is Daddy OK? Is he dying?" 

     The volume was loud, and Rosalind could hear Tess Yearling on the line. 

      "No, darling. He's not dying. Of course not. Daddy is here at hospital, and the doctors are taking very good care of him. Daddy is having surgery to repair his leg, sweetheart. He is going to be just fine. Don't you worry." 

      "Mr. Bracks says that monsters are coming, and we should all get ready. That dogs mutate into wolves and the ones in the sky make monsters of critters and beasts. That's what he says." 

      "What? Sweetheart, don't talk to Mr. Bracks. None of that is true. Sweetheart, please put Mrs. Pyrne on the phone." 

Felicia held the phone out and looked annoyed that grown-ups wanted to talk without her. 

      "Hello Tess." 

      "How is Felicia?" 

      "She is holding up. She is such a strong little girl, very resilient. She is very eager to have you and Martin back here safely." 

      "Roz," Thessaly's voice lowered. "he isn't all right. He's lost so much blood. The doctors are not sure his leg will ever heal properly. He only wakes long enough to mumble something about monsters and mutated things. He's quite delirious. Of course, I don't want Felicia knowing any of this." 

      "Of course not." Rosalind quietly stepped out into the hall and lowered her voice to a whisper. "I've been keeping her distracted." 

      "Felicia is a fragile child. She is brilliant, but she has always been... special. She has an overactive imagination and sometimes for her it seems real. The last few months she has been talking about magical creatures with spider legs and an imaginary friend from outer space. You understand why I can't let her be here with us right now?"