Page 84 of Wicked Little Nightmare

Rolling my eyes at his jab, I switched gears.

"Oh, and over there - that's where they film those cheesy soap operas. Maybe we'll spot a celebrity!"

Rose pressed her face against the window, drinking it all in. Poor kid probably hadn't ever seen the sun. At least not in a long time judging from how pale her skin was. The thought made something twist in my gut. At least we got out. We got to play in the sun at the homes. Besides all the trauma, we still got to make mud pies every now and then. It made me feel kinda shitty,to be honest. I just chalked it up to indigestion from last night's questionable takeout.

Finally, we pulled up to our destination — an abandoned amusement park on the outskirts of town. Nature had started reclaiming it, weeds poking through cracked asphalt, vines crawling up rusted rides. Abandoned places held a certain charm and I was somewhat obsessed with them. Cam had wanted to be a cop, while I wanted to explore all those abandoned cities dotted around the states. The obsession started after some documentary talking about how people just up and left their homes if they couldn’t sell, and it spiraled from there. When we found this place, I was in heaven.

"Ta-da!" I sang out, throwing my arms wide. "Our own private playground!"

Rose's eyes were as big as saucers as she climbed out of the car. She took a hesitant step forward, then another. I watched, holding my breath, as she reached out to touch a nearby carousel horse. Its paint was chipped and faded, but to Rose, it might as well have been made of gold.

A warm breeze ruffled her hair, carrying the faint sound of a distant ice cream truck. She tilted her face up to the sun, eyes closed, a look of pure bliss spreading across her features.

And then, it happened. A sound I'd never heard before, but one I knew I'd kill to hear again. Rose laughed. Not a nervous giggle or a forced chuckle, but a real, honest-to-God laugh of pure joy. We’d never heard it before, and it was beautiful. A little raspy, but full of life.

Full of potential.

I felt my chest tighten. Fuck. Was this what it felt like to care about someone other than Cam? To want to protect them, make them happy? It was terrifying. Exhilarating.

I glanced at him, seeing my own conflicted emotions mirrored in his eyes. We were in deep shit now. But as I watched Rosetwirl in a patch of sunlight, her laughter echoing through the abandoned park, I knew there was no way we’d leave her now.

A grin split my cheeks, my heart doing this weird fluttery thing I'd never felt before. "Look at you! You're a natural spinner," I called out, clapping my hands like some proud soccer mom. It felt weird, but right. We all needed a cheerleader once in a while. I was lucky enough to have my other half. She’d had no one.

Cam stood next to me, arms crossed, but I caught the tiniest hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He might act all tough and broody, but even he wasn't immune to Rose's infectious joy.

"You enjoying the show, big guy?" I elbowed him playfully, earning a grunt in response.

"It's... not terrible," he admitted, his voice low.

I rolled my eyes. "High praise from the king of understatement."

Rose stumbled over to us, cheeks flushed and eyes sparkling. "Did you see? I was spinning so fast!" She grabbed my hands, pulling me towards the rusty Merry-Go-Round. "Come on, Lakey! Spin with me!"

As I let her drag me along, laughing despite myself, I caught Cam's eye. There was something different there, something that had been developing over the past week since she’d been around. He was becoming more tender, dare I say, almost sentimental, but in the best of ways.

We were… changing.

We spun until we were dizzy, Rose's giggles mixing with my own breathless laughter. For a moment, I could almost pretend we were normal. Just a normal little family on a day out.

But as the sun started to dip, reality came crashing back. Cam's posture suddenly stiffened, his eyes scanning the treeline. "We need to go," he said, voice tight.

I felt it too – that prickle on the back of my neck. We were being watched.

"Aw, five more minutes?" Rose pleaded, but I was already steering her towards the car.

"Sorry. Time to jet," I said, trying to keep my tone light. "But hey, we'll come back soon, yeah?"

As we piled into the car, Cam's knuckles white on the steering wheel, I couldn't shake the feeling that our little slice of happiness was about to come crashing down. But fuck it – I'd kill anyone who tried to take this away from us.

The drive home was tense, but as soon as we stumbled through the front door, I felt some of that unease melt away. Our shitty little apartment might've been a dump, but it was ours. Safe. I flopped onto the ratty couch, pulling Rose down with me.

"Well, that was fun as fuck," I said, grinning at her. "We should do it more often."

Cam grunted, still on edge as he double-checked the locks. I watched him, my mind drifting. It hit me then, how fucking weird this all was. Me, the psycho bitch. Cam, the manipulative bastard. And Rose, this sweet little thing who'd somehow wormed her way into our otherwise routine lives. I hadn’t planned on keeping her. I just… wanted to help her. Then I realized it had been a week since we’d gone out hunting and it was weird to know that I didn’t regret the wasted time.

Until I thought about my daughter out there, alone. With no one to protect her. My gut twisted until I took a breath, pushing the thought away. I’d get her when I could. I’d made that promise and I’d keep it. Just right now, I had to help someone else.

Goddamn. Since when did I become… this? That ball of darkness that normally sat heavily in my chest had loosened to an almost manageable level. Instead of acting on my impulses, I was creating memories that any other person would.Somehow,that knowledge made me feel guilty. Particularly knowing what they did to me, to Rose, and not being able to find my daughter. What if something was happening to her while I was playing house here?

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