"I'll be back in a bit, okay?"
He doesn't respond, and she didn't really expect him to, but still, she held out hope for it. She gingerly rises and exits the room, leaving the door open. She finds Norman pacing in the small kitchen, not able to keep himself calm while Jack is away with Karo.
She places her hand on his back, offering comfort.
"They'll be alright. Jack's too smart for them not to be."
Norman nods repeatedly, the speed of it giving away the facade he's presenting.
"I know, I know." he replies, his gaze not moving away from the spot on the wall he's been concentrating on.
"Hey" -she says, pausing until his attention moves to her- "they will be."
His bottom lip curls under his front teeth as his head bobs again. He tries to shake away his anxiousness before responding.
"How, uh, is Patrick?"
Her expression drops, a frown forming upon her face.
"Not great. He's cutting again."
Norman's brow raises.
"How? With what?"
Her head shakes in defeat.
"I don't know."
His fingers grip the ridge of his nose, rubbing back and forth.
"I hoped this was behind us."
"Me too."
His eyes begin to redden, his hand falls to his side.
"That boy is" -a catch in his throat brings on a momentary pause as he collects himself- "he's just so young, so precious, and so hurt."
He covers his face, attempting to stifle his emotion. Daisy places her arm around his neck, bringing him in close, and hugging him tightly. He wraps his arms around her waist, buries his face into her shoulder, and let's himself go. She doesn't say anything, figuring Norman needs to get it out.
After a long moment of allowing himself to break down, Norman pulls back, and regathers his composure. He wipes the tears from under his eyes as he softly speaks.
"I'll go check on him, you get some rest while you can."
She rubs his arm once more.
"Thank you."
Norman quietly enters the room Patrick is laid in. The teen is still facing the wall, nearly pressed against it, in a fetal position. Norman lowers himself to the floor next to the anguished boy.
"Hey, buddy. I know you don't want to say anything, and that's alright, but if you don't mind, I'd like to talk."
Patrick doesn't respond. No words, no movement, he remains a rigid stillness.
"I hope it's alright, because I need to get this off my chest, and you need to know you're not alone."
He pauses, inhaling heavily. Norman's gaze moves around the room, not staying fixed on any one thing.
"I'm just so worried about Jack. We never would've made it as long as we have without him. He's what keeps us together, keeps us going. I know that you feel like you have nothing, that no one sees you, but we do. We are here for you, in whatever way you need us to be."
He catches himself, feeling the lump quickly rising in his throat. He pauses to collect himself again.
"We're not your real family, but we care about you as though you are. Isn't that what makes family anyway? A feeling of care for another, a sense of comfort and closeness? I've always thought about it that way. This world is, it's..."
He trails off, not finishing his thought. A slight chuckle billows out of him.
"It's hard, really hard. It's overwhelming, it's sad, it's painful, it's dangerous, but it's the one we live in now. I'm not sure that's ever going to change."
His eyes move back to Patrick.
"We can though. We can be better, we can fight against it, we can refuse to let hope fade, refuse to let love die. That's what I'm going to do, and if you don't think you can, that's alright, I'll do enough of it to cover us both."
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Sweetie anxiously paces in the living room, anticipating Rosaline’s return. After the capable woman’s declaration that The Family needs her, she indeed took the bath she wanted. It wasn’t her day on the schedule, but she’d earned it. Once clean and ready for the day again, she set out with Hawaii and Rad to scout the perimeter, to ensure there weren’t any other unwanted guests waiting in the wings.
It’s a couple hours after lunch, and only a few until dawn, so Sweetie estimates the scouting party should be returning any moment now. Zee stayed with her for a while, keeping her tension at bay. The nerve racked woman suspected that their headstrong caretaker knew why she was waiting for Rosaline.
Sweetie was able to escape her unease once more when lunch time was approaching. Mikey assisted her in preparing meals for those of them that stayed behind on the farm. The boy had previously been friendly, but today was different. He was cold, and short with her, and kept their interactions to the bare minimum. She suspected she knew why he was upset with her, and she didn’t blame him.
Hawaii and Zee decided it was a good idea to skip chores for the day, given all the excitement that had already happened, and the need for them to ensure their safety more thoroughly. Without daily tasks Sweetie is once more left to her own thoughts, pacing between the couch and the front door, her mind nervously playing out the conversation to come.
The sound of boots stamping on the deck jolts her head to the door, and freezes her in place. As the door cracks open, her emotions rise, like a tide flowing over her insides, then deflate upon seeing Rad enter the house. He stops, halfway inside, his brow raised, and his eyes curiously fixed on her.
“What-what're you doing?”
She shrugs her shoulders
“Just standing in the living room, like a statue?”
Her bottom lip curls under, her teeth clamp down on it. She doesn’t react to his question, audibly or otherwise.
“Okay” -he resumes his entry, leaving the door open- “never mind.”
He bounds past her, his boots leaving behind loud thuds as he ascends the stairs. Looking through the doorway, Sweetie can see Rosaline and Hawaii in the front yard, just far
