Chapter Seven
The ice clinked in the glass as the green liquid hit the ice and Peter softly smiled. Picking up the glass, he walked to the window as he looked out at the casinos and the sunlight sparkled on the glass. He wore a pair of linen pants as he felt the cool air moving across his skin and he sipped on the Midori. The giggling sound made him turn when he looked around the room with his eyes then felt someone pulling on his fingers and he looked down into a tiny pair of sea green eyes. The long, snow white hair was tied with a white, silk ribbon and the little girl with a round face and small nose held onto his hand. He guessed her to be two years old and she was wearing a white dress that looked like it was from the eighteen hundreds and the white dress had pink trim and a v-shaped, removable collar. She also had on white, leather shoes and she gave him a big grin as he swung her hand back and forth.
"Play," she said as she pulled on his hand and he placed the glass down on the table near the high back chair. She let go of his hand when she ran and he ran after her. She seemed to vanish then reappear somewhere else as he laughed and stood at the center of the room with his hands on his hips.
"You are tricky," he said as the giggling echoed around him and he brushed his fingers through his hair. Spinning around in a circle, Peter thought he saw the little girl running toward the panic room door when he slowly walked toward the door and the giggling changed to what sounded like someone softly sobbing. "Why are you crying?"
Peter felt the air turning ice cold as he shivered then stood in front of the panic room door and placed his hand on the keypad. He pushed the buttons when the door slid open and his eyes widened. Standing in front of him was a small boy with brown eyes and hair and Peter guessed him to be eight years old. He had a long face and nose, but his cheeks and eyes were sunk in and he was dressed in a dirty nightshirt. Peter was stunned when he saw the anger in the boy's eyes and the boy was shaking as he balled his hands into tight fists.
"WHY DID YOU LEAVE US?" the boy shouted as a cold blast of air hit Peter in the chest and Peter fell to his knees, screaming.
Waking with a start, Peter tumbled out of bed as he hit the floor hard and his eyes snapped opened. With a shaking hand, he reached up as he turned the light on and sat against the side of the bed. His skin felt soaking wet while his heart slammed and squeezed in his chest and he breathed hard and fast through his nose.
"Peter, you ok?" Cassidy asked as the door opened and she ran into the room. Dougal and the twins stood in the doorway as she knelt next to Peter and brushed the hair out of his eyes.
"Yeah, I, uh, I just had a nightmare," he said when Campbell walked over and held his teddy bear in his hands. He was wearing Disney Cars pajamas as Peter softly smiled at him and Campbell smiled back, holding the teddy bear against his chest.
"Do you need Mister Bearington? He helps me when I have bad dreams," Campbell said and Peter looked at the teddy bear. What he wanted was a large bottle of Midori, some ice, a glass and Cassandra, but he just shook his head and Campbell walked back to Dougal. Cassidy helped Peter off the floor as they sat on the edge of the bed and Peter felt foolish for waking them up.
"Does anything hurt?" she asked and he shook his head. Dougal led the twins down the hallway as Cassidy stroked Peter's hair and Peter sighed, placing his face in his hands. "Want to talk about it?"
"What's there to talk about? It was a nightmare," he said after placing his forearms on his thighs and his hands dangled between his legs. He then realized that he was only wearing his underpants as he lightly coughed and she smiled, nudging his side. "Look, Cass, go back to bed, yeah? I'm fine."
"I remember the nightmares you used to have back when you were living with us. You'd wake the whole house with your screaming."
"That's why your dad only let me live with you for a week. I was in bad shape back then."
"Looks like you still are," she said as he looked at her with a blank look then sat up and crossed his arms over his stomach.
"Nah, I'm fine. Believe it or not, but I do have someone in my life."
"So, who's the lucky lady?" Cassidy asked when he picked the cell phone off the table and pushed the button. He showed her the picture of Cassandra holding onto him as they laughed and Cassidy smiled. "She's really pretty."
"Jealous?" he asked as he arched an eyebrow and she gave him a blank look then they burst out laughing.
"So, how did you met?" she asked as he tried to figure out how to tell her then shrugged, turned to face her and told her everything, Cassidy's eyes widened as he finished and he waited for her to say something then Cassidy sighed, puffing air out of her cheeks. "And she stayed after all that?"
"Oh yeah, and through the weird shit that followed."
"Well, that's not unusual. Weird shit and you go hand in hand," she teased and he glared at her.
"Watch it, Sunshine," he said then smiled and she rolled her eyes.
