Mr. Dennis, Casey is yelling a lot and won't stop!
Hedwig's panicked pleading cut through the thick fog of sleep Dennis had been enjoying. He came rushing into the light and heard her cries for himself, automatically grabbing his glasses off of the nightstand and vaulting from his bedroom to Casey's next door.
With all the grace of a rampaging bull he barreled through the door, expecting to find some sort of wild animal or stranger attacking her. Quickly taking stock of the situation, he saw that the only other creature present besides himself and Casey was the mounted deer head hanging over the fireplace. He halted, understanding dawning on him. Whatever was tormenting Casey was in her mind, and he felt ill equipped to help her, comfort was always Barry's thing. He had no time to wait for any of the others to come out though, listening to her cries was torturous.
Stepping closer, he saw that tears stained her face and the sheets were soaked with sweat-telltale signs of unrest that he knew all too well. He didn't want to startle her, shaking her awake when she most likely was dreaming of her uncle would be the worst thing he could possibly do. He crouched down by the bed so he wasn't looming above her and whispered her name over and over, trying to break through into her nightmares. "Casey, you're alright. Nothing can hurt you, I'm here." Hesitantly he lay a hand on hers and gently rubbed circles with his thumb, trying to bring her awareness to anywhere other than inside of her head.
With a start, she lurched off of the mattress, and Dennis had to catch her before she dove headfirst into the corner of the nightstand. She let out a yelp, feeling his arms around her while she was still trapped inside her mind with her uncle. Dennis quickly lay her down on the ground, trying to prevent her from hurting either of them.
Murmuring reassurances, he began stroking her hand again, hoping he wasn't agitating her further. Eventually she began to become conscious of his voice, the dream slowly fading into the background of her memory. Shame kept her from opening her eyes and she just lay on the ground and wept.
"Casey?" Dennis gasped, unaware that he had even been holding his breath. "Are you awake?"
"I'm sorry, Dennis." Her voice was so low he almost didn't hear her, and he couldn't believe that she was apologizing to him.
"Can I bring you back to bed?" he reached out to touch her back and she didn't flinch, just cried harder. He got no reply, so he gently scooped her up off of the ground. Barry, I need you, he called out, and the younger alter was there in an instant. Eyes widening at the trembling young woman in their arms, he pulled her tightly to their chest and looked to Dennis for some sort of explanation. She has nightmares, was all he offered, and Barry nodded in understanding. Dennis stepped back and let Barry do what he was best at. Danger had been neutralized, so his job was done.
Still, he remained near the light, watching Barry carry Casey over to their bedroom, murmuring something into her ear. "I'm sorry," he heard her repeating, and the realization that the apologies were her automatic response to abuse made Dennis's blood boil. Barry felt his anger and shot him a questioning look, but Dennis shook his head. It's not important now. Just see if you can help her.
Gently placing her down on his bed, Barry knelt down beside it, taking Casey's hands and rubbing them with his own. "It was just a bad dream hon, you're safe now. Is there anything I can do for you?"
"I'm sorry Barry," she whimpered for the millionth time, embarrassment and tears causing her face to flush.
"Shhh, there's absolutely nothing to be sorry for. We've had nightmares for years, I understand."
"It was my uncle," she offered weakly, and he nodded, unsurprised.
"I still dream about Kevin's mother from time to time, and she's been dead for six years. It's going to happen; it's just a part of healing." He gently brushed back an errant piece of hair that was stuck to her forehead. "At least, that's what Dr. Fletcher used to tell us."
Casey shook, trying to bury herself under the sheets. "Nothing about this feels healing to me."
"I know," he soothed. "How can I help?"
"Please…stay? Don't leave me alone."
"Of course." Barry walked to the other side of the bed and stretched out next to her, making sure to remain on top of the covers. "Are ya alright with me touching you?" Casey turned over and threw her arms around his neck, allowing him to hold her.
For the next half hour he quietly told her stories about his time working at the Philadelphia Zoo. He weaved together images of white tigers, wolves, and pandas, replacing all the shadows in her mind with soft fur and playful wolf pups. At some point he felt her breathing slow to a steady rhythm, and he whispered a "thank you" to whatever deity that was still bothering to listen to him.
