𝙏𝙀𝙉𝘼𝘾𝙄𝙊𝙐𝙎 » 𝙅𝙒: 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙙𝙤𝙢 ✓ [2]

XIX

CHAPTER NINETEEN
WE'VE ENTERED A NEW ERA

'Laura?'

I stir towards the faint voice drawing me from sleep still weighing me down to the mattress.

'Laura?'

I sit myself up, disorientated vision slowly aligning itself with the soft lamp somebody had flicked on. Every remanent of yesterday was slowing twisting back in terrible, treacherous knots—sharp pains and aches running along my limbs. Little cracks of moonlight poke through the curtains.

A tiny figure, not much bigger than the nightstand, stood beside the bed. The digital clock beside her reads 3:42am.

'Maisie?'

After seeing Claire, I'd felt too rattled to return back to Alex on the couch. Instead, I had quietly climbed into the bed at the back of the room, bathing in my own cloud of quiet misery. Only forty odd minutes ago. It felt I'd been asleep for decades.

Brushing my hair back from my face, I felt my knuckles graze against something wet. I frown, pressing my fingertips to saturated cheeks. I look up at Maisie.

'I could hear you crying,' she says quietly. 'I just wanted to make sure you were okay.'

'Oh,' I say, touched by her consideration. I sniffle, pushing my hair back behind my ears as I sat up straighter. I hated crying in front of anybody, let alone in front of a small child who depended on the trust of adults more than anything right now.

'I'm okay. It's just been a bit of a long day,' I say with a weak, assuring smile, even if it was far from the truth. Crying in my sleep was a regular occurrence back home—just nobody had been around to see it.

In the dim light, I could see the teddy bear trembling in her hands.

'Are you okay?' I ask her. 'What's wrong?'

She opens her mouth as if to say something, but looks down at her feet.

'Are you having trouble sleeping?' I ask gently.