A Pocket Full of Posies (Book 2)

Chapter Twenty-Three (Part 2)

"Help! Help us!"

"This is it! This is our chance!"

It's even louder now than before. Why is it so loud? I lift my hands to my ears, but they won't stop, and I'm pressing so hard, but I can still hear them. I'm squeezing my eyes shut, but they won't stop.

"Help us!"

"Let us go!"

"Felix? Felix, hey, what is it? What's wrong?"

"Stop resisting, come on! Give in! Give in!"

"I--What is it? Connor's asleep, I don't--I don't know what to do."

"You're useless! Stupid!"

Go away, go away. I start hitting my head, but it won't stop, and it hurts my wrist but I need to make it stop.

"Why don't you just help us!"

"Felix, please, stop it! You're scaring me!"

The voice is high-pitched, and it's young. It sounds so young. It drips with fear, and I don't want it to be scared, so I open my eyes and Lucy is standing above me with tears in her eyes. I take it back. I don't care if she's scared.

"Help us!"

"What's wrong with you? Help us!"

It won't stop. I just want it all to stop. I squeeze my eyes shut again, and I keep banging my head, and it's dazing me, but the voices keep coming back.

"Felix, please! What's wrong? Let me help!"

Lucy's crying. Why is she crying? This is all her fault. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her. She keeps calling my name, and it sounds so hurt, so frightened, and I'm frustrated at myself because I feel bad for her. Her wailing is almost as loud as the voices, and I can't ignore it. It's seeping through my skin, rattling my bones, and my heart is aching for her because it sounds so damn sad, and it shouldn't be and it's pissing me off. I'm so agitated that it takes me a moment to realise the voices are gone. I release my hands from my ears. They're gone.

I open my eyes, and Lucy's still there. Her blonde hair looks limp, and her cheeks are stained with tears. Why is she getting so upset? All I did was bash myself in the head a few times. My breathing is rapid, and I take a moment to slow it. I sigh, and for the first time since I yelled at her for being a treacherous bitch, I say something to her that isn't just a grunt.

"C'mon then, who did it? Was it the butler?" I ask as I struggle to lift myself into an upright position, but Lucy responds with a blank stare. "Who killed you?"

"Oh, uh." She looks down, refusing to meet my eyes. "I don't know yet, Connor hasn't, uh, he hasn't told me yet."

I don't try to hide my laugh. "You're going to be waiting a while."

"I'm sorry."

She utters the words before I've even finished speaking. It sounds sincere, not that it matters. It's too late now. I scan her freckled face. She looks the youngest she has since I've known her, and I remind myself that she is only fourteen. I have a habit of forgetting that, not that it excuses anything.

"What happened just now? Was it a nightmare?"

I ignore her question. I've already entertained her for longer than I should. I understand she's desperate to know what happened to her, but we could've helped her with that. If I realised it meant that much to her, we could've helped her so much more. No wonder she seemingly lost interest towards the end. In her mind, Connor is some omniscient angel who's promised her the world. I hope she's finally crashed back to reality.