Page 79 of Dare You to See Me
“I have bad dreams too, mommy. But Malik will make sure they all go away.” I kiss her forehead and she beams.
“Tell me what happened,” I whisper in Soleil’s ear.
“I was just sleeping when I felt like someone was there. I thought it was just my dream but then something made a noise and I swear Malik, I swear I heard the door close.”
Her breathing is panicked and I take her face in my hand. “Okay. Breathe for me. Do you think maybe you might be a little worked up from the bar? First Wesley shows up at your house and then at the bar. He’s always in your face at school and he texts constantly. Maybe it’s all gotten to you. It could’ve been the wind and your mind just ran with it.”
“I don’t know. It felt like someone was here.” Her eyes are filled with tears and her lip quivers.
I look at Kyle and ask, “Did you hear anything?”
“No,” she says, shaking her head and looking quite frightened herself. “All I heard was Sunny scream, and I jumped out of bed and went straight to her room. Dahlia came in shortly after.”
“Did you check the door?” I continue to hold Dahlia at my side and Soleil’s head rests on my shoulder.
“Yes and the top lock wasn’t engaged. But it’s possible we didn’t lock it,” Kyle explains.
“I’m sure I did,” Soleil adds. I look deep into her eyes watching the worry swirl. “I guess it’s possible I didn’t. I was a little distracted.”
By that she means the toe curling kiss I gave her on the porch before leaving. It’s just enough room for me to work in the doubt.
“Did you look to see if anything was missing?”
“Me and Auntie Kyle looked aaalll over and all our stuff is still here,” Dahlia answers.
“Good job, cutie. Would you ladies like me to stay here for the night?”
Soleil nods her head as tears fall over her lids, Dahlia shoutsyesand pops up on her knees, and Kyle says, “I’m going back to bed. See you in the morning.”
She begins to walk down the hallway when I hear her call out, “I’ll take one of those yummy omelets and I like my coffee black.”
I guess that was meant for me.
I lay Soleil in bed and tell Dahlia I’ll walk her back to hers, but she hits me with something I can’t possibly no to.
“Can I sleep with you and Mommy? I’m a little scared now.” Her big brown eyes look up at me as she squeezes my hand.
I squat down to be eye level with her, something that I know makes kids feel more at ease, and ask, “Will you go straight to sleep so that mommy can rest?” She nods and I scoop her up. “Okay, my sweet girl. Let’s have a sleepover.”
I help her into bed, laying her in the middle, and snuggle up on the other side. I reach over and caress Soleil’s face with the back of my hand and go to pull away, but she grabs it. Her head turns and her eyes find mine in the dark. I lace our fingers together and stretch across Dahlia. They both turn on their side and I become the big spoon for both of my girls.
Dahlia snores, rolls end over end, smacks in the face, knees me in the nuts, and headbutts me all while she sleeps. But to be here with them, knowing they’re mine, I sleep better than ever.
THIRTY-THREE
SOLEIL
I laywith my head in Malik’s lap and he combs his fingers through my hair as we watch tv. It’s night three of staying over at his house since the night I thought someone broke in. I swear it felt like someone was right there next to me. But after thinking about all he said, he’s most likely correct.
I was worked up from seeing Wesley at the bar and thinking about how he just keeps showing up at places where I am, and I probably forgot to lock the door and let my unconscious run wild. But even after checking out my house and ensuring that nothing was broken or stolen, I was still afraid to stay with just Dahlia and I.
Malik could tell I was worried and said that we should stay with him for a few days while I got an alarm set up. He insisted I get one and the installer will be there to set it up by the end of the week. We decided that only three of us will know the code. Me, Malik and Kyle. And to make sure it wasn’t a code someone could easily pick out, we each picked two numbers to make it entirely unique.
The show we’re watching is some history documentary, because I have discovered that Malik is a war buff and loves history. It’s not really my thing, but he’s watched so many cartoons for Dahlia that I wouldn’t dare tell him. He deserves to watch whatever he wants.
“Have you ever felt like there’s another set of eyes on you?” I ask.
He looks down at me with a furrowed brow. “What’d you say, doll face?”
