Silent Shadows
VII
I was sad when my black eye healed up and Danny wouldn’t tilt my face towards him with that big, rough hand of his that made my heart beat so fast-
Good Lord, I hoped Fae couldn’t read minds. If they could, I was screwed. No one was home except Zinnia and me. The guys had either gone down the mountain to the tiny Podunk town for god knows what or were out patrolling the territory, for I don’t know what reason. They still hadn’t really let me in on the pack secrets, and I wasn’t sure they would until I had shifted.
“Can we skip the sparring today?” I asked Zin. “I really don’t feel like getting hit today.” Even if I liked when Danny put me back together, the aching and shooting pains were starting to get annoying.
Zin laughed. “Of course we can Ronnie.” I punched the air in jubilation and winced when it worked a sore muscle.
“Thank God.” I practically skipped to the bathroom for a shower and then back out to the living room to watch TV. I never really watched TV here. There was usually something to clean or someone to beat the shit out of me. So I channel flipped for a while until I found some wedding show to watch. That didn’t last very long though. Around two, I was bored silly and the guys weren’t back yet. Zinnia kept looking out the window restlessly.
“Do you need to go do your tree communing thing?” I asked, swinging my leg lazily.
“It’s not tree communing. But yes, I would like to go take a walk.” Zinnia shifted in her seat.
“Then go. I’m gonna go take a nap.” I stretched and padded down the hall. I heard the door open and close a few moments later. She would disappear for hours at a time, just wandering around in the woods. I’d been warned not to get out of sight of the house, but they hadn’t told me why. The way Matt had told me not to go too far had made me think there was a good reason not to wander off. So I left the tree communing to Zinnia.
I curled up on the bed, closing my eyes. My favorite time to think was right before I fell asleep. There were no distractions, nothing that required my immediate attention except for my thoughts. It was an especially good time since it gave me time to dwell upon Danny’s infectious smile and warm brown eyes. I wished I was still allowed to sleep in his room, not because I wanted anything sexual, because I slept the best when he’s nearby. He kept the nightmares away.
I knew as soon as I saw the smoke where I’d ended up again. My feet were glued to the floor and I was powerless to help my parents. I wasn’t here to get involved, just to be a bystander to horror.
The beatings got more violent every time. Blood fountained up from my dad’s chest, spattering my face with hot liquid that filled my nose and mouth with hot copper. The vampire wrenched Dad’s heart out and sank his teeth into it, all the while keeping his eyes on me.
I sat up, shaking and crying and screaming so loud I couldn’t hear the running footsteps coming down the hall. Zack reached me first and hugged me tightly. I stopped screaming, only to keep babbling, “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy.”
“I think she’s asking for you.” I barely heard Brian say to Danny. I buried my face in Zack’s shirt and kept repeating “Daddy.” My knuckles were turning white where they were gripping him. All Zack could do was rub my back while I cried.
I couldn’t imagine what Zinnia thought when she walked in. I was sitting in Zack’s lap, crying into his shirt while the rest of the pack kinda just stood there and watched.
“What’s going on?” She demanded.
“That’s what I’d like to know.” Matt said in his no-nonsense voice. He had to wait about another ten minutes before I was calm enough to talk. Arin sat next to me and held my hand, a tissue box waiting on his knee. I managed a watery smile for him. Despite our rocky start, he was the closest one to my age and probably my closest friend here, aside from Zinnia.
I sniffled a little more and mopped my eyes. I didn’t know where to start. Thankfully, Matt jumped in.
“Why do you keep waking up screaming?” He asked.
“I have nightmares. About the night my parents were murdered.” I gritted my teeth. “They get worse and worse as time goes on.” I wiped my eyes again, trying to keep the tears back.
“How can we make it better?” Matt’s voice had gone soft and gentle and he leaned down so our eyes were level. It always seemed a little jarring when he was like this. He came off as such a hard-ass, so no-nonsense and unfeeling. And then sometimes he could be so gentle and caring. It was hard to know which side was the real Matt.
“I can’t sleep alone. I need someone near me.” I didn’t even know if that would really help my problem, but it seemed to keep me from screaming the house down. “As long as someone is close by I think I’ll be okay.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do. When Zinnia isn’t here one of us will be with you.” Matt squeezed my hand. I just nodded, unable to speak. I hated feeling so weak, and I hated looking so weak in front of the pack. I’d had a hard enough time joining them, I didn’t want to be thrown out for being too fragile to make it.
