My Neverland

~8~

I woke up before Lia this morning. I guess that was to be expected. She must have been exhausted from running all around yesterday. She didn't fall asleep until 10:00 last night.

All of a sudden, I realized my arm was stinging. Looking down, I saw that I must have somehow scratched it in my sleep, because two of the more recent cuts had opened. Thankfully, no blood had gotten on the sheets, otherwise my mom might have assumed it was 'that time of the month'. Gag.

I got up, careful not to brush anything with my arm. In the bathroom, I washed them off, grabbing twice as much gauze as usual. Better safe than sorry.

"Wendy!" My mom called from the kitchen. "Breakfast!"

"Coming, Mom!" I yelled, quickly picking up the mess I had made on the bathroom counter.

I went out to see pancakes cooling on the counter next to a plate of butter and a bottle of syrup. "Like it?" Mom asked, taking a small plastic container of blueberries from the fridge to set next to it.

"It looks delicious, thanks." I put two pancakes on my plate, with far too much butter and syrup then the recommended amount. I quickly added several blueberries, as if that would make it healthier.

I dug in. "Whoa, slow down there, Darling." Mom laughed. "Save some for the rest of us, please."

"Sorry." I mumbled, still chewing.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." She reprimanded. It was a habit now.

I swallowed. "Sorry."

"Very good." She grabbed a plate with a small pancake and a few berries and headed to the couch to watch some TV. I joined her and we watched some reruns of Pretty Little Liars while we waited for the others to wake up.

 Which they did, soon. "This is a scary show!" Lia whined, coming out of her room holding her stuffed penguin and rubbing her eyes.

Mom switched the channel. "Hey sweetie." Lia climbed into her lap, yawning. Mom laughed. "I guess you're too tired to go back to Magic Kingdom again today?"

Lia jumped up. "Never! Let's go!" She ran back to her room to get changed.

I laughed and headed to my own room to get changed. I pulled up the weather on my phone. Cooler, yes. That means I can wear my Superman sweatshirt. Pulling it on over a Minnie t-shirt and slipping on a pair of shorts and sandals, I was ready for the day.

Wait, one more thing.

I pasted on a perfected fake smile.

There.

We climbed back into the vehicle. I stared out the window silently, hoping that Louis wasn't working today. Even if he was, how hard would it be to hide from someone in a place as crowded as Disneyworld?

"Hey! Wendy!"

Really difficult, apparently.

"We're just gonna go. Have fun, sweetie!" my mom waved as Lia dragged her away, Mark close behind.

Great. They're just leaving me here with him. For all they know, he could be a vicious murderer!

I sighed and turned to face him. "Hi, Louis."

His face wore a goofy grin that made my heart do a flip-flop. "I like your sweatshirt." he complimented me.

I looked him up and down. He was in his Peter Pan costume, minus the shoes and shirt. "I like your tights." They were forest green.

He smirked and did a pirouette. "Thank you." He got closer to me, gently taking hold of my arm above the elbow. "I'm guessing you were okay last night then?" he whispered, making me shiver. I nodded but didn't look him in the eye. "Good. Wanna grab a bite to eat?"

"I just ate. Why don't we just walk around instead?" I suggested.

"Sure. I've got about 20 minutes before I need to get to work anyway."

Louis grabbed my hand and led me around. He was really funny and sweet, stealing my phone and taking pictures of me in front of famous Disney scenery, all the while cracking jokes.

But once, he grabbed my forearm a bit too tight to stop me from getting away. I let out a yelp of pain and he instantly drew back, concern etched over his features. "Are you okay?" he asked hurriedly, trying to get a look at it.

"I'm fine." I protested quickly, attempting to hide the freshly bleeding cuts from him.

"No, you're not." he finally got my arm in his sight. He carefully lifted my sweatshirt sleeve and there they were in plain sight. I avoided his gaze. When he didn't speak, I slowly raised my head. He was staring at them with a blank look in his eyes.

"Let me go." I mumbled, taking my arm back.

As I turned to leave, he put a hand on my shoulder, stopping me.

"What made you do it?"