Sapphire Flame (Sapphire Wings Book 3)

“So, are you going to talk to me about it now?”

I didn’t bother looking up as I heard my father speak. It was several hours later, and the two of us were waiting in the main hall of the Sumarians’ lair while Michael and Raphael met with Morosa to talk about what was happening with me and Noel.

I’ll admit that things had been quiet since we’d gotten there, although part of that was for my bad mood. I was haunted by that vision of my mother, unable to get it out of my mind.

But I also refused to tell anyone about it, especially my dad. Yes, he’d heard me shatter that mirror and seen the aftermath, but I’d kept my mouth shut when he asked me what happened.

“About what?” I responded quietly.

“Don’t do that.” Dad sighed, sitting back against the wall beside me, “You punched your mirror and shattered it. Obviously, something happened to make you upset enough to do that.”

“I can’t talk about it right now,” I muttered.

Dad shook his head, rubbing his eyes. I glanced at him as he did this. He looked so tired now. I wanted to say something to comfort him, but I worried about what Noel might do. The last thing he needed was to be exposed to an image of my mother like I saw.

I could sense Noel giggling inside of me as I thought this. She knew full well how much stress she was inflicting on my father. It wouldn’t have surprised me at this point if she was trying to break him just to get to Raphael. After all, he was the kid that she’d never wanted him to have.

“You are very perceptive, aren’t you?” I heard her whisper.

“I told you to leave him alone,” I mentally whispered back, “I’m doing what you want, so leave him alone!”

Our debate was interrupted by the sound of the massive door across the room opening. Dad and I both looked up to see Morosa coming in with Michael and Raphael.

But there was someone else with them. It was a woman that I hadn’t seen before. I took it that she was another Sumarian. She was incredibly beautiful, even though she was also a bit more inhuman looking. Her skin, her hair, and even her long dress was pure white, and she seemed to emit a glow. Her large eyes were black, in stark contrast to all of that, and they were outlined with long matching eyelashes.

I’ll be the first to admit that I might have feared her if I’d seen her before meeting the other Sumarians like Morosa. By then, I was coming to the conclusion that some of the more powerful ones tended to look a little more inhuman.

“I see. So, this is our boy,” she stated as she stopped a few feet in front of me.

She actually seemed to be floating there, just as she’d been when she entered the room. Her dress billowed around her, and I was certain that her feet never touched the ground.

All at once, I felt Noel reel back inside of me. She seemed terrified of this Sumarian. I tried to stay still, but my entire body felt like it was revolting from her, even at this distance.

“You can feel her?” Morosa questioned as he stood beside the woman.

She nodded, “Very strongly. She’s quite upset at seeing me too, although it could also be his power reacting. It would know what I am and how opposite I am to his darkness.”

“Is there anything you can do about her, Lumae?” Raphael asked her.

Lumae, I thought as I internally fought against Noel. What an appropriate name for her.

But unfortunately, I wasn’t able to think about that too much. Instead, I was getting scared that I was losing this battle.

Lumae floated a little closer to me, holding up a hand.

“I cannot dislodge her,” she stated, “But I can tell you of her intentions.”

My consciousness was suddenly pushed back into the darkness of my mind, and Noel took complete control, jumping up and backing away from her.

“Don’t even think about touching me!” she warned her.

Lumae remained where she stood, not looking surprised at all by this show of aggression.

“I believe that it would be in all’s benefit if there was assistance in restraining her,” she stated as she looked at Morosa.

“Very well. Ren, come and subdue her.” Morosa ordered.

Ren jumped down from the ledge that he’d been watching us from since we arrived there. I had no doubt that they’d made sure that he’d be there, considering they probably anticipated all of this.

As for me, I remembered him very well from when they’d brought me there before. He was the one that helped catch me and then checked on me while they were waiting to send me home. He was a lot like Lenore in that he looked more like a normal person. He had dark brown hair and eyes, although his left eye was covered by that hair, and he looked like he was in his early twenties.

But even though he looked small for a guy, he was incredibly fast and strong. I had a feeling that he may have been one of their best fighters.

“Problems already?” he asked, grinning at Morosa.

“Hold him so that Lumae can read him,” Morosa responded, not bothering to acknowledge his teasing tone.

“Always with the straight face. You really could stand to lighten up a bit.” Ren commented.

“Do as we asked,” Morosa ordered, his eyes narrowing a bit.