Relaxing, he allowed himself to fall asleep alongside his dearest friend. There were no more disturbances that night, and tigers and wolves stood guard over their dreams.
The next morning Casey was reluctant to speak about the previous night, and Barry had no desire to push her. Dennis was a different story, however.
As he sat down to make a list of things that would be needed to spend the winter there, he asked Casey to join him. She did so reluctantly, sitting next to him at the large marbled table in the kitchen. Between the two, they came up with quite a list of supplies needed to see them through the next couple of months.
"And you said this place belongs to a friend of your uncle?" Dennis inquired, placing the cap back on his pen. He was sure there would be more to add later on, but that could wait. He needed to know just what exactly he had gotten himself into.
"He was a friend of my father's, but yes, my uncle knew him," Casey replied, picking at a fingernail.
Dennis sighed and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "Did something happen to you here Casey?"
She blanched and stared up at him, eyes wide in shock. "Why would you ask that?"
"Well, we've spent a few nights with you already and you seemed to sleep fine until we got here. I assume something about this place is triggering you." Leaning forward, he looked at her with what he hoped came off as empathy. "If there's something about this cabin that makes you uncomfortable, I need to know so we can find another residence before the weather gets much colder. We can't be worrying about you having panic attacks while we are snowed in in the middle of nowhere."
Embarrassment made tears prick at Casey's eyes, and she crossed her arms, hugging herself and looking anywhere but at Dennis. "I've only ever been here as a kid with my father, not my uncle, so no, nothing happened here." She waited for him to say something, anything, but he remained silent. "I'm sorry about last night, it won't happen again," she added, hoping that would placate him and he wouldn't make her leave.
Dennis pursed his lips. "That's really not something that's under your control. I'm not trying to make you feel bad; I just need to understand what exactly is threatening to you about this place."
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why do you need to know?"
He cocked his head, not understanding her confusion. "That's my job. As the first born, I am our Guardian. Since you are living with us now, your safety is my responsibility as well."
"First born…alter?"
He gave a slight nod, and suddenly Casey felt like weeping, like all of the pain in the world was converging on them out of nowhere. The impression was almost one of reverence, like she was looking at something, someone, that wasn't meant to exist in the world.
If Dennis noticed, he didn't comment. "Yes. When Kevin was three, he tripped and skinned his knee. He ran to his mother for comfort, and instead she just held him down and poured bleach onto the open wound. I came into existence that night."
Casey's eyes closed and her nostrils flared in sympathy, but she said nothing, so Dennis continued.
"The cut got infected. Bleach is not meant to be used on the human body, and certainly not on damaged tissue. Some of my earliest memories are of shivering in 95 degree weather, in agony. I thought we were dying, and it didn't stop until Kevin's father came home and rushed us to the hospital. But I knew, even back then, that the pain was mine to carry, and I had to be strong enough. Every burn and whipping, every violation, I came to the light and told Kevin to sleep, because it belonged to me."
Without thinking, Casey reached out to grip his arm, horrified at the thought of what was done to the little boy. She knew it was bad, but she wasn't prepared for the brutality of it. "Dennis, I-" she began, but he cut her off.
"Please, let me finish. I don't think I'll be able to start again if I stop."
She nodded her consent, tentatively grabbing for his hand. He didn't stop her.
"When Kevin hit puberty, his mother found…new ways to torture him. She was a contagion, and I was the wall that kept her away. I tried for so long and hard to keep her sickness at bay, but she got through. She infected me." Absentmindedly he scratched at his neck, eyes unfocused, like he was reliving it all and had forgotten where he was. "In the beginning I started cleaning out of compulsion, to keep us safe from her punishments. Now I clean because I see her filth wherever I go. I… feel it all over." He was speaking to the air, as though he were trying to evoke Penelope Crumb's image in front of him. Then just as quickly he snapped out of the trance, slightly embarrassed at his loss of control.
He looked over at Casey to see tears streaming down her cheeks in sympathy. God, he really sucked at this "encouragement" thing. He tried again, giving her a sad smile, hoping to rally her. "Whatever you tell me, I'll understand. You don't have to get into specifics; I just need to know if it will be a problem for you to stay here."
