My Sister's a Guardian (RotG Fanfiction)

Chapter 34: When Hoping for a Miracle

(Content/trigger warnings for this chapter: anxiety, family member reacting negatively to anxiety)

**Isabelle**

I lay awake in bed under rustly covers. My exhaustion begged my eyes to shut, but worry kept them wide open. What if I couldn't get Mother Nature's help? Would I get kidnapped? Die? What about what Lotus had said about what the soother would do? When would that happen? Would she drive me to my death? I hadn't been able to shake off the soothing at Ranya's high school; it was just too strong. And what was happening to Zachary? What had my anxiety caused?

It all made me feel like I had to step up and defeat Pitch. My guilt and fear yanked my heart; however, even when I tried to convince myself to begin to help, my anxiety wouldn't let me. It said to wait for Ranya to defeat everyone, that everything would be fine. She had to, right?

Jack gripped my shoulder tightly, watching my face. Sandy hovered over the bed with his hand clasping my other arm, his brows furrowed. The butterflies on the walls watched us all with eyeless faces. The wind cried and beat against the side of the house.

"You should really sleep." Jack looked me in the eye.

"I can't."

"Worried about something?"

"Yeah."

"I get that. But I'm right here, and I'll protect you."

Like he had at my school when I'd had to save myself.

I didn't reply, and watched the clock at the other end of my fully lit room. It was a simple white, circular analog one with blue hands. Its usually soft ticking sounded extra loud and ominous tonight. It had nearly reached ten o'clock.

I curled my fingers tight around the pinches of the Dreamsand in each pocket. Soon.

Tick. Tick. Tick. My heart beat faster as I watched the clock, and I dug the grainy Dreamsand into my palms.

Somehow, the tick when the clock hands shifted into the place for the hour sounded longer and more potent than the others.

Taking a small breath, I slowly slid my Dreamsand-holding fists out from under the blanket at the edges of the bed—one for Sandy, and one for Jack. The latter glanced toward them, and I yanked my fingers back inside.

"Isabelle, you should be sleeping," he said.

A glowing question mark formed above Sandy's head as he stared at me, too.

"I'm too scared," I said.

I inched my hands back out as Jack also examined my face. His stare darted toward them again, and I yanked them back inside.

Golden symbols flashed above Sandy's head.

"Yeah, maybe Sandy should put you to sleep," said Jack. "Does that sound good?" He searched my eyes with an intense look. I moved my fingers toward the edge of the blankets. He was really paying attention now, however, and glanced toward my hands even before they had peeked it out.

His gaze became even more intense, drilling, not the kinder Jack I knew. "Isabelle, you're not gonna escape again, right?" Did he know I had Dreamsand? My chest squeezed.

Sandy released my arm and tugged down my blankets.

Quickly, I lay on my hands. They dug into my back as Jack and Sandy both gave me looks.

"Isabelle, you want us to protect you, don't you?" the former said. "We can't do that if you escape." He gripped one arm and Sandy the other, and they pulled them out from under me.