Pete comes out next, stopping beside Dex as his brows furrow at the developing situation. “What’s going on?” he whispers. I can feel a strange tension filling the room. What changed in the past ten minutes?
“Apparently, she refuses to go to bed. She wants to watch TV out here,” Dex replies.
“So,” Pete says with a shrug. “Let her, what’s the harm?”
Jagger turns to us and starts signing.“Something else is going on. She was happy when she climbed into bed, but before Sly could get in, she jumped up like her ass was on fire, claiming she wasn’t tired.”
“She loves bedtime,” Dex mumbles. “She loves cuddling.” I try not to bristle and show my jealousy, and instead focus my energy on the girl currently giving everyone the cold shoulder as she starts channel surfing.
I’ve watched her through the camera for years, although it’s very different from seeing her in person. But I’ve gotten used to seeing her reactions, and this one is one I’ve seen a few times. “Something’s scared her,” I say with realization.
Immediately, I head down the hall and into the bedroom she was using. Standing in the middle, I turn around in a circle, but am unable to figure out what would scare her. I take a seat in the middle of the bed, where she presumably was, as Jagger and Pete watch me curiously from the doorway.
What was she looking at when she freaked out? Looking straight ahead, I can see into the bathroom, the wall-mounted TV, the closed closet door, the window with blinds pulled across it, and the dresser.
I shrug as I glance at the other two. “Everything seems normal here. Maybe she just remembered something that scared her? Maybe she was thinking about how she was taken in the night.”
Pete nods. “Probably best to let her fall asleep out there. We can just carry her in here once she’s asleep.”
I follow them back out and see Dex and Sly have settled on either side of her. She seems relaxed as she leans against Sly, watching TV. She doesn’t look upset anymore. I’m sureshe has lots of bad memories that must haunt her from time to time.
Jagger sits in the free chair, and Pete manages to squeeze on the couch with them, lifting Wren and placing her in his lap. She smiles up at him as he does it, and a pang of jealousy hits me in the chest. With nowhere for me to sit, I head to my bedroom, even though I know sleep will most likely evade me.
I must be more tired than I thought, though, because as soon as my head hits the pillow, I’m out like a light, only waking when Wren’s scream wrenches me from my sleep.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
SLY
“She’s asleep,”Jagger signs, and I lean forward to see her closed eyes where she leans against Pete’s chest. A smile tugs at my lips. For a woman who claimed not to be tired, she fell asleep awfully fast. We haven’t even finished the episode of… whatever god-awful show this is.
I switch the TV off as Pete slowly stands, lifting her in his arms as he goes. I lead the way down the hall and pull back the covers so he can place her in the middle. Jagger quickly climbs in on the far side and gently guides her into his arms.
As Pete steps back, she moans a little and snuggles closer. I kneel on the bed just as her eyes slowly blink open. She looks at me in confusion, then her gaze moves across the room. Suddenly, she gasps, yanking away from Jagger and all but crashing into me.
“Hey, it’s okay, we’re here.” I place my hands on her shoulders, trying to get her to look at me, but her head is thrashing around like she doesn’t know where she is.
“I-I need to get out of here!”
“Out of where?” I ask as she tries to movearound me, but I hold onto her, wanting to know what’s wrong and a little scared she’ll run right out the front door if I don’t keep hold of her.
“Please! Just let me go!”
“Go where?” Pete asks, moving to my side as he tries to rest a hand on her arm, but she keeps trying to pull away.
“What’s going on?” Dex asks, stepping up behind us.
“I don’t know,” Pete says as we continually try to stop her from running.
“Wren, it’s just us. You’re safe here,” I tell her calmly, but she just shakes her head.
“No, let me go!”
I take my hands off her and hold them up, palms facing her, and use my body to block her instead. She keeps glancing over her shoulder to the corner of the room, but there’s nothing there.
“Do you see someone else in here with us?” I ask in concern.Is she hallucinating?
She shakes her head, but her body starts to tremble. I’m really starting to worry about her. This wasn’t like the panic attacks she’s had before.