Ren took it all in stride. He looked at me, then suddenly, he was gone. I couldn’t believe how fast he was. Even though I’d seen it before, I was still shocked at his sudden disappearance. Within seconds, he was behind me, holding my arms tightly. Noel struggled hard against him, but it was no use. He had her in a hold that she’d never be able to break.

“Let me go you freak!” she yelled.

“Don’t fight so much. You know it’s no use.” Ren reminded her.

“Do you want me to hurt this boy?!” she threatened.

“You know I won’t let you do that, so don’t even threaten it,” Ren responded evenly.

It did worry me dad though, “Are you sure about that?” he asked him.

“Give me some credit here. This is part of my duties, and I promise you, I am very good at what I do.” Ren assured him.

“He’ll be fine, Raziel. Just let them do what they have to. Besides, Ren is one of their strongest fighters. He’ll make certain that no harm is done.” Raphael added.

I felt terrible for my father and tried pushing my way out again, but Noel wasn’t budging. Instead, she was acting more like a demon than a possessing spirit. She screeched and growled, spitting at Lumae as she floated toward her. But Lumae easily dodged it.

Noel laughed at her as they were face to face, “Go ahead and try to read me,” she challenged, “I’ll throw you out!”

Lumae showed no worry about this, nor did she hesitate to reach up and place her hand over my eyes. Noel was immediately silenced when she did. I was also caught in her grip. It was like she had brought herself into my mind, and we were now standing face to face, surrounded by the darkness as her glow illuminated us.

“Hello, Noah. It’s nice to meet you.” she greeted me.

“I’m taking it that your name is Lumae.” I responded. I unconsciously took a step back from her.

“It is.” Lumae confirmed, “Please, do not fear me. I promise that would never harm you. I only wish to help you.”

“Can you make her leave?” I asked, feeling a little hopeful.

Lumae shook her head, “Unfortunately, I cannot. She’s far too strong for me to drive out, especially with this curse still wrapped around her soul. But I can help find out what has motivated her to do all of this. I do not believe that it is all from the curse.”

She looked to our right, and I followed her gaze to see what looked like an old film playing in front of us. It was strange to see the images there. It was of my grandfather, aunt, and uncle as children. But the picture then changed from a happy one with them to that of the man I’d seen in that vision. The eyes of the film showed her being trapped in a cage of some kind as she looked at him.

Then, it changed back to the family again. But as it did, a coldness rose up, and I swore I saw darkness wrapping around me. The pictures began to warp and distort until nothing could be made out.

“I see now. It controls here still, and has convinced her to blame them, especially him, when she wishes for something more.” Lumae stated. She sounded thoughtful as she spoke.

“Why can’t we see anymore? Is it the curse’s effect on her?” I inquired.

“Yes. It is the distortion of insanity that it aims to cause. There is no reading past a distortion like that for most. However, I am coming to much understanding with this now. Not only has the curse distorted and controlled her mind, but there is another reason here that Noel chose to come back this way. However, her reason may be overridden by the power this darkness has, and in this distortion from it, she cannot stop blaming her family for what has happened to her, especially Michael and Raphael. She particularly feels strong conflicted emotions toward Raphael, both believing he owes her something and begging for him to give her something he cannot at this time. Unfortunately, with this curse in control, it has kept shifting her mind to destroy the most precious things to him as revenge for that.” Lumae explained.

“What does she mean by his most precious things?” I dared ask.

“You and your father. This darkness wishes for her to torture and kill both of you.”

A wave of terror swept through me as I heard those words. It’s one thing to know when someone in the physical world threatens to hurt you and your family. You can defend against that. But when it’s a spirit possessed by a demon’s curse that’s entered your body, things take on a totally new sense of horror. Suddenly, you’re not comfortable in your own skin. You’re anticipating the evitable outcome that they have planned for you, and for me, it was much worse. This darkness wrapped around her had other things in mind before it made sure that we were dead.

“What going to happen to us?” I whispered, not able to hide the shiver that went through me. It felt colder again, like the darkness around us had gotten deeper.

Lumae floated closer to me, her glow illuminating us and making us warmer as she touched my cheek to comfort me. I was a little surprised to realize now that I was nearly a foot taller than her. I guess she’d seemed so intimidating at first that I hadn’t even noticed how small she was.

“Be not afraid, Noah. Your family will not let anything more happen to any of you, and she will fight it too as hard as she can. Soon enough, it will be ended. He promised her that, just as he promised all of you.” she promised.