Releasing his hands, Casey swiped at her eyes, furious with the Crumb matriarch. "My uncle touched me too," she began, anger fueling her ability to shine light on her inner demons. "All those scars the Beast saw, those were all from him." She looked at Dennis's face, trying to if see her confession made him feel any differently for her, but aside from furrowing his eyebrows and a twitch of his jaw, he held the same impassive expression he normally did.
"Did he hurt you here?" He didn't want to open her wounds up any further, but he still needed to know.
"No. No, this place is actually full of very happy memories for me. It's just…the photos of my father. I think that's what set me off last night."
Surprised, Dennis briefly glanced around the kitchen, just now realizing there were photographs hanging all over the place. "One of those men is your father?"
"Yes." Casey got up and walked to a picture that was hanging next to the kitchen doorway, pointing out a man and a little girl laughing in the midst of a group of people. "That's me and my dad." She smiled, but her voice was laced with pain.
Dennis followed her over and picked the frame up off of the wall, studying it carefully. Mr. Cooke looked to be a kind enough man, if a bit mousy. He held a young Casey on his shoulders, and they both beamed at the camera, eyes bright and full of life. A life before Casey's uncle turned her into one of the broken.
Sadness gripped Dennis, and he suddenly found himself wishing he had something to remember Kevin's father by. For the longest time he was angry and felt abandoned by Mr. Crumb, but as he reached adulthood he came to the realization that is just wasn't fair to hold his death against him, no matter how much suffering it had led to. He never intended to leave them alone with a monster. "Do you want me to remove these?" he asked, indicating the photograph.
"Would it make me a horrible daughter if I said 'yes'?" Casey replied, her eyes filling with fresh tears.
"No. I think he would understand." Dennis's voice was gruff, like he was trying to cover up any emotion seeping into his words. For a moment he seemed smaller than usual, and he rubbed a nervous hand over his head.
Then whatever he was feeling passed, and he stood ramrod straight once again, holding both hands behind his back. "I went into town earlier this morning and withdrew some money from my personal account. It should be enough to get the majority of the items on our list. If you go take care of the shopping, I'll have all the pictures taken down by the time you get back." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out an envelope, passing it to Casey. "I made sure to get enough to pay you back for the clothing and motel room as well. Please don't forget to take it."
Casey's eyes widened. "Oh yeah, your bank account! Because of that guy you saw in Philly, right?"
Grunting, Dennis grabbed a dish towel and began wiping down the table they had been sitting at. "That's right. I've had my own account open for years. I wouldn't call it legal exactly, but then again to most of the world I don't even exist."
Opening the envelope, Casey couldn't help but gasp in surprise as she pulled out nearly one thousand dollars, stacked neatly into bundles of hundreds. Dennis frowned at her. "What? I never had to pay rent while at the Zoo, and we only had one mouth to feed. Where else would all of our money be going? I mean, money that Ansel and Jade didn't get their grubby hands on. The animals back at home probably have better money sense then they do."
The barb made Casey giggle, and Dennis allowed himself a small smile, throwing the rag down into the sink. Dishes and laundry were the first things on his list for the afternoon.
He winced suddenly, as if someone had yelled in his ear. "No Hedwig, you may not come out and go with. The last thing we want is to draw attention to ourselves." He paused as if listening, and then sighed. "I promise if you behave we can have pizza for dinner, alright? And if Casey says it's ok, you can play later tonight." Another pause. "Don't you start now too, Jade."
A giggle-snort escaped Casey. Dennis playing the part of belabored babysitter was always too funny. "How often do they gang up on you?"
He shook his head. "You have no idea. All the damn time! In fact, I'm not sure I'm going to survive a winter here stuck with all of you," he chided, pinching the bridge of his nose, but there was laughter in his voice. They might be the death of him, but he figured there were worse ways to go. "Hurry up and get going. If you're lucky there won't be another lock on the door when you return."
Balking, Casey stared at him, confusion and hurt playing on her face until he winked at her. Butterflies exploded in her stomach and she had to quickly turn away before he witnessed her turning the deepest shade of red possible.
Yes, it was certainly was shaping up to be an interesting winter.