Raising My Niece

What Happens Now?

Chapter Four... What Happens Now?

The next day brought more pain along with it, but also some relief.

I hadn't slept. I hadn't eaten. I had one glass of water in twenty-four hours, but couldn't manage to have any more. My eyes stung from both tiredness and from crying.

Would it ever end?

Marcus stayed up the entire night with me as I couldn't manage to fall asleep. Addison couldn't even sleep properly, awaking every hour. Even if I had gone to sleep, I would have been getting up all night. I could tell Addison wanted comfort, so at three in the morning I put her into our bed with us, and she actually slept for three hours straight. The sound of her slow breathing was rhythmic, but I couldn't manage to fall asleep.

As six o clock rolled around, I climbed out of bed. Marcus was close to sleep now, his tired eyes struggling to stay open as his eyelids drooped. He didn't even move as I got up. Addison was just waking up again, so I moved off to the bathroom to take a shower.

When I returned to the bedroom, Marcus was asleep. Addison was sitting on the bed next to him, looking exhausted.

"Hey baby, what are you doing?" I whispered to her.

"Me tired," she replied, rubbing her eyes.

I reached across the bed and picked her up. I took her into the bathroom and bathed her, deciding that we should all be ready for the day. The lawyer would be arriving sometime this morning, and then Addison's fate would be revealed.

In the bathtub, Addison smiled and giggled as she played with the water. It was nice to see her smiling, as it brought a smile to my own face. I entertained her, playfully splashing water at her. Something we always did, only this time it had meaning. We could still have some happiness in our lives...

Dressing Addison for the day, I returned to our bedroom to find Marcus awake. Addison climbed up onto the bed as fast as she could, a beautiful big smile on her face.

"Get up, Uncle Moo!" she squealed, slapping her tiny hand down on his bare leg.

"Good morning, Miss Addy," Marcus gave her a kiss. "Did you sleep alright?"

"Nada, nada, nada," she sang.

"Did you get any sleep, Phoebe?" Marcus questioned me.

"You know I didn't," I said quickly, turning away. "From getting up for Addy every hour, to just thinking about everything, sleep evaded me. I do feel tired... but I couldn't sleep, even if I wanted to."

"Come here, honey," he whispered, and I gently sat down on the bed.

Marcus wrapped his arms around me. Addison sat on the edge of the bed for a minute before crawling back over to us.

"Cuddle?" she asked softly, her innocent eyes gleaming.

"Of course," I breathed, taking her into my arms.

For about half an hour, the three of us just laid there. But my mind raced, and memories began clouding me. All I could suddenly think of was Jodie, and I curiously wondered what she would have been thinking when she died. Tom had said that Luke was trying to protect her from the fire, trying to save her. So that led me to believe there was no way out. Even as they were dying, Luke showed how he truly and deeply loved her.

Soon enough, I couldn't think of it anymore. I got up quickly, tears welling in my eyes. Addison followed me out of the room, but Marcus instead headed for the bathroom. It was a silent move, with no words exchanged.

I cooked up some breakfast for everyone. Addison was already eating when Marcus made his way downstairs. Mom and Tom weren't far behind him.

"Morning," mom mumbled, slumping off to the fridge.