As she said this, I suddenly found that we were back on the outside and I was in full control of my body again. Lumae was still standing in front of me, and I could feel where Ren was holding my arms.

“It’s okay now, Ren. He is in control, so you can let go.” Lumae told him.

“You’re the boss,” Ren responded, releasing me.

Lumae chuckled, then turned to look at the others, resuming a more serious tone, “I must ask you something now, Michael. How much have you come to know about this curse and its effects on your family, particularly your little sister?”

“Not much. We knew how it allowed her to control our family and try to turn us against each other before, but afterward, we didn’t see her for over three years until she returned and died with our mother.” Michael admitted.

“What did you see Lumae?” Morosa asked her.

“Very much.” Lumae admitted, “Noel Renaldi’s spirit is both extremely confused and very influenced. The core of the darkness that Fallen left has wrapped around her soul, distorting everything and attempting complete control of her. Even if that small, rational part of her begs for help, she cannot keep it up for the distortions it is causing her mind.”

“Is there even a way to expel her like this?” Raphael asked her.

Lumae was solemn as she shook her head, “It will take much time. However, I have seen much now Raphael Renaldi, and I would dare say that some of this was a result of your own guilt. You cannot help her or your grandson until you let that go.” she warned him.

“I am aware of that, and I can assure you that I will deal with my own issues involving this now,” Raphael promised.

I wasn’t sure if Lumae believed that, but she allowed it to be let go, turning back to me.

“Listen carefully, Noah. There is a star that has been cut into your leg. Do not let anyone aside from yourself touch that star. It will incite the rage that the curse has embedded into her toward that person. I can try to seal her there for now so that she cannot cause you any more harm, but I cannot say that it will hold once this curse is back to full strength.” she told me.

I immediately agreed in the hopes that it would work for now. Anything to keep her from hurting my family more.

Lumae knelt down and held her hand over my thigh, and I saw a soft glow surround where the star was. It burned a little until that light faded. But as it did, I couldn’t feel Noel’s presence anymore. It was like I was free again. I couldn’t believe how peaceful I felt too. It was more than I had felt in the last year.

“This is weird,” I commented quietly.

Lumae smiled, “What you are feeling now is freedom. You feel the real you, not the one controlled by the Fallen’s influence. I think that you will find that you understand much more of yourself like this.” she told me.

Her words would stay with me for a long time after returning home. There wasn’t much more to be done than that, and we all had to accept that we would need to wait just a little longer to figure out how to get Noel out of me, not to mention set her free.

I couldn’t stop thinking about that last part. Even though I thought at first that I’d hate Noel for what happened to my mother, now I felt sorry for her. She’d been suffering for so long with this. Was she really trying to beg for help from us, from Raphael in particular?

The thought haunted me, and I did my best to push it to the back of my mind, telling myself that there was nothing I could personally do right now. This had to run its course, and hopefully, there would be help for Noel soon, along with completely setting me free.

As I sat in my room the next night with this resolve in my mind, I did my best to enjoy the peacefulness that I continued to feel inside of me. I was thinking about everything else that I’d been feeling in the last few months, and writing down notes at my piano, I considered how much of it had never been me, especially the attraction I swore for so long I’d felt towards Seraphina. While I still loved her like a sister and close friend, that was all it really was. This only sealed it in my mind. It was all that curse trying to consume me with Noel.

I shook my head, trying to push all of the thoughts away. Instead, I focused on my mother. I’d gotten to see her again that morning, and she was doing so much better. She was awake and alert, and had been elated to see me. I admit that I had tears in my eyes as I hugged her. I’d still felt so guilty over what she’d gone through, and that vision was still haunting me.

But Mom only focused on me, telling me how happy she was that I was okay, and how she was looking forward to coming home soon and being with me and Dad again.

I am too, I thought. I can’t wait for her to be back with us.

A knock at my door brought me back to reality. I looked over to see Mia coming in with some laundry. She’d been stopping by to help out around our house since Mom had gone to the hospital.

“You didn’t have to do all of that,” I said as I stood up.

Mia just smiled at me, “I don’t mind, and it’s nice to keep myself busy when I drop by. It feels weird without Anna around.” she admitted.

Her smile was a little painful for me to see. It reminded me so much of my mother. They were actually a lot alike in many ways.

