Emily woke up with a gasp. Her lungs were full of fluid. She started choking and screaming. Her uncle was instantly in her room. His bedroom was just across the hall from hers, so it didn't take very long for him to respond.
She looked at her uncle. He looked as if he hadn't slept in forever. He had bags under his eyes and looked as if he had aged twenty years in the past however long she had been asleep. It worried her.
Her uncle sat down next to her on her bed and held her. She leaned into his side. She started crying. He remembered how his sister used to do the same thing and how he used to comfort her. He saw a lot of his sister in his niece. However, he also saw a lot of the girl's father in her which made him nervous. She didn't know who her father was, nor did she need to know.
"Don't worry sweetheart. I love you. Everything's alright. I'll keep you safe and protect you. Don't ever doubt that." He begun to sing the same lullaby that he sang to her mother and his father sang to her. It might have been childish but he didn't care. He only cared about comforting his niece. "You dreamt about him, didn't you?"
"Yes. I always do. Will the nightmares ever end?" Hugh took a deep breath and sighed. He looked as if he were debating something. He looked sad.
"From now on, I promise to strictly tell you nothing but the truth, even though your mother would detest me for it. No, I'm dearly sorry but they won't end until you conquer your fears. It's just the way that the order of things works."
"Speaking of my mother, why did she never tell me about you? I mean you're so awesome!" Hugh smiled because his niece loved him but sighed because he was sad that his precious sister hated him.
"She left here and didn't tell you about me because she wanted to protect you. I will not discuss this further because you are not ready to be told the entire truth yet. Just know that being in this family.....makes you slightly different from everyone else but that is a good thing." He looked at her and sighed.
"We are going to have to to do something with that hair of yours so you can be more protected. I can drive you to the general store, if need be of course." She looked at him.
"If you let me use your car......I can drive myself. Or, actually, I'll walk. Walking is good. It keeps me in shape and calms me down." Hugh nodded and smiled. She got up and started to walk off. She listened to music on her MP3 player. She felt odd, as if she was being watched. She felt uneasy and uncomfortable, so she ran.
