DREAM:
“Now we are the same," Orla plunged the flowers into her hair, giggling hard. She took the hands of a little girl that was with her and they ran around the garden.
"Mom said we should not go over there." The little girl told Orla when they were in front of the pool. She walked some steps back, grabbing Orla's hands. "Don't go against mommy's words."
"I won't," Orla whispered in her ears. "Let's go back to the garden." They trotted back to the garden, the sound of their innocent laughter filling the air.
"Do you know that I am older than you?" The little girl asked Orla when they got inside.
Orla was about to respond when one of their sisters showed up.
"Where is your babysitter?" She asked them, positioning her hands on her sides. Her expression read fury. They detected that with their little brains.
"Aunty Rose went to get…" The little girl with Orla was scared of the ferocious eyes she gave them.
"She went to get us water," Orla said sharply, swishing her small teddy bear in front of their elder sister.
"No, she left. She just called and she won't be coming back today. You girls should come here." She gestured to them. "Why are you here, don't you want to play by the poolside?" She bent to their levels, ruffling their hair.
"Mommy told us not to go there," Orla said, wriggling her head.
"Don't worry about mommy, I am out here to watch over you." She took their hands and led them to the poolside. "Why are you two so cute?"
They jumped in excitement as they walked towards the poolside.
BACK TO REALITY:
Orla tossed around on the bed, her soft body pressing against Callan's hard one. His eyes flickered open when he felt the warmness of her skin on his, he yearned it, craved more but she pulled away.
She rolled towards him again, tightly gripping his groin area. "Please don't go." She whispered, "Stay here with me."
He gently took her hand off his groin. He bet she had no idea her hand was there.
“Orla?" He tapped her, but she didn't yield.
She kept mumbling soft words until the words got louder, and then a scream that almost wrecked his eardrums. She hoisted her head up, sweating profusely like she ran a marathon in her dream. She clung onto Callan, breathing haphazardly.
"Please don't go," she cried. "Please don't, stay here with me. I don't want you to go again."
Callan sighed. He understood she was having a nightmare or a dream. He wasn't sure which it was. He pulled her closer and placed her head on his chest, running his fingers through her hair to soothe her.
"Are you okay?" he asked softly.
"She was right there with me, we were playing in the garden." The faint sound of her sobs filled the room. "She was with me, she was right there."
"There is no one here with us." He didn't plan to babysit a grown-up woman. He was getting impatient with her sobs. "Get back to sleep, it was a dream." Callan knew better than to ask what she dreamt about.
Orla got herself together and yanked her hands off Callan's body when she noticed she was in his arms.
"I should have minded my business. You came into my arms and I just soothed you." He kissed his teeth, leaping out of the bed.
She stared hard at him, "I am sorry I disturbed your sleep."
"I wasn't sleeping and you didn't disturb me. But right now, I want to sleep and I would like it to be peaceful." He reached for the drawer that was attached to the table. Pulling it open, he took some pills and swallowed them in. "You should deal with whatever that's coming to haunt you in your dreams. You screamed like I was hurting you."
"Callan," she called softly.
"What?" He groaned, pulling the sheets over his head.
He loathed that he was being mean again but that was what he was and he didn't plan to change for her. Not for anyone.
She flipped the switch, causing the lights to glow in the room. Callan shook his head in disapproval, he shot her a deadly glare and she sighed.
"Callan, please, can I sleep close to you tonight?"
"Close to me? You are on the bed. What makes the difference?" He said in a bored tone.
"Can I hold you while I sleep?" The words dropped gently with strong emotions.
Their eyes met, and they stared at each other longer than they should.
She had never asked him for such, and she never knew she was going to ask him. Her series of nightmares stopped months ago, she thought they were gone, but she never thought they would be back to haunt her again.
It was always the same girl, same clothes, but different events. The guilt that washed through her whenever she woke up was the same too. She always came to her dreams, leaving fears in her mind whenever she was awake. She recognised her, but she didn't know what happened.
"Why do you want to hold me?" Callan asked. His tone was gentle, he didn't want to be hard on her now.
"I want to sleep well, Callan. I can only do that if you hold me." She didn't plan for the response she gave but somehow, it seemed to be the truth.
"Just for tonight and that's because I want to sleep too." He fibbed. He had craved to have her in his arms since he felt the warmth of her skin on his.
Orla snuggled up in his arms, feeling safe. "Thank you." She whispered, shutting her eyes.
"Just for tonight," Callan repeated. "I want to sleep soundly and your screams would not let me do that if I don't hold you. I am not doing this for you, I am doing it for myself." He wrapped her around his arms, looking at her hair.
He loved the tenderness between them and he wanted more of nights like this, but more of nights like this meant she'd be haunted by her nightmares.
It would be selfish of him to ask for more nights like this.
-
Orla held tightly onto Betty, placing her body on her legs. Cold waves of regret surged through her chest, she shouldn't have left Betty in the cage now she was sick. It hurt more that she had been so busy with her life she forgot about her cat.
Betty had lost so much weight and she didn't realize it until now.
She fed her beef, but she refused it.
“I am sorry, Betty. I am so sorry for leaving you. Please eat something." She and Betty had never been separated since she became her best friend twelve years ago.
She had always taken care of her and treated her whenever she was sick, but now, there was an unknown fear permeating her. Fear that something inimical would happen to Betty.
Callan looked at his wife, who was trying all she could to get her cat to eat something. Unshed tears welled up in her eyes, her shaky hands barely picked up the spoon to feed Betty. She seemed to care about the cat more than she cared about humans.
"Betty needs a Doctor." She looked at Callan, the tears she had been holding back since last night dropped on the dining table. "She's so pale and…" She lost her voice. "Please, she needs a Doctor."
"You always get me involved in this mess between you and your cat." He rubbed his temples in worry.
Orla was different, very different from all the ladies he'd met. She was the only one who cared so much about pets more than she did about humans.
She always talked back at him and at the same time, she was dead scared of him. She asked him to do things no one had ever asked him to do, she always did it so easily and surprisingly he couldn't refuse her.
"I have never owned a pet. I don't know a veterinary Doctor." Callan dropped the fork on the plate and wiped the crumbs of food off his mouth.
"I do know one. She has a Doctor." Orla said. She had made friends with an online Doctor when Betty got so sick for the first time. She had to pay one of the maids to take Betty to the Doctor for treatments and it had always been like that whenever Betty was sick. "Can I bring him to the house?" She asked him.
"You can do whatever you want with your cat. I have an important meeting to attend this morning."
Callan wished Betty was not sick, he wanted to ask about last night. He wanted to act nicely and ask if she was good, but something new seemed to always come up in her life. He snatched his blazer from the chair and walked out of the dining room.
He was getting more involved in her life than he should, it wasn't meant to be that way. He was meant to be far away from her even though they lived together. He should hate her, not care about her.
She was getting too close, closer than he had ever allowed anyone to get. It was dangerous, he had to put an end to it before she invaded his walls.
He should be stricter but before he made up his mind, he should get her a veterinary Doctor to treat her cat.