Violet eyes opened.
Something had woken her.
Pushing her short auburn hair out of her eyes, Maddie blinked. She squinted in the dark, letting her eyes adjust as she scanned the room. Everything seemed normal. Jack was snoring loudly, kicking a bit in his sleep like some large dog. The window was closed, curtains partially drawn, allowing a sliver of moonlight in. It fell across the floor, stretching out like a narrow path to the door.
She sat up just in time to see a flash of pale orange whip out of sight.
Shy bolted back into her bedroom, carefully slipping through the door before diving into bed. Throwing the covers over her head, she rolled onto her side, her back facing the door.
Why she ran, she wasn't sure. She hadn't been doing anything wrong, not to her knowledge at least, she'd just been...checking.
She couldn't help it. She'd been doing it over a month now, waking in the middle of the night and feeling a surge of panic that refused to settle until she was sure everyone was where they should be.
She never went into the room, or even opened the door that far. Just enough so she could peek inside and take a quick look.
Only after confirming everyone was safe could she go back to sleep.
Clutching her pillow to her chest, Shy heard the door open. She quickly pretended to be asleep as she felt the bed sink, just a bit, as someone sat down.
A gentle, soothing hand lightly stroked her hair.
"We're not going anywhere, Shy," Maddie whispered.
Shy raised her head a bit, looking over her shoulder, but Maddie had already risen from the bed. She paused by Danielle, brushing the girl's messy bangs out of her face before moving to the door. The woman stopped and smiled over her shoulder at the periwinkle gaze, then quietly shut the door behind her.
Shy rolled back over and smiled as she buried her face in her pillow.
Author's notes
Forgot to upload this here. Whoops.
A note: Jazz calls from college every morning before the other three leave for school, so that's how Shy checks on her. If that call doesn't happen, you can bet she'll start panicking.
Shy does stop doing this after a little while, but never quite completely. It just becomes something she'll do after nightmares or a particularly rough fight.