Page 88 of Wicked Little Nightmare

"Hey, um... can I talk to you guys?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

I sat up straighter, curiosity piqued. "Shoot, kid. What's eating you?"

Rose perched on the edge of the armchair, wringing her hands. "It's like... it's burning. Right here. I can feel it even when I'm awake. It’s getting worse. It’s really bad right now and I… I feel like there’s ants crawling up and down my spine."

Lakey leaned forward, her voice uncharacteristically gentle. "What do you mean, burning?"

Rose's eyes welled up with tears. "Like there's something inside, trying to get out. I'm scared. What if they did something to me?"

I felt my jaw clench. "Hey, it's okay," I said, surprising myself with the softness in my voice. "We'll figure this out, alright?"Yeah, what if it is a fucking bomb. Take that Lakey. Don’t sound so stupid now, does it?

As Rose nodded, sniffling, I caught my girl’s eye. Didn’t even need words. Our little vacation was over. Whatever was going on with Rose, we had to get to the bottom of it. And fast. If it was a bomb, she’d take us down when she exploded, and I wouldn’t want her near enough for that to happen.

I stood, stretching my long frame. "Alright, let's take a look at that neck of yours, Rose."

She hesitated, her eyes darting to Lakey. I caught the slight nod before Rose turned, pulling her hair aside.

I leaned in, examining the skin closely. Nothing looked out of the ordinary - no scars, no redness, no signs of any kind of implant. But something in my gut twisted. Call it instinct or paranoia, but I couldn't shake the feeling that we were missing something.

"Well, kid, I don't see anything weird," I said, trying to keep my tone light. "Could be something they had you on, working it’s way out. Or I dunno, something else. Shit’s a bitch like that."

Rose's shoulders slumped, relief and disappointment warring on her face. "So... you think I'm okay?"

I sighed and fought the urge to throw up my hands.How the fuck was I supposed to know if she was okay or not? Goddamn."Yeah, you're okay. We've got your back, remember?"

As Rose headed off to bed, I caught Lakey's eye. The tension in her jaw told me she was thinking the same thing I was. This wasn't over.

I flopped back onto the couch, draping an arm around Lakey. "So, about the car… I want a new one. Figured we could go out and jack a better one. Maybe one that doesn’t sputter like it’s in end stages cancer whenever I turn it on."

I felt her body tense against mine. Her light blue eyes, usually so playful, were now sharp with concern. “Yeah. Maybe. I dunno, Cam, shouldn’t we figure out what’s going on with her head?”

"We should turn in," I said, not wanting to have that discussion again. "Big day of car-watching tomorrow."

Lakey grunted, but I could see the frown lines around her eyes. "Yeah. Okay."

We made our way to the bedroom, Rose already curled up on her new makeshift bed in the corner. Needed to move her out of the living room since it was always super busy in there. At least this way she got some privacy. Sort of. Poor kid was twitching in her sleep, probably caught in another nightmare.

Now that she had moved into our room, we got no time alone and my cock was aching with the need to drive into Lakey’s perfect pussy.

“Oh, babe? I think we should go shop for Rose. She probably would like some clothes that aren’t yours.”

She tensed. “Damn, I didn’t even think of that. You’d be a good dad, Cam. Always filling in the spots that I miss.”

“And vice-versa, baby doll.”

As we climbed into bed, Lakey's hand found mine in the darkness. We didn't need words; the slight tremor in her fingers said it all. There was something off. Something wrong. We just didn’t fucking know what it was.

I stared at the ceiling, sleep eluding me. My mind raced with possibilities, each more fucked up than the last. What if Rose's dreams weren't just dreams? What if that burning wasn't just paranoia?

"Cam?" Lakey's whisper cut through the silence.

"Yeah, babe?"

"We're in deep shit, aren't we?"

I chuckled darkly. "When aren't we?"

She shifted closer, her head on my chest. I could feel her heartbeat, quick and steady against my side. It grounded me, reminded me why we did all this crazy shit in the first place.

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