Daddy's Little Girl, Too

Chapter 27: Butterflies and Dreams

Numerous emotions rush through Nancy's mind as she worries about Emma. Fear being her most dominant feeling. As her guardian, she can't help but think she has become unsuccessful as a parent. Where did I go wrong? Is there something more I could have done?

Staring into the mug of the now stone cold coffee, Nancy contemplates her thoughts of failure. The anxiety builds in her chest making each breath more difficult.

Emma's devious behavior worries her, now, more than ever. The attack with the carving knife has left Nancy scared for her life. As tired as she is, Nancy wouldn't dare go back to bed for fear that Emma may stab her while she sleeps.

The words Emma last spoke to her mother deeply torment her mind. 'I wasn't aiming for your hand.' It is truly an unnerving thing to have heard. Nancy frets over the meaning behind it. If she wasn't aiming for my hand... what was she aiming for?

Her thoughts continue to get the best of her; picturing Emma lunging toward her with the knife, over and over. Nancy imagines what would have happened if she had failed to block the sharp blade. Maybe it would have pierced her chest or perhaps it might have punctured her throat. She is thankful to have gotten her hand up in time.

With the stress so many 'what if's', Nancy huffs away the worries. She needs to distract herself from the countless unknowns. She stands from the table, dumps the remaining coffee down the drain, and sets the cup next to the bloody knife in the sink. The sight of the weapon used against her causes her to take notice of the bamboo block on the counter. It houses a variety of knives in all shapes and sizes, each in its rightful place. It is a complete collection, other than the one empty slot. Nancy lifts the entire set from the counter and places them high atop the refrigerator; a precautionary measure.

There is one mystery that she could learn the answer to, and possibly help ease her mind; the fate of her friends, the Landell's.

Nancy dials Harvey Dunn's number, praying as it rings for some good news.

"Hello?" Harvey answers.

"Mr. Dunn? It's Nancy Young... any luck?"

There is a slight pause before his reply. "...No, not yet. I'm still looking."

She lets out a sigh of defeat. "I'm so worried..."

"Try to relax. I'm sure everything is fine." He manages to sound convincing.

Harvey can hear her cries through the phone, 'sniffle-sniffle'. He isn't sure how to console her. He knows he can't tell her the truth. "Hey? Just hang in there, okay."

There is brief silence from Nancy... "Emma had a dream tonight. She said there was an accident... now I'm freaked out that they... What if it was them?"

There is a longer pause before he speaks. "Mrs. Young..." knowing the true fate of the Landell's, he is unsure how to answer. He must be careful not to give her too much information. "...just try not to think like that, okay?"

"It's hard not to. I believe Emma's dreams are true. Everything she's said has happened. Now... she... Emma's changing. I'm so scared."

"What do you mean? How is Emma changing?"

"I don't know... she just seems disturbed... disconnected from reality." 'sniffle-sniffle'. "She attacked me tonight... with a knife."

"My God. Are you okay?" Harvey realizes just how lucky he is. Emma could have easily used a knife on him.

"I'm still a bit shaken but I'll be fine. She cut my hand, but what worries me the most is, she doesn't have any remorse about it. It's like she isn't even sorry."