Seethe: First Draft

Seethe: Chapter13

Chapter 13

Unblinkingly, I stare into eyes the color of fresh turned earth. A brown so deep and rich, it looks like the color of earth you'd grow things in. It's a crazy comparison, even to me. Not that I'd explain it to Holly.

I'd fallen asleep on Cam's couch and when I woke up, his daughter, Holly, was sitting on the floor

by my head. I'm not sure how long she'd been sitting there or how long we'd been staring each other down. It wasn't menacing, or even challenging really. It was more out of curiosity, I think.

I narrow my eyes slightly and she does the same.

"Hi."

Her voice is so childlike and innocently suspicious that I almost break and smile when she says it back.

I raise an eyebrow. "Are you hungry?"

Almost instantly, she blinks and nods vigorously.

"Oh, there you are, Holls."

Holly and I both turn to look at Cam. He's standing at the foot of the stairs in new clothes, looking freshly showered with his damp hair. He looks between the two of us with a questioning look on his face but otherwise doesn't say anything about it.

"Have either of you seen Amy?"

I exchange a look with Holly before we both turn back to Cam and shake our heads nearly in sync. I'm not about to admit that I don't remember who Amy is. As if reading this on my face, Cam adds, "She's always helped me with Holly, but especially after Ash..." He trails off, clearing his throat to hide that something is clearly upsetting him. "Holly's mom was one of the first victims of the Siren, months ago, and Amy moved in to help me with Holly a little more full time than before."

He looks off past either Holly or I as he talks but once he finishes talking he meets my eyes for split second before nodding at the kitchen. "How about some breakfast?"

Holly and I exchange another look before following him into the kitchen. This one saying that we both know he's trying to hide how upset he is. I'm not sure if I'm more upset for Cam, or that his young daughter is perceptive enough to realize he's hiding something.

I try to help Cam cook breakfast but he shoos me out of the kitchen to sit with Holly at the little dinette table. I watch her color for a bit before she folds the paper in front of her in half and hands it to me. I tentatively take the paper from her hand.

I hold it in my hands somewhat gingerly, glancing back and forth between Holly and the paper. Taking a deep breath, I unfold it, and frown.

"Is that supposed to be me?"

I risk a glance at her too serious face. "Uh-huh."

I look back down at the paper, trying to make sense of the green mass surrounding the figure meant to be me. "And is that a-?"

"Dragon? Uh-huh."

I roll my lips into my mouth, realizing that a tiny adorable child just handing me a picture she drew of me seemingly being eaten by a dragon.

"Why am I being eaten by a dragon?"

Cam walks into the room and shoots me a questioning look just as Holly bursts into giggles. I eye her a bit terrified. I'm not sure what's so funny about me being eaten by a dragon, but I'm also not sure I want her to tell me why either.

Cam sets a plate of bacon and eggs with toast in front of me. I wait for him to sit down before I give him a serious look, maintaining eye contact as I say, "So when is Amy supposed to appear?"