Molly's home from the hospital. Everyone is still shaken by Dr. Spiner's death, so she orders and impromptu concert.
"I'll take the vocal on this one," Raleigh said. He'd been singing harmony quietly from time to time, but hadn't volunteered to take lead. He cleared his throat, nodding at them to begin. He sang the entire song to Molly, holding her hand as he gazed into her eyes. It wouldn't have mattered if the others were in the room. Molly and Raleigh were in their own little world. When the song ended, he kissed her lightly on the lips.
"Thank you," she murmured, wiping a tear.
"I love you," he replied quietly. "Thank you for my son."
The others, sensing they needed some privacy, quietly took the guitars back to the studio and made their way upstairs. It was almost lights out, so they didn't linger in the hallway.
Emma tapped on Sammy's door. "Suddenly, I'm terrified," she said, her eyes large. "I keep imagining that man—"
"You're safe here, Em."
"I guess you're right. But still.... Can I sleep in here?"
"Molly would have a cow."
"She'll never know. I'll leave before she even sees me. No one will rat us out. I just want to sleep, Sam."
"Yeah, I know," he acted disappointed. "I guess I can live with that. Though how my nuts are gonna feel in the morning—I dunno."
"You can pleasure yourself in the shower." She went back to her room for her pillow.
Sam's barking laugh followed her across the hall. The lights in the bedrooms went out as she came back to his room. The lights in the hall dimmed at night, but remained on. Emma could see a little bit due to the light trickling under the door. She found her way to the bed and slid in beside Sam, lying on her side, facing the door. He cuddled behind her, his arm around her.
"I wouldn't do this for anyone else," he mumbled, already half asleep.
"I know. And no one else makes me feel as safe as you do." Emma kissed his hand. "I love you, Sam. Good night."
"Night, Emmie Lou," he squeezed her breast. "You're killing me."
They settled down for the night and were soon sleeping soundly.
Sam sat up in bed, befuddled and disoriented. Something had woken him, but he couldn't figure out what it was. Emma lay beside him, sound asleep. What had he heard? A noise in the hall? Something outside? He had grown accustomed to the nighttime noises here, but this was out of the ordinary. Not hearing a repeat, he lay back down, but he was too warm with Emma in the bed. He was usually warm when he slept, and she made him too hot. He flipped the blanket off his feet and tried to get comfortable, but the twin bed wasn't made for two, especially when one of them was Sam's size.
He got up and used the bathroom, coming back to find Emma sprawled across the bed. He made a halfhearted effort to wake her, but she was too soundly asleep. Instead, he took an extra blanket and went to the recliner by the window. He couldn't sleep anyway, so he might as well get up for a bit. A glance at the clock told him it was around three in the morning. He settled in the recliner. Suddenly chilly, he tucked the blanket around his legs.
Movement outside caught his attention. Ravenwood was an elongated L shape with their part of the facility making the foot. This was the part of the building that housed the doctor's offices, pool and gymnasium. His room was on the back of the building, overlooking the lock down wing. Something was going on over there. All the lights were on and searchlights swept the grounds. People wandered around in distinct search patterns.
Sam's vision was poor enough that he couldn't see explicit details, but he was pretty sure that the searchers were armed. Intrigued, Sam eased himself out of the chair onto the broad windowsill. He sat there for over an hour, watching the dark figures move around. He realized that they weren't so much looking for something, but guarding.
They're worried that Gerard Hempe will come back. Have they spotted him? Is he on the grounds?
©2020 Dellani Oakes
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