Children of Darkness (9 page)

We look around my house until we both come back with something fitting. I find some beautiful shells from my collection that I thought would fit to cover Max. He loved to run around on the beach and dig up hermit crabs, only to run away when they came out of their shell. Big dog was scared of little crustacean. I chuckle sadly at the memory of him dropping the shells and running away. He was such a goofball.

I walk into the dining room and set the shells on my table and Coby joins me with something in his hands. I look and see driftwood. I can’t place the item until he puts it on the table for me to see.

“It’s the driftwood cross we found at that shop on the beach the first day we took Max to the beach together. I think it would be a perfect marker for Max,” he says as he takes my hand.

I think back to that day. Coby didn’t know that such a fierce looking dog could have so much fun on the beach. He chased Max around and they dug for shells together. Coby even chased Max with a hermit crab a couple times. Max didn’t like that one bit. I took pictures and laughed most of the day over those two. We walked along the little shops and Max went into one of them. We followed him in and that’s when I saw the cross. Someone had cleverly picked out driftwood and tied the two pieces together with netting. The netting had tiny shells attached to the threads and it was so well done that I had to buy it.

The memory makes me smile and I know it is the perfect marker. “You did a wonderful job picking this out, baby. We had so much fun that day,” I say as I hug the cross to my chest.

We pick up all the shells and the cross and walk outside to Max’s grave. He grabs the shovel and makes a spot to stand the cross beside the grave facing the swing. I lower the cross in the small hole and he piles the dirt around it so it stays. We then place the shells on the grave and say something we love about Max with each one. It is a beautiful display of love when we stand up to look at it.

“It’s perfect,” I say into Coby’s chest. “Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Janet. I should be thanking you for letting me be a part of this.” He hugs me tightly, then leads me back inside. I make coffee and we sit on the couch sharing memories of Max. He stays with me that night and helps me relax. Coby falls asleep on my lap and I spend the rest of the night thinking back on what could have been if Max would’ve never met me.

By the second day, I notice there is no sign of the children. No sounds of laughter and no footsteps in my house. I still need to tell Emily that they are real, but the urgency of it dimmed. Her parents still haven’t contacted me, so I send another email.

I let Coby sleep in as I get things done around the house. I make a pot of coffee and cook some breakfast. I know he likes pancakes, so I make him chocolate chip pancakes with strawberry syrup and bacon on the side.

I set the table and walk into the living room to see if he is awake yet. I come through the doorway to see a blob under the covers on the couch. A smile stretches my face.
My blob.
Walking over on light feet, I come next to him to find an ear peeking out of the covers. I lean down and catch his ear between my teeth lightly.

He gasps and rolls over to grab me and pull me down to him. I laugh and push back to see his face.

“Good morning, sleepy head,” I said.

His smile could win awards and make women everywhere swoon. “It’s always a good morning waking up to you.”

He nuzzles my neck and I giggle. All of a sudden, his head pops up and his nostrils flare.

“Do I smell bacon and chocolate?” His eyes light up with surprise and hunger.

“Why, yes sir, you sure do. Your breakfast awaits you, my love,” I reply against his lips.

I hear a grumble in his chest as he begins to devour me. “I have something else in mind before I eat…”

“No you don’t, you scoundrel! Your breakfast is getting cold and everyone knows chocolate chip pancakes are best when hot.” He pouts while his hands roam. “Stop that! Come on,” I say as I roll off the couch and race to the dining room with Coby on my heels.

A few hours later, he heads home to change, shower and get ready for work. I stay home and clean the kitchen. I walk through the house missing Max with every step. Checking my email, disappointment fills me as there is still no response from the Frosts.

I check my phone but find no messages from them on there either. Stacy sent a text this morning asking how I was and what was wrong. I quickly respond that there was a family emergency and I am not ready to talk about it. I know she is asking as a friend and to have something to tell my patients that are missing sessions due to my absence.

She replies quickly that she would talk to everyone and let them know what is going on. I thank her and think the conversation over, but another text comes through. She asks if I want her to come over with food and a movie and reminds me how good Hugh Jackman looks in the movie
Australia
. I laugh but kindly tell her now is just not a good time.

After all the catching up I can handle, I walk to the living room and put on Rin Tin Tin. Not sure if I did it to punish myself for putting Max in this situation or if I sorely miss him, but I watch it all the same.

“You’ll always be my hero,” I say to the collar lying on my coffee table.

Walking to the kitchen, I look in the pantry to see if I have an appetite for anything. Nothing looks appealing so I move to the fridge. Spotting some Hot Pockets, my stomach begins to growl.
Hot Pockets it is.
I pop them into the microwave and pour a glass of water. I down the whole thing before the timer beeps for my food and I refill the cup just in time.

Weariness beats at my body and my eyes feel dry and gritty. It has been over thirty-six hours since I’ve been to sleep and I have no intention on sleeping anytime soon. My body just isn’t agreeing with my mind. I make another pot of coffee and drink two cups quickly.

The grit remains stuck to my eyes and I swear my body starts filling with lead. I drag myself to the couch and pull the cover Coby and I used the previous night up to my chin. The children are waiting for me, I know it.

