Their Little Heart

Awoken

Her heart was beating fast, adrenaline pumping through her veins due to the strenuous pace at which she ran. The forest around her got thicker and thicker, suffocating her. All she could think about was finding her Momma. She cried out for her, but the only reply was the rustling of the trees. She collapsed onto the ground, falling over a twig laid perfectly for her bare feet to trip over. She continued crying and screaming until finally, she got a reply.

"Nadia," the voice whispered over and over. The girl's ears perked up trying to understand where the voice was coming from. Was it Momma? No, she thought, Momma left. She's gone. Gone...

"Nadia!" Her eyes finally snapped open, desperately trying to focus on what was going on. She sucked in a breath as her sleep muddled brain focused on calming her frantic heart. She slowly became aware of gentle hands rubbing her soft, tear-stained cheeks.

"Oh honey, are you alright? I heard you screamin' your little lungs out from across the hall." Said a concerned voice with a noticeable southern lilt. Ah, that would be Margaret, the nice lady who offered the little girl a place to stay. Who knew she'd be getting such a mess. The girl instantly felt bad for waking her, and tried to express her worries.

"I'm okay," she croaked, trying to offer a small smile. "Sorry for waking you." Margaret's eyebrows furrowed as she noticed the girl's guilt. She tucked a strawberry blonde strand behind the little one's ear before speaking.

"Dear, don't you worry about me. I'm just concerned about these nightmares you keep havin'. Are you sure you're okay?" The gentle hands continued to soothe the small girl, making her realize that she was still quite tired.

"I'm alright," she murmured, drooping eyes staring up at the older woman. "I'm sleepy..." Margaret could hear a slight whine in her voice and inwardly chuckled. She petted the girl's hair before kissing her temple and rising from the bed.

"Ok dearie well you get some sleep, yeah? Don't you hesitate to wake me if you get one of them bad dreams again, ok? I'll se ya' in the mornin' sweet pea." She chuckled slightly at the slurred reply. With that, she tucked the girl back in and left, making sure to leave the door open a crack to avoid the girl any scary encounters with the dark.

As Margaret got herself back into bed, she wondered what horrible things must have happened to the poor child she took in. Only eighteen, and left all alone in the world. She couldn't help but feel bad for the little girl, and hope that she could find a way to help her.

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Margaret awoke with a smile on her face, anticipating good things for the day. Today, she was being paid a visit by Luke, a man who was like family after she helped him get back up onto his feet so long ago. He was now a wealthy business owner, who shared a company with his best friend and biggest confidant, William.

At 26, he was quite the stud and had never quite found the one he wanted to settle down with; no one seemed to meet the innate need he had to care for his partner. Margaret hoped to change this. She was hoping he might take a liking to the small girl she was currently housing, but would never outright tell him that.

No, instead she would spring upon him the notion that she absolutely needed him to watch her, because she had errands to run. She knew he would say yes, being the kind and caring man that he was. Plus, she didn't completely trust the clumsy girl to be alone by herself, and she did have to go shopping, so it really wasn't lying.

Just in time, she heard her front door open as she bustled through the kitchen and toward the entryway.

"Luke, my darling! How are you?" She immediately wrapped him into a hug, his tall frame forcing him to bend slightly.

"Hi Margaret, I'm well, how've you been?" He pulled away to smile down at her. She grabbed his shoulders and began to look him over, noticing the bags under his eyes that only seemed to get worse every time she saw him.

"I'm just fine. It's been a while hasn't it?" The woman left no room for a reply as she turned and walked back toward the kitchen. "Actually, I do have some interesting news." The man's eyebrows rose in anticipation of said news; usually Margaret lived quite the quiet life. "A few days ago while I was out and about, I came across a girl; a small thing, couldn't be a day over eighteen. Any who, she looked so lost and spooked and I couldn't just leave her out there and long story short shes... kind-of-upstairs-in-the-guest-room-right-now." She rushed out.

The man, who was currently sat at a barstool, looked at Margaret in shock. "What?"

"She's the sweetest thing though, I promise. Wouldn't hurt a fly." She smiled sweetly, trying to convince the man that she definitely hadn't made an impulsively bad decision.

He drummed his fingers on the table. "Margaret..." He groaned, not really at all surprised by the circumstances now that his brain had processed it. I mean, she had done essentially the same with him when he was younger.

"I know, I know," the woman continued, "but just you wait and meet her, you'll love her, I promise." She prepared herself to leave the house, confusing the man further.

"Where are you going?"

"Ahh.. Funny you should ask..." she muttered, steeling herself to tell him what she planned to tell him. "I actually need a huge favor. I need to go shopping quite badly and I really don't want to leave her here alone. Please watch her for me? Please?" She begged, knowing he couldn't say no.

"Margaret..." He started, "I want to, I do, but you already said she was spooked, I don't know if she'd be comfortable with that." Ever the gentleman, he wanted to ensure her peace of mind. The one time this fact slightly annoyed her.

"No no no, I'll run up and tell her before I leave and I'm sure she'll be ok with it. She had quite the nightmare last night though so she'll probably sleep longer anyways. You'll be fine." She smiled at the man's unsure face.

He finally sighed, knowing Margaret was too hard-headed to not get what she wanted. "Alright, fine. But you owe me." He smiled as she chuckled and agreed.

After she went upstairs, to inform the girl of her new 'babysitter' he presumed, he thought over his predicament. He couldn't help but hope that the girl might be exactly what he needed.

This led him to thinking about Will. Even though they'd been best friends since forever, he knew they'd drifted apart recently. However, he had a nagging feeling that that was soon going to change.

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Thank you so much for reading!! This is my first story, so let me know what you think! I hate admitting it, but I honestly don't know exactly where I want this to go lol. I have an idea, but I guess we'll see ;)