Night Dancer

Thirteen

By the time he got her to her house, Alyssa was incapable of fighting him and just leaned against his shoulder as he led her inside. He helped her up the stairs and into her bedroom which was a small single room just off the hallway. It was a neat and tidy space which had clearly been her childhood room with pretty lilac curtains and a matching bedspread and an old teddy bear resting up against the headboard. She was so exhausted that she just fell into the bed as he reached to help remove her shoes and then just pulled the cover over her as she was. She was asleep almost immediately.

"Alyssa? Is that you?" called a voice from a room just down the hallway and Bret froze, realising it was her mama. Shaking himself he headed down the hallway and called through her half opened door.

"Ma'am, it's Bret. Alyssa was sick at school so I've brought her home."

"You can come in Bret," she called back and he pushed the door, entering the neat and tidy room with a hospital bed and a straight backed chair by the window which the petite auburn haired woman was sitting in. She was wearing a robe which seemed to cling to her bird like body and she looked at him through over large brown eyes which were creased with pain and worry. At one time she would have been stunning, it was easy to see where Alyssa got her looks from, but she was faded like an autumn leaf and it didn't take a genius to see that there was more going on here than Alyssa either knew or admitted to. "It's nice to see you again. I realised yesterday that you are the boy Alyssa has talked about ."

"She has?" He couldn't help the smile that split his face and Audrey smiled back at him.

"My daughter doesn't have so many friends any more. She pushed them all away after her daddy left, focussed only on school and work and us. I wish I could be more help to her but I'm too sick to be much use to anyone. Liam didn't just leave me when he walked out; he left his children to suffer. He wasn't a bad man, just a stupid one I guess. We should have never left New Orleans. Least there we had family and friends around us."

"You've been here a long time though?" Bret asked and Audrey nodded.

"Since Alyssa was seven. I've never been able to quite settle, even with all the children coming along one after the other here. New Orleans is still in my blood and if I could go back there I would, but my children's lives are here I guess." She shifted slightly on her chair, a look of pain crossing her face briefly before she looked across at him again. "Are you staying to look after her?"

"Of course," he said immediately and Audrey nodded.

"She's a stubborn girl. You'll have to tell her to stay in her bed, tell her her mama says she's to do as she's told for once."

"I'll tell her," Bret agreed readily and Audrey smiled. He could see the brief conversation had tired her as she turned back to the window. When he got back to Alyssa's room she was in her bed properly and he realised she'd got up to remove her clothes while he was gone as they were in a neat pile on the chair and she was wearing a long shirt, her legs under the covers but her upper body exposed. She'd fallen asleep quickly and he sighed, crossing the room to put the covers over her as she was shivering, then headed downstairs to make a drink. Deciding to make himself useful he emptied the dishwasher and put everything away and then headed back up to check on her, finding her still fast asleep. Bret headed back downstairs knowing she wouldn't want him watching her sleep and sat down in the armchair, picking up his phone and scrolling through it while he waited for her to wake up. A couple of hours later she appeared down the stairs, wrapped up in her dressing gown, still looking very pale.

"You stayed," she said, smiling at him gratefully.

"Your mom says you're to stay in bed," he replied and she rolled her eyes. He raised an eyebrow. "She also said you're to do as you're told for once. Gave me permission to smack your butt if you got it out of bed."