Puppet {ManxMan}

CHAPTER 50

"Demi?" there was a hand on my shoulder, shaking me gently, but I just groaned in protest and tried to hide my face in the pillows at my head, rich laughter softly filling my ears as hair tickled my cheek and warm lips pressed against my jaw, "Wake up, your mom made breakfast."

The statement seemed so unusual I had to peel open my eyes, blinking to clear my vision and furrowing my eyebrows when my gaze fell on the bay window that I recognized from my old bedroom. For a long while I just stared, confused, before rolling onto my back, my breath hitching when I saw Kailas leaning over me, smiling.

"Kailas?" my voice was small, but he didn't seem to notice as he stood back and helped me sit up so I could look around, "Where are we?"

"Home," he answered me, tossing me clothes, "Come on, everyone is already awake. We decided to let you sleep in."

"Sleep in....?" I watched him leave the room before looking down at the clothes, slowly and cautiously getting up from bed and setting the jeans and shirt aside as I looked down and tugged at the plain t-shirt and sweats I was wearing, shuffling my feet over to a mirror only for a gasp to catch in my throat.

The white of my hair was nonexistent, and I buried my trembling fingers through the blue-black locks as I pressed my other hand against the cool of the glass, "What....?"

"Demi!" I jumped when the door slammed open and Arthur stepped into the room, hands on his hips, "We've been waiting forever for you! You can't sleep all day, come on already!"

He grabbed my arm and yanked me towards the door, my mouth gaping like a fish as I tried to speak, "A-Arthur, what's going on? J-just now I was.... Dakota and I were... captured."

"What?" he gave me a confused look, "I don't know what you're talking about, Dakota is fine."

"He is? No, but.... Blu.... He..."

Arthur looked over his shoulder at me, confusion in his blue eyes, "Who?" I opened and closed my mouth a few more times, unsure of how to reply, and Arthur stopped walking so he could turn and take my hands, holding them against his chest, "It was just a nightmare," he said gently, "You have them all the time, but it's just a bad dream. You're okay."

"I'm.... okay?" I repeated, looking around at the framed photographs hanging on the walls around us, "So.... Blu, he wasn't.... real.... He was a bad dream...?"

"Just a nightmare, Demi. Come on, seeing your mom will make you feel much better."

I nodded in agreement, willingly following Arthur as he hiked down the stairs and into the big dining room where the table was located. I had to stop in the doorway to take in the scene, starting with my father sitting at the head of the table, glasses on his nose and newspaper in his hands, occasionally looking up to smile around the table. Everyone was there, Kailas, Cass, Arthur, Malachi, Dakota, Beth, Ian, Lucia, Devin, Raiden, Gale, even Jayden, all sat around the table, but it was seeing my mom that had my heart burning in my chest.

"Good morning sweetie," she beamed when she saw me, and I choked on my reply as she set out the plate of pancakes before holding her arms out for me. I hurried over to her and wrapped my arms around her back, hiding my face against her shoulder and stifling the tears as she pet through my hair, laughing, "What's the matter, baby? Did you have another scary dream?"

I nodded furiously, and she kissed my temple before pulling back and wiping the tears from my eyes before pushing me towards the chair between Dakota and Kailas. I sat down without fight, looking at both men before eying Dakota, mainly for the gashes he'd received from the car crash. Well, obviously there were no scars or bandages, because it was all just a nightmare.