"Well, if you're ok, I'm going back to bed," she said as she got up and he nodded, watching her leave the room. She had closed the door while he got back under the bedding and duvet as he looked at the cell phone, picked the cell phone off the night table and tried to figure out the time difference. He desperately wanted to talk to Cassandra, but not if it meant waking her up and he rubbed the pad of his thumb over the buttons. Shrugging, he placed the cell phone back on the night table when he turned the light off and pulled the duvet nearly over his head. A few minutes later he drifted off into a dreamless sleep as he held onto the pillow and a pair of yellow eyes shimmered in the shadows.
The black van moved down the road while Peter looked out the window and tried to figure out what the little boy was talking about. He said that Peter had left them, but who were they and why did he leave them? Why was the little girl sobbing? She seemed happy playing their game. Why were they in the penthouse? Where was Cassandra? And why was he wearing linen pants? He didn't own a pair. Sighing, Peter strummed his fingers on the arm of the seat when the black van stopped and Peter looked at the gate. The gate was open as the black van moved by the gate and headed down the drive. Peter looked at the view when the black van stopped and Cassidy saw that their van was the only one there.
"They didn't want to come back?" Peter asked as he leaned over the back of the passenger seat and Cassidy shook her head.
"She even threatened tae fire them, but they ken that she would never do that. So we're going tae have tae do this on our own." Dougal said as he got out of the black van and Cassidy followed him. Peter got out of the black van while looking up at the windows and a cold chill moved through him. He swore that the curtains had moved as they headed for the stairs and went inside. The sunlight shimmered on the crystal shards on the floor as they carefully walked around them and Dougal held the camera in his hands.
"Ok, we're back at Angel Grove after an active night and I'm going to go check the cameras and digital recorders," she said while looking at the camera and Peter stood next to her. Suddenly he felt the small fingers pulling on his right pinkie when he looked down and hooked his pinkie.
"My friend's back," he whispered as Cassidy looked down and softly smiled. "Do you have a digital recorder on you?"
"Yeah," she said as she handed the digital recorder to him and Peter carefully knelt down, his leather pants straining against his thighs and bottom.
"Ok, I know you can hear me, so I want you to take a little of my energy and talk into this little box. What's your name?" he asked then paused for a few seconds and his right hand sung side to side. "Can you tell me how old you are?"
"Let's see if you got anything," Cassidy said as she took the digital recorder from him and saved the recording then turned the digital recorder on.
"Ok, I know you can hear me, so I want you to take a little of my energy and talk into this little box. What's your name?"
"Emily Gretchen Cromstoke."
"Can you tell me how old you are?"
"Two."
"Whoa," Cassidy said as she hit the button then handed him the digital recorder and Peter turned the digital recorder back on.
"Well, hello, Emily. I'm Peter, this is Cassidy and that's Dougal," he said when Dougal's eyes widened and he looked at them with a shocked look on his face.
"She just said our names," Dougal said and Peter smiled.
"What a smart girl. Emily, do you have a brother?"
"She said yes."
"Is his name Robert?"
"She said yes."
"Can you take us to him?" Peter asked when Emily tugged on his finger and he stood up. He felt her pulling him down the hallway while Cassidy and Dougal followed him when they stopped in front of two, oak doors and Emily pulled on his fingers. "He's in there?"
"She said yes," Dougal said as Peter looked down and winked. Raising his left hand, Peter snapped his fingers as the doors opened then his eyes widened and a large book sailed at his face. Ducking, Peter felt Emily letting go of his hand as the large book hit the wall behind him and he stood up, glaring into the darkness with his arms folded across his chest.
"Right, I do NOT like having things thrown at me!" he said as he stormed into the room and snapped his fingers again. The curtains moved back as the sunlight lit up the room and he looked at the large, oak desk facing him. Wooden bookcases stood against the cream colored walls while the sunlight shimmered off the crystal on the chandeliers and several suits of armor stood between the bookcases. A red and white swirled carpet covered the floor and two French doors and large window let in the sunlight. Floating in front of the desk was a small, white mist and Peter walked closer then stopped and folded his arms over his chest. "Hello, Robert. Mind telling me why you're angry?"
"You left us," a soft voice whispered as he blinked his eyes a few times then tilted his head to one side.
"I didn't get that."
"YOU LEFT US!" echoed through the room as the small mist sailed through him and Peter fell onto his bottom. He lied down on his back when he felt Emily sitting on his stomach and he sighed, looking up at the ceiling.
"Robby mad," Emily said as he looked up and slightly smiled.
"Yeah, I sort of guessed that," he said while Cassidy and Dougal walked closer and Peter sighed, wondering why their leaving had upset Robert.
