He opened the door slowly, softly. Jared looked up at him. “Thank you, son,” Jack said simply. “I’d like to sit with her. Alone. For a few minutes.”
Jared gently loosened his hand from hers and replaced it with Jack’s. Anna didn’t open her eyes as Jared quietly left the room. He was a good kid, understanding a lot at his age, or so it seemed. Although never mentioning a word about his background, parents, etc., seemed downright weird.
Jack leaned closer and stroked his daughter’s hair like he used to when she’d skinned her knee or had a bad dream—those little girl moments seemed so long ago. She turned to him with a wan smile and opened her eyes.
“Hey, Angel,” he whispered.
“I’m sorry, Daddy.” Daddy, her little-girl name for him.
“I’m the one who should be sorry.”
“This is the last thing any of us needs,” she said. “Anna screwed up again. She didn’t listen. Now look what happened to her.”
“It doesn’t matter,” he said soothingly, uncomfortable she was talking about herself in the third person. “You’ll be all right, Anna.”
She moaned and rubbed her bitten ear.
“Can I take a look?”
She pulled her hair back, angry tears appearing again. Her ear was swollen. Cleaned and disinfected as best as could be, the teeth marks glared angrily in their redness. The wound was festering, though, like they all did. But it hadn’t spread to the rest of her head. Not yet.
“It hurts,” she told him. “And please don’t touch it, Daddy.”
“I won’t. But it doesn’t look so bad.”
“Yet.” Her voice was cold, bitter. “But I know how it will go. I had plenty of time to think about it before I ever got bitten. Soon, I won’t be able to think at all. I will be a monster.”
“No, never that. You will always—always—be my daughter.”
Anna cast aside the jackets over her, reached up and hugged him. “Why, Dad? Why is any of this happening? I’m so scared!”
He wrapped his arms around her. Tightly. “Sometimes there is no ‘why,’ Anna. I can’t answer why. But we’re going to figure it out. Okay?”
“You’re going to figure out how to drown me!” She wept bitterly. “Aren’t you? Don’t lie!”
“Shh. Don’t think such nonsense!”
“How can I not...”
“Just don’t! That’s an order. You couldn’t have a better group of people protecting you. Who love you. Who would do anything for you.”
“Jared,” she said softly. Apparently, he’d been waiting just outside the door. As soon as he heard his name, he stepped into the room.
“I’m right here, Anna. I said I wouldn’t leave you. And I never will.”
It was enough for now that Jared was supportive and loving. Forcing back his own tears, Jack hugged her, stood and made room for him.
“Can you drink some water?” Jack asked.
Anna frowned. “It doesn’t sound appealing.”
“You should, if you can, Angel,” he said.
“Yeah, I can.”
“I’ll get you some.”
With that, Jack left the room.