“By the way,” Mia continued as I put my clothes away, “how was your mom this morning? I didn’t get the chance to ask Raziel before he headed back to the hospital.”

“She’s doing a lot better. She keeps telling them that she’s ready to go home, but they’ve said that she should still stay there for a few more days, just to be safe.” I answered.

Mia laughed, “I’m sure Anna’s pushing them as hard as she can on that. She’s probably worried over how you and Raziel are doing without her.”

“Yeah, we know, but she needs to think about herself more too.”

“It’s just a mom and wife thing, especially when something happens where our family needs us. It’s just how we are.”

I stood back, leaning against my wall with my arms crossed as I took in her words, “A mom thing huh?” I muttered.

Mia turned to face me, “Well, hopefully, Anna will be home soon, so we can put all of this behind us. Besides, it seems like things are starting to look up too. She’s doing better and so is Seraphina, so maybe all of this is about to be over.” she suggested.

I’ll admit that I wanted to believe that. I wanted it with every fiber of my being. But somehow, I couldn’t help worrying. Noel was still inside of me and still influenced by this curse. I could even still feel the star throb here and there as it fought for freedom from that seal. I looked at it as allowing me not to get too comfortable.

I laid in bed several hours later thinking about all of this before I finally decided to get up and roam a little more. It was very late, nearly midnight, but I couldn’t sleep, so I reasoned that maybe walking around the house would help clear my mind.

I’ll admit that I’d picked up one of Sevee’s bad habits lately in going to bed naked, and the room felt cold as I got up and headed to my closet. I was kind of glad that my mother didn’t usually check on me once I’d gone to sleep. I might not hear the end of that one.

I chuckled as I thought about that. I was nearly sixteen now. I should have been giving her and dad the normal headaches of having a teenager. Maybe once all of this was over and settled, I’d work on that one.

After getting dressed, I stepped out into the dark hallway, heading over to where my parents’ bedroom was. The door was half-open, and I peeked in there to see my father lying in the bed. He wasn’t asleep either. I watched as he sat up, letting out a tired sigh. That worried me, so I decided to say something.

“Dad? Are you okay?” I asked quietly as I came into the room.

Dad looked over to where I was standing near the door. I could see through the darkness that he was a little surprised.

“Yeah. What are you doing up? Is she bothering you?” he asked me.

I shook my head, “No. It’s more of my own mind racing right now.” I reassured him.

My dad patted the bed beside him, “Want to hang out in here for a while? Maybe we’ll both feel better with keeping each other company.” he suggested.

“I don’t mind. I actually do feel better hanging out with you.” I confessed.

No, I didn’t mind lying there with him at all. I’d done this plenty of times as a kid, and with Mom not there, I admit that I needed some kind of familiar comfort, even if I was a teenager.

I was a little startled though when I laid on the other side of the bed. That pillow, it smelled like my mom; that sweet, comforting smell of her shampoo and perfume. God, I could’ve taken in that smell forever at this point. I never thought I could miss someone so much.

Dad laid beside me, turning to face me. He probably knew what I was thinking.

“She’ll come home soon. With how she’s doing now, I’m sure of it,” he promised me.

“I just miss her. You do too, huh?” I noted.

“Yeah,” Dad breathed, closing his eyes, “Even back when we were dating, I hated not sleeping beside her at night. Your mom has always had this way of comforting me just by being with me. I felt that even after we first met. No other girl ever really made me feel as calm and secure as she did, even if she didn’t trust me at first. Oh well. I guess she had the right not to with how quickly I wanted to move with everything.”

The memory of what Noel had been saying came back to my mind as he said this. Maybe now would be a good time to talk about that and see what he’d say. It was just the two of us.

“Hey, Dad, there is something I’ve been wanting to ask you about,” I spoke up. I knew how hesitant I was sounding, but forced myself to go on, “I could still see and hear when Noel took control of me before Pop and Michael came in, and she was saying something to you about this girl you knew before Mom. But I don’t remember you ever mentioning anything like that before, and Mom hasn’t either. I just remember always hearing you both say that you’ve been together since you were fifteen, and I was born when you were eighteen.”

Dad listened to this quietly, although I could see his eyes widen a little. He was trying hard to hide his shock at me hearing this. He must have thought that I didn’t.