Good Lord, I hoped Fae couldn’t read minds. If they could, I was screwed. No one was home except Zinnia and me. The guys had either gone down the mountain to the tiny Podunk town for god knows what or were out patrolling the territory, for I don’t know what reason. They still hadn’t really let me in on the pack secrets, and I wasn’t sure they would until I had shifted.
“Can we skip the sparring today?” I asked Zin. “I really don’t feel like getting hit today.” Even if I liked when Danny put me back together, the aching and shooting pains were starting to get annoying.
Zin laughed. “Of course we can Ronnie.” I punched the air in jubilation and winced when it worked a sore muscle.
“Thank God.” I practically skipped to the bathroom for a shower and then back out to the living room to watch TV. I never really watched TV here. There was usually something to clean or someone to beat the shit out of me. So I channel flipped for a while until I found some wedding show to watch. That didn’t last very long though. Around two, I was bored silly and the guys weren’t back yet. Zinnia kept looking out the window restlessly.
“Do you need to go do your tree communing thing?” I asked, swinging my leg lazily.
“It’s not tree communing. But yes, I would like to go take a walk.” Zinnia shifted in her seat.
“Then go. I’m gonna go take a nap.” I stretched and padded down the hall. I heard the door open and close a few moments later. She would disappear for hours at a time, just wandering around in the woods. I’d been warned not to get out of sight of the house, but they hadn’t told me why. The way Matt had told me not to go too far had made me think there was a good reason not to wander off. So I left the tree communing to Zinnia.
I curled up on the bed, closing my eyes. My favorite time to think was right before I fell asleep. There were no distractions, nothing that required my immediate attention except for my thoughts. It was an especially good time since it gave me time to dwell upon Danny’s infectious smile and warm brown eyes. I wished I was still allowed to sleep in his room, not because I wanted anything sexual, because I slept the best when he’s nearby. He kept the nightmares away.
I knew as soon as I saw the smoke where I’d ended up again. My feet were glued to the floor and I was powerless to help my parents. I wasn’t here to get involved, just to be a bystander to horror.
The beatings got more violent every time. Blood fountained up from my dad’s chest, spattering my face with hot liquid that filled my nose and mouth with hot copper. The vampire wrenched Dad’s heart out and sank his teeth into it, all the while keeping his eyes on me.
I sat up, shaking and crying and screaming so loud I couldn’t hear the running footsteps coming down the hall. Zack reached me first and hugged me tightly. I stopped screaming, only to keep babbling, “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy.”
“I think she’s asking for you.” I barely heard Brian say to Danny. I buried my face in Zack’s shirt and kept repeating “Daddy.” My knuckles were turning white where they were gripping him. All Zack could do was rub my back while I cried.
I couldn’t imagine what Zinnia thought when she walked in. I was sitting in Zack’s lap, crying into his shirt while the rest of the pack kinda just stood there and watched.
“What’s going on?” She demanded.
“That’s what I’d like to know.” Matt said in his no-nonsense voice. He had to wait about another ten minutes before I was calm enough to talk. Arin sat next to me and held my hand, a tissue box waiting on his knee. I managed a watery smile for him. Despite our rocky start, he was the closest one to my age and probably my closest friend here, aside from Zinnia.
I sniffled a little more and mopped my eyes. I didn’t know where to start. Thankfully, Matt jumped in.
“Why do you keep waking up screaming?” He asked.
“I have nightmares. About the night my parents were murdered.” I gritted my teeth. “They get worse and worse as time goes on.” I wiped my eyes again, trying to keep the tears back.
“How can we make it better?” Matt’s voice had gone soft and gentle and he leaned down so our eyes were level. It always seemed a little jarring when he was like this. He came off as such a hard-ass, so no-nonsense and unfeeling. And then sometimes he could be so gentle and caring. It was hard to know which side was the real Matt.
“I can’t sleep alone. I need someone near me.” I didn’t even know if that would really help my problem, but it seemed to keep me from screaming the house down. “As long as someone is close by I think I’ll be okay.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do. When Zinnia isn’t here one of us will be with you.” Matt squeezed my hand. I just nodded, unable to speak. I hated feeling so weak, and I hated looking so weak in front of the pack. I’d had a hard enough time joining them, I didn’t want to be thrown out for being too fragile to make it.