Little Red

NINE

As their shift for the day was over and the bakery was closed up for the night, Greta had decided to act out on her word. Mr.B allowed the girls to use the empty lot for a talking session, just as long as they promised to lock up once they were finished, and of course, they said they would. So, with the building all to themselves, Greta and Dani sat in a booth with a cup of hot chocolate in front of each of them.

"So, this dream you had...What was it about?" Greta asked, careful to bring the topic up as she watched her best friend closely.

Dani gave her a small smile. "It's okay, G. You don't have to act so cautiously...I think I'm ready to talk about it now."

Greta held up each of her ears, which caused Dani to snort at her childish-like antics before she shook her head.

"Okay...so...to make a very long story short...I saw Grandma Neenie in my dream," Dani began.

Greta's eyes widened at her friend's words before she gave the girl a sad look as she placed her hand over hers. Although Dani had been her only grandchild, Janine had treated Greta, Hans, and Mikey as if they were her grandchildren as well, which made her death all the more heartbreaking as not only had Dani lost her, but her friends had lost her also.

"What did she say?" Greta questioned softly.

Dani took a deep breath before she willed herself to answer as her grandmother's voice popped into her mind.

You killed me...YOU KILLED ME!!

"She said...She said that I was-... She blamed me, Greta...She told me that I'm the reason she's dead," she choked out. "And then...then Henry was there and he-... I tried to help her...I wanted to help her so bad but I couldn't and she called me selfish and then he-"

"No, no, no, hey, shh, D. It's okay. It was only a dream, it's okay," Greta softly said as she had gotten up to sit on the other side of the booth and comfort her friend as the girl had started to cry.

Dani let out a sob and shook her head. "He killed her again and he made me watch...I couldn't do anything, Greta. She thinks I didn't want to help my own grandmother!!"

"Dani, no...No, no, she doesn't think that at all," Greta said while rubbing the girl's arm. "Dreams aren't always a reflection of your reality. You're not the one to blame for Nana Neenie's death, D. No one's ever blamed you...but I understand how you've put it on yourself."

Dani frowned at her words, but the blonde continued before she could ask what she'd meant.

"I understand because...because I blamed myself for what happened to Hans and me," Greta said.

"Greta," Dani said as her frown deepened.

Greta shook her head. "No, D...I was the one who suggested we go inside that house. Even after Hans had told me how bad of a feeling he had gotten from it, I still insisted we go in because of how excited I was to see it," she said and wiped a tear from her cheek.

Dani pouted and squeezed her hand, which caused the blonde to give her a sad smile.

"That one mistake changed our entire lives forever," she said with a sniff. "If I had never gone in...If I had just listened to Hans, he wouldn't be the way he is now..."

Dani shook her head and said, "G, you can't blame yourself for that. You were just eight years old!! How were you supposed to know she was going to do that to you two?!"

Greta gave the girl a look. "Just like how you were supposed to know that a wolf had evil plans to kill a little girl's grandmother..?" she countered back, and a feeling of realization flashed over Dani before it was replaced by anger.