Harold came home to the smells of a home cooked meal, the moving boxes had gone missing as everything in the house had been placed.
"Elise?" he called out, cocking an eye brow as he looked around the house.
He found her in the living room, curled up in a ball on the couch as she slept soundly as she cuddled with the remote control.
Harold smiled "Elise?" he whispered as he stroked her hair.
Elise hummed as she awoke, looking up at her father "What time is it?" she asked.
"It's almost 5:30." Harold responded.
Elise rubbed her eyes "Then I haven't been out that long." She said, sitting up on the couch.
Harold looked around the living room "Did you…"
"Yes, I did. And then I made dinner…and when I was done with that I figured I'd sit down for a second." Elise went on to say.
Harold smiled "Well, lets eat! I'm starving!" he remarked.
It didn't take Harold long as he ate everything he could while Elise still nibbled on her mashed potatoes.
"You weren't kidding." Elise said as she took another bite of her potatoes.
Harold nodded "Yeah, it was a long rest of my day. One class and then office hours, and those damn Freshman are the worst!" he said.
Elise smirked "They always are." She said.
Harold smiled "Yes." He said, before looking around the kitchen "Did you do the entire house?" he asked.
"Just the downstairs." Elise said, taking another bite of dinner.
Harold and Elise were silent for a moment as Elise looked down at her dinner and took a bite of a carrot.
"So, when's your Neurologist appointment?" Harold asked.
Elise looked up at her father "Wednesday." She spoke softly.
Harold nodded "And I shall accompany you so you're not scared."
"I'm not scared!" Elise said with a smile.
Harold took her hand "And that's okay." He told her.
"I just want to make sure that you're okay." Harold went on to say.
Elise took her father's hand "I'm fine. It's been nine months and I'm still in one piece." She assured her father.
Harold nodded "Okay." He said.
Elise awoke at nearly two in the morning, she felt funny as she leaned up in bed as she held her head; she felt dizzy as she slowly got out of bed.
She heard thumping coming from the attic once again, she huffed as she quietly got out of bed and walked down the hall where the attic string hung, blowing with the heater.
Elise pulled the string, letting the ladder fall to the ground; she held the railing firmly as she began to climb up the ladder when she felt a strong sensation overcoming her.
"Oh, no. I'm dying." Elise thought, losing consciousness.
She awoke to loud beeps and bright lights as she finally was able to open her eyes, she stared up at a pale white ceiling.
Elise groaned, she was disoriented as she closed her eyes again, ignoring all the noise and light around her.
"Elise?" she heard someone ask.
Elise groaned, she was too weak to speak as she tried to hide her eyes from the light as a hand grabbed her gently.
"Elise?" she heard the voice ask again.
"What?" she finally managed to get out.
"Can you open your eyes?" she heard the voice ask.
Elise shook her head "The light…it's so bright." She whispered.
"How about I turn the light off, would that help?" the person asked.
Elise nodded gently as she found the light disappear from behind her eyes as she gently opened them.
"Where am I?" she whispered.
A man appeared out from the corner of her eye in a white coat "Elise, my name is Doctor Thurman, you had a seizure tonight." He told her.
Elise took a deep breathe as she looked around the E.R room that she was resting in "Where's my dad?" she whispered.
"He's in the waiting room." The doctor told her.
Elise closed her eyes again, beginning to pull at the cabled that were connected to her body as the doctor stopped her "No, no, no…don't tug on those!" the doctor suggested, pulling her hands away.
"I want to see my father." Elise demanded, still struggling with waking up from her apparent seizure.
The doctor nodded "Alright, let me get him."
It went silent as Elise kept her eyes closed, her mind jumbled up and her body sore, especially her head.
"Elise." She heard her father respond.
"Dad, what happened?" she asked, beginning to open her eyes once again.
Harold stroked her hair as he looked down at her "You were going up the ladder to the attic when you fell down mid seizure." He told her.
Elise let a deep breathe out as she closed her eyes again.
"Elise," her father said "what were you doing in the attic?" he asked
Elise focused on her breathing, trying to remember why when it finally clicked in her mind "I heard footsteps." She muttered.
"What?" Harold asked.
"I heard footsteps in the attic." Elise said, taking another deep breathe.
Harold took her hand "Well, luckily your neurologist appointment is tomorrow so we won't have to wait long." He said.
"Tomorrow? What day is it?" she asked.
"It's Tuesday…almost 3 in the morning." Harold told her.
Elise tried to adjust herself in bed "Dad, you should go home, you have work in the morning." She remarked.
Harold shook his head "No. Honey, you just had a serious seizure and I'm not going to leave your side for the next 24 hours." He told her.
Elise groaned "Fine. I just want to go home." She remarked.
"We will." Harold assured her.
Harold was literal when he said he wouldn't leave Elise's side for the next 24-hours; every time she woke up he was there, waiting for a request or command.
Elise would turn away from her father and go back to sleep throughout the day unless she was hungry or needed a bathroom break.
She looked up at the attic, wanting to climb up the ladder to see if that box of home movies was up there waiting for her, but she was too weak to move at all.
Elise huffed, ignoring her intuition of being too weak as she pulled on the string, letting the ladder fall out from the attic.
She wasted no time as she gently climbed up the ladder when she got to the top to find the box once again waiting for her.
"Voodoo magic." She muttered to herself as she climbed into the attic and began tugging on the box until she pulled it to the ladder where she gently tried to carry the box as she climbed down the ladder.
"Elise?" she heard coming down the hall; she thought for a moment as she pushed the ladder back into the attic and hurried into her bedroom where she hid the box under the bed and crawled back inside.
Elise took a deep breathe as she cuddled with her pillow and pretended to be asleep as her father came in to check on her again.
She felt Harold closing in on her as he checked on her for the fourth time that hour before closing the door behind him as he left her bedroom.
Elise remained in her state of bliss, she would figure out what was going with the home movies; however it was just a matter of waiting for the right moment.