BLAME IT ON THE PAIN : EPISODE 11 – 20
EPISODE 19
BY AUTHORESS ZION
“No! Daddy! Please, no!”
Her screams are the equivalent of waking up to a shotgun going off. She’s trembling so hard, I’m convinced she must be having a seizure.
I jump up and flick on the light beside the bed, her screams quickly turning into muffled cries. I gently nudge her, but she doesn’t wake. “Alyssa, you’re okay. It’s just a bad dream,” I say. I hold her by the shoulders and try a little harder this time, and finally the shaking stops and her eyes open wide.
She looks around the room, confusion marring her face briefly before she realizes where she is. “Oh god. I’m so sorry.” She sits up in the bed. “This is beyond embarrassing.”
Her eyes dart to the door and she makes to stand but I gently pull her back to me. I’m all too aware of how much of a flight risk she is and she’s not running away from me this time. Especially in this state.
“This happen often?” I ask.
Her head falls against my chest and she lets out a deep breath before whispering, “Not really. Only when I’m exhausted. Usually, I don’t allow myself to sleep that soundly because I know what the end result will be.”
That’s when it sinks in that it wasn’t just a random bad dream, but a reoccurring nightmare. I tip her chin up to look at me. “What happened, Alyssa? Trust me enough to let me in.” I kss her forehead. “Please.”
She fidgets and squirms out of my arms. Just when I think she’s about to bolt, she looks at me and does the one thing I’ve been waiting for since I met her.
She drops her armor and opens up to me.
(Alyssa)
Past…(FLAHBACKS)
“Really, cupcakes for breakfast, Graham?” my mother cried. “That is not an appropriate breakfast for a 9-year-old.”
I grinned around a mouth full of my heavily laden chocolate frosted cupcake. “But I’ll be 10 in two days, Mommy,” I argued. Before my mother could protest further, I added, “And look, Daddy put goblins on them!”
Since my birthday fell on Halloween, my father’s nickname for me had always been ‘goblin.’ Most little girls would have hated it and wished for a nickname more feminine like ‘Princess’ or ‘Pumpkin’, but I loved it.
My mother shook her head and looked at my father. A soft smile spread across his face when he walked over to her and held a cupcake up to her lips. “Come on, honey. Take a bite. No one can resist little goblins.” He looked at me and winked. “Isn’t that right?”
I nodded my head in excitement. “Do it, Mommy. Please.”
She let out a frustrated sigh before she took a haphazard bite. She pursed her lips and looked at me, her expression much softer than it was a moment ago. “Okay,” she conceded. “Finish your cupcake, but no more. You need to get ready for school.”
My father pulled my mother closer. “You have some frosting right here,” he whispered before he kissed her.
I scrunched my nose and made a face. “But it’s my birthday,” I whined, effectively interrupting their moment. “Why can’t I stay home with you? Or go to work with Daddy?”
My mother put her hands on her hips and gave me ‘the look.’ I knew that look well. “Alyssa Ford Tanner. It’s not your birthday yet. Now finish the rest of your cupcake and get ready for school.”
Yup, she called me by my full name. She meant business.
I scrambled off the counter top and let out a giggle when my father swooped down and picked me up. “I’ll tell you what, little goblin. How about I drive you to school today?”
My face lit up. “You mean it?” I asked incredulously.
All my dad did was work non-stop, especially as of late. Sometimes an entire week or two would pass without me ever seeing him.
This time, it had been almost three whole weeks. I hated it, but he promised me he would be around for my birthday weekend.
I overheard him telling my mother that him and Ford, his best friend, and partner, were working on their most important case and trying to gather intel, but they were encountering some unforeseen problems.
I didn’t really understand it, but I knew my father had a very important job.
He caught the bad guys.
However, he never wore a uniform like some of the other officers I saw. Instead, he mostly wore suits to work and participated in things called ‘stakeouts’ or ‘going undercover.’ People at work also referred to him as ‘Special Agent.’ Whatever that meant.
I knew he traveled to the city a lot. That’s where his headquarters and most of his cases were located. It was also his favorite place in the whole entire world.
BLAME IT ON THE PAIN : EPISODE 11 – 20
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