Pressed Flowers

Horrible. Absolutely horrible.

It had been a few days since the incident in the café and for some reason beyond my expertise, Frank and Acacia had grown even closer! Their hands always brushed when they walked and one time, I caught them right before the were about to kiss.

Mikey thought I was overreacting when I told him the horror of it all but when I texted Lyn-Z about it, she understood. We decided that we needed to come up with a new plan before we leave the hotel and probably never see each other again.

The worst part though, is that they started to get personal.

Before, it was just kind of the awkward flirting and light chatting, but now they were starting to have deeper and more intense conversations. Just the other day, I overheard Acacia telling Frank about how she used to be really sick as a kid and that was why they couldn't have pets.

That might not sound like much but if you heard the entire story like I had, you would understand.

Basically, Acacia's mother was a big smoker when she was pregnant. She stopped wen she found up she was having a kid but by then, it was too late. Acacia wasn't even supposed to make it and everyone said she would probably die before she was born. But miraculously, she made it.

The only reason she actually made it was because she was born early (probably one of the reasons she was such a shortie) and she was born before her own mother could kill her. She had such a weakened immune system though, that she got sick a lot and even developed a few allergies like to nuts, cats, strawberries, and dairy.

And that, was why Acacia couldn't have pets. And that's just the basics. There are plenty of more reasons why and from what I heard, she made sure to tell Frank them all. Which was a really long, deep talk that they had alone in one room.

So you see where I start to get worried?

"I'm going to bed, guys. Night." I called and trudged off to my room. I was sharing it with Frank while Bob and Ray got one room and Mikey and Acacia got another.

I dropped on the bed and closed my eyes, waiting for sleep to take me. Unfortunately, it didn't and I just tossed and turned all night. Frank even came in and settled in his bed and quickly drifted off. He didn't realize that the entire time I was awake.

A few minutes after Frank had fallen asleep, there was a quiet knock on the door. I was about to get up to see who was there but then I started thinking of all the possibilities... fangirls, murderers, bears...

So instead, I closed my eyes and pretended I hadn't heard the knocking. So I guess I deserved it when Frank woke up and answered it. Just my luck, it was Acacia. "Hey Frank."

I could tell she had been crying, just by the sound of her voice and Frank's comforting words to her. For once, I decided to let things play out and if anything got too heated, I could always fart and ruin the moment.

"What's wrong, 'Cacia?" Frank whispered and I could hear the creak of them both climbing onto his bed.

"I had a nightmare..." she whispered.

Oh no. I know exactly what this was about...

"Hey, it's okay. I'm here now, you don't have to be afraid." Frank hugged her. There was a short pause, "Not kicking you out or anything but why didn't you just go to Mikey? You're sharing a room with him, right?"

"He had a lot to drink from the mini bar and when I tried, his voice was slurred." Acacia sniffled. Dammit Mikey! You could have prevented this entire thing!

"What was the dream about?" Frank asked quietly. No! Don't ask her that, you idiot!

"My parents..." Her real parents. Not the ones that had raised her most of her life but her biological ones.

"What happened to them?"

Acacia sighed, getting ready to tell her story. "They were big partiers; always smoking and drinking. They used to always leave me at home and tell me that if I didn't stay locked up in my room the entire night then a monster would come and eat me." she laughed. "They weren't bad people... They just didn't know how to be mommy's and daddy's."

"But one night, they told me that they were going out so like always, I ran to my room and stayed in my bed. The day came and they still hadn't come home to tell me that they fought off the monster so my five year old self didn't even think twice about staying in the room. I didn't move at all... not even to pee." Acacia muttered the last part.

"What I didn't know was that when they were driving home from the party, they were so drunk that they lost control of their car and drove right off the bridge. Everyone else was so busy trying to find a car at the bottom of the lake that they didn't even notice that a little girl wasn't going to school or leaving her house anymore."

"I'm so sorry, Acacia..." Frank whispered and I could tell that he was probably rubbing her back.

"Eventually, the car was found and the police came to get me. But by then, I had been stuck in the room so long that my ribs were showing and I was so weak I couldn't even walk by myself. They rushed me off to the hospital and when we were walking down one of the halls-"

Acacia started choking up and I knew what was coming. I had heard this story so many times that the words were permanently carved in my mind.

"Acacia, it's okay. You're okay. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Frank soothed.

"No. I do. I really do." Acacia sniffled. "When I was being carried down the hall, a man was wheeling my mothers body to the morgue... He didn't have a cover on her body and she- she was dead!"

Acacia broke into sobs and I felt my heart dropped. It hurt to see someone so close to me feeling that pain.

"She was so pale and her lips were blue and- and-" She couldn't finish. So instead, Frank just held her close as she cried.

There were very few times she told this story that Acacia could make it up to that point. Only once did she tell the whole thing, including her experience at all the foster homes until my mother adopted her.

But tonight was not one of those times.

I listened to Acacia's sobs, knowing that there was nothing I could do to help her. I had spent countless nights letting her cry on my shoulders until I realized that she was never going to get over it. The image of her mother was tattooed on her memory and she couldn't let something like that go. Ever.

But for once since this entire thing started, I was happy that Frank had met Acacia. Because if he hadn't, then I know there was absolutely no hope for my little sister. But maybe, with him around, her nightmares would finally fade.