“Well…” he hesitated. I watched as he turned onto his back, rubbing his eyes, “I really wasn’t thinking that I’d ever have to talk about this again. It’s not that me or your mom wanted to keep you in the dark about it. It’s just something that’s been rough on me for a long time, and I’ve always tried to avoid it. Your mom’s always been good to me about it too, and I guess she’s let me get away with it. Hell, she lets me get away with a lot at times.”

“I get that it’s probably something really tough to talk about. At least, with how it sounded. But seriously Dad, I’m not judging or anything. I just want to know what she was talking about. That’s all.” I insisted.

“I know, and you have a right to know now. It might not be things you want to hear, but I don’t want to hide them from you, especially knowing all the stuff that happened before I was born that my dad didn’t tell me.” Dad relented.

I shifted a little on the bed as he turned to face me. Yes, I felt a little nervous about knowing this stuff now, but I couldn’t deny how curious I was too. Something major had happened to my dad back when he was a teen, and I wondered if it also tied in with the family curse.

Dad took a long breath before he continued, “This all happened the year before I met your mom. I had just started my second year of high school here, and I’d always called Madison my home. I knew most of the other kids around here, and I guess you could say they all knew me for who my dad is. Anyway, it was shortly after that year started that a new girl moved to Madison. Her name was Faith Kent, and she’d moved here to live with her aunt. From what I’d been hearing through the gossip circles around here, it was because her father was a severe alcoholic and couldn’t take care of her.”

“So, she was the girl that Noel was talking about, huh?” I guessed.

“Yeah,” Dad confirmed. He had a faraway look in his eyes as he continued, “I didn’t see her until about a week after she’d gotten into town, and it was at the high school. While I’ll always say that your mother is the most beautiful woman to me, I admit that Faith was the same way when I first saw her. I couldn’t take my eyes off her when I saw her in my first class, and I had to talk to her right away afterward. She was a really small girl from what I remember, with this long blonde hair and really dark brown eyes. She also had this killer body even though she was so short. But she was really quiet too. I took a lot of that as her being traumatized by where she’d come from. She even admitted to me that her father turned to alcohol because her mother was murdered when she was little. She definitely seemed to have a rough life before coming here.”

I could get the picture he was painting with this. A beautiful girl who had a rough past. With the way he described her, I probably would’ve been attracted to her right away too. I’d felt stuff kind of like that before, even if it was more looking at celebrities and some stuff that I’d never tell him about.

“She sounds beautiful. I guess I could see where you’d feel that way toward her. But what ended up happening? Obviously, she’s not around here anymore, and she wasn’t when you met Mom.” I pointed out.

Dad shook his head, “No. To make a long story short, it was easy for me to become good friends with her, and it wasn’t that long at all before we ended up as more than friends. I’ll always say that I was a stupid teenage boy during that time too. I didn’t even think twice about what I was doing with her. But it came back to bite me a few months later. Well, at least I thought it did. That was when she told me that she was pregnant.”

I felt my eyes widen as he said that, and Noel’s words echoed in my head. The little one he’d lost. There was one before me, or, at least, that’s how it sounded.

“Was the baby really yours?” I had to know.

“No,” Dad confessed, “I didn’t know it at first, but there was something very wrong with Faith Kent. The bad things that happened with her family and around her weren’t just bad luck. Her soul was being stalked by a Fallen Angel. Your grandfather figured that out right before Faith told me that she was pregnant, and he warned me that he was afraid this baby wasn’t really mine and that this demon was trying to lure me in. But I didn’t want to believe it. As stupid as it was, I wanted that baby. I wanted to be a dad, and I thought that somehow, we’d be able to free her from that demon and I could have a long, happy life with her.”

“But that didn’t happen.” I sighed.

Dad was quiet for a few minutes before he continued, now looking pained, “No, it didn’t. He took her away right before she was ready to have it, and told us that it was a lie. The baby had never been mine. They were his.” Dad paused again as he closed his eyes and willed himself to stay calm. It was obvious this memory was still incredibly painful for him, “I was so angry and hurt after that. I’d never felt anything like it before, and I could barely stand it. I thought I was going to lose my mind, and I locked myself up in my room for a few days after that. Your grandfather and aunt and uncle got really worried, and they decided that it would be better to seal that memory for me to help me, so that’s what your grandfather ended up doing; and it worked a little. I did at least start feeling a little more like myself.”

“But you remembered eventually, and what about everyone else who knew her? They probably thought the baby was yours too. How’d you all deal with that?” I asked him.

