Phil opened his eyes in the darkness, and his body touched a familiar warmth.
It felt strange lying in bed next to his wife again. Phil had missed it, and he had missed her warmth. The basement had always been too cold, too smelly, too creepy to join her there for the night. Ever since he'd banished her to the basement, he'd had trouble sleeping, and tonight was the first night he fell asleep without issue.
Even with Hailey in her old bedroom.
Phil surprised even himself. He hadn't expected to trust Hailey so soon, especially after making sure her hipster boyfriend wouldn't return. The boy had done so on his own will, anyway. Once Hailey had screamed, and had insisted that her mother had been dead, torn apart by an oncoming train, Drake had never returned.
Still, Phil destroyed Hailey's phone, switched plans, and purchased a new phone for his daughter. He wanted to spoil her, and he knew she loved photography and videography. Therefore, he purchased the most expensive phone she wanted, one with superb recording capabilities.
'A BETTER NIGHT CAPTURE EXPERIENCE!'
The lawyer was grateful. He knew that, if it weren't for God, he never would have made it this far without getting caught, even though he was simply protecting his family against the sin of the world.
"Thank you, Lord," he whispered, brushing the bony structure of his wife's shoulder. Carolyn sighed in her sleep and Phil pulled her into him. He was content, but something irked him.
In the last couple days, since she had been released from the basement, Carolyn had gained a sense of lucidity in the midst of her mental insanity. He supposed it was due to the better nutrition, the sunlight, and his loving touch, but it seemed to have happened faster than he would have expected. Obviously, he couldn't simply take her to the doctor to determine the actual status of her health, but a part of him wondered if his own healing hands had something to do with the improvement of her mental state. It shouldn't concern him.
But it did.
Thoughtfully, Phil peered down at Carolyn's for a few extra moments, before rolling over to check the baby monitor on his nightstand.
Phil had not felt an ounce of guilt connecting the video monitor inside of Hailey's room. It was necessary, as he could not bring himself to fully trust Hailey. She was still emotionally unstable, but much more compliant than he had expected of her.
'You need to understand that this a miracle from God!' Phil had told Hailey, after he had caught her before she ran through the front door. 'Look at your mother! The Lord saved her, he put me in charge of saving her, Hailey! She is alive. Can you argue against the fact that this wouldn't have happened if it wasn't of God?'
It had taken minutes of his time, but Hailey had finally stopped screaming. Phil had calmed her enough to demonstrate his healing abilities. Unsurprisingly, Hailey had screamed again when he brought a knife across his forearm, slitting the skin, but then she had watched in stunned awe as he healed the bloody cut.
She hadn't questioned him. In fact, the young woman had entered a state of shock instead. Since that night, Hailey had dazedly existed, listening to Phil's requests, doing as she was told. Existing without living.
It bothered Phil that this had been her reaction. He supposed he had wanted something a little more positive, but he knew Hailey would snap out of it soon. Once she did, she'd return to the bright, excited, little girl he had always known. After all, it could be a worse situation. She could have responded as Victoria had, giving him no option but to kill her, and that wouldn't have been ideal. Luckily, Phil had always had her wrapped around his fingers, but it still surprised him when she had accepted the situation as it was.
YOU ARE READING
MARIEL
Mystery / ThrillerA boy in Russia is put up for adoption after being kidnapped on the night of his birth. Fr. Jerome, who wants nothing more than to be a parent, adopts Mariel, but Mariel exhibits behavior unlike that of a normal human being. Years later, Fr. Jerom...