The Veil

Chapter Sixty-Nine

Sorry for the longer than usual wait, I've been absolutely exhausted, I get home from work and need to switch my brain off and by the time I'm ready to switch it back on it's too late to start writing! But I'm getting a few chapters sorted now so it won't be as long next time :)! 

Hope everyone is safe and healthy! 

_____________________________

Jade wasn't as mad as we thought she would be, she'd been so wrapped up in cooking the perfect meal she hadn't really noticed our absence. 

Dinner ended up being absolutely perfect, we'd all forced as much food into us as we could, until we'd all had to sit in near silence in various positions around the living room trying to recover. 

I couldn't keep my mind off Tom for too long, I was worried about him, I'd never seen him breakdown the way he had in the garage, things were piling on top of him, and I was part of that, telling him about the dream that wasn't a dream about his dad, then the car, how much could he take before he snapped? 

Tom had turned the TV on for some background noise and had landed on Friends reruns. 

He seemed fine, like there was nothing wrong at all. Hmm.

I managed to recovered before anyone else did, having not eaten as much, my appetite wasn't great, and started to wrap the left overs, we'd be living off them until Christmas. 

After I'd stuffed them in the refrigerator, in various different unsafe places, slamming the door and making it the next persons problem, I walked out onto the porch. 

I sat on the top step, my body seemingly impervious to the frost on the porch, and watched Sky, she was slowly sniffing at the fence, smelling all the different animals that passed beyond it in the forrest. 

I tried to keep my mind blank, I didn't want to think about the dream I'd had or the empty feeling I seemed to get when I was alone. 

It hurt. 

"Can we talk a minute sweetie?" Martha's voice made me jump even though it was soft and gentle, I'd zoned out, staring at a bit of fence that needed to be repainted. 

I recovered quickly and gestured to the step next to me, "Of course." 

She gently wrapped a blanket around my shoulders before she quietly sat down next to me, wrapped in her own blanket. 

"You never seem to feel the cold." She pointed out and smiled at me. 

"I must have been a penguin in a former life." I laughed, in reality I was just used to the numbing cold being a constant part of my life, inside and out. 

"How are you Lilian?" Her beautiful grey eyes caught mine and I couldn't look away, she wasn't asking a light question, she wanted to know the real answer. 

She'd waited until I was alone, when she could ask me and I could answer her honestly, she'd finally found her moment.

It took me a few seconds to look away from her intense stare and answer her. "I'm okay, just a little tired." I shrugged. 

Her small hand grabbed for mine, I saw her body turn towards me, knees so close to my legs.  

"Do you have nightmares often?" She asked softly. 

I hadn't expected Tom to let the subject drop, especially after realising Judy seemed to know something, but I hadn't expected Martha to bring up last night, she was always so polite and kind. 

I didn't have the words to answer her so I just shrugged, following Sky's movements again. 

I heard her sigh a little and she waited until I looked at her to start talking. "I lost my parents at a young age too." She started, shocking me, I couldn't have said anything even if I'd wanted to.