“Raphael and Michael did. They were able to manipulate all the memories so that no one remembered those things. All they knew was that Faith had said that she was pregnant, but died in a tragic house fire shortly afterward.”

“Good cover,” I muttered.

I was still processing all of this. It was no wonder my dad didn’t want to think about all of that. This girl and this demon had used him for everything he had and nearly broken him.

“But you know, Noah,” Dad suddenly continued after a few minutes of silence, “I never truly forgot. What your grandfather did helped me to move on, but I never forgot what happened with Faith. To be honest about it, the only way I saw to truly try to get over it was to move on as quickly as possible. As insane as it sounds, that’s what brought me to your mom. I felt it from the moment I laid eyes on her that morning at the school. She was the girl I’d move on with, even if it was just a fling, to help me forget about Faith.”

Again, Noel’s harsh words were making sense.

“I get it now. You got with mom because you were hoping she’d help you forget about Faith. But then you ended up falling in love with her anyway.” I surmised.

Dad chuckled, “It’s funny, but you what? I think I fell in love with her faster than I realized. Your mom has always been everything I never knew I’d wanted in a girl. She’s fun, sporadic, and sometimes temperamental. But the biggest thing that attracted me to her was how honest she was. When she didn’t believe me about liking her at first, she straight out told me so. She never hesitated in those first months to tell me how weird it was that this rich boy would be so interested in what she called a ‘country bumpkin’ like her. That honesty really attracted me, and I knew right away that I could never just walk away from her.”

“A country bumpkin, huh?” I laughed, “What does she think this place is full of?”

“Tell me about it,” Dad laughed too, “But seriously, I kept up the friendship and pushed for more, and she did finally give in. But I’ll tell you that Noel was wrong too. By the time that happened, I was already deeply in love with her. I knew that Anna was the one I wanted to be with, and I’d do anything to prove that to her. We also didn’t have you just to replace that baby I thought was mine. To be perfectly honest about it, your mom shocked me when she announced to me that she was pregnant. I had no idea she’d stopped taking her birth control. But I was also so happy when she told me. You were all we ever could’ve wanted, and I found peace inside of me when I learned that we were having you. I still got to have a beautiful wife, and then I was blessed with you.”

A warmth filled me as I heard this and saw his expression. It was so content. He was telling me the truth, although I’d always known it anyway. Dad was happiest with his family, and he was grateful to have us. No matter what had happened in the past, we were his present and his future.

“For what it’s worth Dad, I’m glad that I’m your son too. I’m happy that you and Mom are my parents, and I always have been, even if I haven’t always said it out loud.” I told him.

“You don’t always have to, Noah. It’s hard growing up and it’s hard being a teenager. Trust me, I totally get it. Not only did I grow up like you knowing what our family was and how I was going to be a Nephilim, but I also had this chip on my shoulder for a long time because I didn’t have my mom. Even though Gabrielle did a lot with me, it wasn’t the same. I’m just happy that you have yours, and I have her too. I know how hard it’s always been on my dad’s heart since my mom died, and I guess that’s what else scared me with what happened to Anna. I didn’t want you to lose your mom too, and I can’t stand the thought of losing the woman I love so much.” Dad confessed.

I looked down, not sure of whether I should say what I was thinking, but knew that I had to.

“Dad, I know it’s hard and all, but mom’s also only human. She’s going to get older, and even though I try not to think about it, she can get sick, and she can die.”

Dad patted my shoulder, “It’s okay, Noah. I get it, and I fear it too, but let’s try not to think about it now. Your mom’s still young for a human, and she’s always been in great health. Personally, I think she looks great too. She doesn’t look that different from when I met her.”

I smiled, “Yeah, I think so too. Mom’s a beautiful woman, both inside and out.”

“Hey, why don’t we get some rest now? You can stay here if you want. It doesn’t bother me.” Dad went on.

“I guess. I kind of feel better being here with you too after all of this.” I confessed.

“I get it, but don’t worry too much about me either. I promise I’m doing okay. Besides, it helps to have you close for a while too, and we’ll both feel a lot better when your mom comes home.”

I took his words to heart as I agreed and said good night to him. Curling up a bit with my mom’s pillow, I took in the familiar sweet scent as I began drifting off to sleep. Dad was right. No matter what happened, we’d be okay eventually. He’d lived through hell too, and he’d made a good life. Hopefully, that meant that I would too once this was all over.

Once I was truly free.