Fear doesn’t have any room to be in my body tonight. My brain can’t process fear so my body remains tired and worn. I slowly close my eyes and imagine the grotesque children. Their figures don’t bring the cold terror that usually freezes my body. The dry lump that sticks in my throat at the sight of them never comes.

I am ready to face the little demons that have haunted me for years. My heart still beats in my chest at a normal pace. I will be ready to confront them and find out why they never left me. I will stand tall against The Leader and demand an explanation for Max, for Emily.

My body weighs down and my head feels light. I drift off into the sea of dreams. I open my eyes and see daylight coming in through the window close to my couch. I blink a few times and stretch my aching muscles. My mind travels back to before I fell asleep and can’t remember anything in between.

I didn’t dream at all. There were no nightmares of children and no blissful dreams of the ocean. All that filled the night was peaceful silence. I look at the clock and see that I slept for ten hours without waking. Ten hours! Never in my life can I remember sleeping that long.

I fling the covers off my body and jump up and down in my living room.
This is it! This is the key to facing the children
! It was only one night, but after years of constant nightmares, this is a big relief. Even when I slept next to Coby, I didn’t sleep nearly this long or deep. I dive for my phone and call him immediately.

“Coby! I found out how to get rid of them! I know it’s only one night, but I feel in my heart this is it!”

He drives right over and I talk with him about the children not coming to me all through the night. I tell him how long I slept and what went through my mind before I closed my eyes. He seems as relieved as I am.

“I’ve been worried sick about you, Janet. All I could think of was you pushing me away and shutting me out. I only want to be here for you and make sure you’re safe,” he said.

“I thought I had to do this alone. I needed time to figure out what I had to do and stay focused on that. I don’t know if I could’ve done that with you here. But now that I have the answer, I need to tell my patient,” I confess.

His eyes soften and look sad. “I’m sorry you feel that way about me, but I’m glad it turned out for the best.”

The silence in the room is nearly deafening. After a few minutes, he takes my hand and squeezes it once.

“If you don’t want me to be here, just let me know.”

The hurt look on his face breaks my heart. “It’s not that at all!” I take a deep breath in because this is it.
Here goes everything.
“Coby, I’m going to open my heart to you right now. I need you to listen, absorb, and then we can discuss. Okay?”

He nods and I close my eyes. “You know that I’ve lived with these demons since I was young, but what you don’t know is why I chose my career path. My parents were amazing before these things consumed me. My dad would read to me every night before bed and tuck me in. My mom would plan crafts for us to do on the weekends and decorate the house. She’s always been creative and he was so loving. When the children came, my dad told me I was afraid of the dark and imagining things. My mom hugged me and told me they would go away. After a year of living with the beings, my mom began to get angry when I mentioned them. I can remember her yelling that I was too old for such nonsense and I needed to grow up. My toys disappeared one by one and she chastised me over and over again. Except my favorite doll I was gifted on my eighth birthday. The monsters took the head and left me with the body. I eventually ended up with no playthings because they refused to replace what I ‘lost.’ No one believed me about the nightmares. As I grew older, my parents became distant and I stopped talking all together. Why bother when everything I said angered those around me? My purpose in life is to give other tormented children a person to talk to and listen. Everything that I never had.”

I hiccup and clear my face of tears. Coby leans in but I put my hand on his chest. “I want to look you in the face when I say this. You mean so much to me. I didn’t know what life could be like until Max brought us together. You make me feel so loved and that’s more than I can say about anyone in my life. It’s been so long since I’ve felt that way and you give me this every day.”

In my heart, I know it is true. This man complements me on so many levels and I don’t know how to show that. “But before we can move to the next step, I have to tie up all the loose ends of my past.”

His eyes meet my pleading ones and he wipes away the tears rolling down my cheek. “For now, all I will say is I love you, too. Whatever you need from me, baby, I’ll be here for you.”

He kisses me softly and holds me. I want to have hope for a future with him. A future with little raven-haired children and ice blue eyes, the perfect blend of us. My mind travels to Emily’s little figure and my breath catches. If I don’t solve this, there won’t be a future for her. She would end up like me, putting everyone at arm’s length so no one else would get hurt.

I can’t let that happen. As soon as I get in touch with her parents, I will explain everything. There has to be a way to get rid of the evil children haunting us both, permanently.

“Come on. Let’s get out of here and go see the new Hobbit movie. I know how much you love Tolkien,” Coby says into my hair.

“That would be nice,” I reply. I stroke his face then go grab my purse.

He scans me up and down with a half-smile lighting his face. “Maybe you should change into something more…uh, more.”

I look down and see my cotton sleeping shorts peeking out from under my oversized t-shirt.
Oops.
“That’s probably a good idea. I'll be right back, unless you want to help me pick something out…”

His grin could’ve split his face as he follows me to my room.

An hour later, Coby is looking up movie times while I change. I don my favorite jeans and a soft green V-neck shirt as I step into my wedge sandals.

“All right. Come on, nerd.” He is just as excited as I am to see this movie, he just hides it well.

In his car, I sing along to my favorite RITTZ song on our way to the theater. He laughs when I can’t keep up with the lyrics, but fails just as bad as I did. He always knows what to say or do to make me smile.