Lifetime Part 12
The nightmare that night made him wake up crying. He had seen his parents being killed again. It was awful, all the feelings of that day came rushing back.
He thought back to that day again. He'd been playing up all day and his parents were not pleased with him, he'd been bored and they were angry with him. That was why he blamed himself for their deaths. Maybe if he hadn't made them lose their concentration the accident wouldn't have happened. He should have done as he was told. They'd told him they were going to be busy all day and he was to sit quietly and read. He'd wanted to go to the fair that he had seen advertised at the hotel. He'd begged, whined and pleaded with them but they'd said no. He wished he could go back and change what had happened.
He pushed his hand down the bed, oh god he was wet, he'd wet himself. He got up and took off his pyjamas. He stripped the bed and carried everything through to the laundry room. He put them in the machine and turned it on.
Jack woke to the sound of the machine. He jumped out of bed. Who the hell had turned on the washing machine at this time in the morning? He turned to look at the clock. 3 in the morning. He went through to the laundry room. Danny was sitting on the floor. "Danny, get up son. You must be freezing. Where are your pyjamas?" Daniel pointed at the machine.
"I wet myself," he said crying.
Jack lifted him up," You're cold. You should have come through to me, I'd have done this."
"I didn't want to disturb you. It was my fault."
"Let's get you washed and back into bed."
"I can do it."
"I know you can but I want to." He took Daniel to the bathroom and ran a bath. He wrapped a towel round the shivering boy. When the bath was ready he lowered Daniel into the warm water. Daniel was still crying quietly. He knew he was embarrassed. "It's okay buddy. Really. I won't tell anyone."
He dried him and put on clean pyjamas. "Let's go. You need some sleep." He carried him through to his room and set him in the bed. Jack realised that Daniel was getting heavier now. He must be nearly 8 years old. Maybe that was what was wrong.
"Want to tell me what's wrong?" he asked.
"No!" Daniel replied.
"I think you need to. Is it about your mum and dad?" Daniel said nothing. "It's okay to feel sad that they're not here. I miss Charlie."
"I know," he said quietly. "I've been having bad dreams."
"You should have told me."
"I'm an adult Jack. They shouldn't frighten me like this. I've lived through these memories before."
"Danny you're eight. And when you're eight accidents like wetting the bed happen. What was the dream about?"
"It reminded me of something."
"What Danny?" he asked in a voice that brooked no refusal.
"My parents." Then he started to cry again. "It was my fault, it happened."
"Danny it wasn't your fault."
"It was. I'd been pestering them all day. They were working and I wanted to go to a fair. Since we'd arrived in New York all we'd done was be at the Museum. I just wanted one day to go to the fair. They told me to go and sit down and do as I was told. Daddy smacked me, it was the only time he ever had."
"You were a child Danny, of course you wanted to do something else."
"But I.."
"What?"
"I just wanted them to think of me for once, not their work. I should have done as I was told. I answered mummy back and she came out and made me sit on a chair and she told me not to move. She said I needed to learn patience. That was when I wished...." he stopped .
"What did you wish?"
"I...." he started to cry again.
"Come on Danny you can tell me anything."
"I wished for another mum and dad. Ones that would listen to me and play with me. I didn't mean it though......" he cried even more. Jack hugged him to him.
"Oh Danny." He kissed his head. "Of course you didn't." He held him close. "And you know you can't cause accidents just by wishing for them. It was an accident Danny. One of the links on the chin lifting the stone had a flaw in it. The weight of the stone made it crack and the stone fell."
"How do you know?"
"I read the report. You couldn't have done anything to help them. The men that were there helping them couldn't do anything either. It happened too fast."
"I just wish I could have that day back and I could be with them and be what they wanted."
You should have been their priority Danny Jack thought. They should have been taking you to the park and playing with you. Parents were so stupid sometimes, they always thought there was plenty of time. He'd found to his cost that that wasn't true. A wave of longing for Charlie made him hold Danny even closer. He'd met Nicholas Ballard, Danny's grandfather, and thought he was a stupid man for putting his work before Danny but now he realised that Danny's parents had been much the same. He was not going to make the same mistake, he was going to make sure Danny enjoyed this childhood.
TBC
