Sisters

Chapter 8

They've been gone for 30 minutes. And that worries me.

Michael made me sit down and drink water, and then the three of them left the room to talk. Obviously about me.

But now here I am, sitting alone, with way too much to think about. I don't know exactly when the officers are coming, but I need to be ready. They need to think I'm responsible.

And I need to enroll in online classes for college, and call Dalia's school to find out what the plan is regarding her studies right now. Obviously she's not ready to get back into school right now or in the next few months.

I'm ready to just leave the room and go start getting all these tasks done when the two doctors and Ethan come back in, all of them smiling.

I don't know if the smiles should relax me or scare me, but it's definitely unsettling.

"Come on, let's go see Dalia," Ethan says, grabbing my hand and lifting me up from the chair. He guides me out the door with his hand on the small of my back.

We walk all the way to Dalia's room before I stop him, questioning him with my eyes.

"Don't worry about it right now," he says. "We'll talk about it later. But I think this could work."

"What could work," I ask confused. I mean, I know they talked about me, but I have no idea what he told them or vice versa.

He just shakes his head, staring at me with a grin. I decide to drop it for now, there's only so much I can fight for at the same time.

I take a deep breath, opening Dalia's door with a small smile, seeing her awake. "Hi baby, look who's here to see you!"

She doesn't even look up to see us, just stares down at her hands.

I look at Ethan, "I'm sorry, please don't take it perso..." I stop talking as he walks up to her bed slowly, with a smile.

"Hey sweetie," he says gently. "Can I give you a hug?" he asks, making sure to keep some distance from the bed to not scare her.

But the word, hug, already got a reaction from her. Just not the one we were hoping for.

She immediately looks up with wide, frightened eyes.

I immediately start moving towards her, knowing what's about to happen. "Baby, no. He's not going to hurt you, I promise."

But she can't hear me. She's already stuck in the memories, sobbing and shaking, her body naturally moving away from us.

"Ethan, can you please move away from the bed?" I ask him quietly, not taking my eyes off of Dalia.

He does what I ask, muttering a sorry. "It's not your fault," I tell him honestly.

"Dalia, I need you to focus on me, focus on my voice. I know you think you're somewhere else, but you're not. You're right here with me," I continue to talk to her. She slowly grasps her surroundings, looking at me with bloodshot eyes.

And then she turns around, facing the other wall and lying down.

"Baby," I say gently. She's so scared, and I feel so helpless because I don't even know exactly what happened, or who did this to her.

I feel Ethan's hand on my shoulder, making me turn my head to look at him. He shakes his head lightly, telling me to give her some space.

I sigh, giving her a kiss on her head. "I'll be right outside baby, we can have lunch together in a little bit, alright?"

No response.

I wish she would just talk to me.

Ethan leads me outside, both of us sitting down on the chairs across from her room. We stay quiet for a little while, thinking.

He finally breaks the silence saying, "Why don't you go home for a little bit? Freshen up and look a bit more presentable for the officers?"

I just stare at Dalia's door. I can't leave her, what if something happens? What if she needs me and I'm not here? What if -

"I know you're overthinking," Ethan tells me, grabbing my hand. "But she'll be fine. I'll stay with her, and I'll call you if anything changes."

"You need some time for yourself Dani. I promise she'll be fine."

After a lot of convincing, Ethan finally makes me go home to mentally prepare for the officers. I need to appear strong and confident. That's the only way I can keep her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Hello lovelies! Sorry about the shorter chapter, but I just needed to get some ideas flowing. The next chapter is a little intense, so stay excited!

Please vote and comment. Have a wonderful day! Hugs and kisses.