Vanessa sat on the front stoop, waiting for Luis and Gregory to return. She hoped that they would hurry up, the neighbors were eyeing her. Awkwardly, she waved at an old woman checking her mail across the street.

The old woman scowled at her, hobbling back to her house.

Vanessa sighed, staring down at her lap. Interacting with people had never been her strong suit. Well, interacting with adults anyway.

They were so…judgmental and rude. Perhaps it's hypocritical of her to say so, as she herself is over the age of eighteen. But it was true. Adults had always given Vanessa a hard time, berating her controlling her and never listening to her. An endless cycle that was destined to repeat until she died.

She scoffed, rolling her eyes. Here she goes again, being overdramatic.

Luis chose that moment to pull into the driveway, saving her from a downward spiral that could only lead to bad things. He parked, and she practically sprinted to the car.

( Calm down, Vanessa. She told herself, slowing down. Why are you so excited to see them anyway?)

She…she doesn't have an answer to that.

Gregory squealed when he saw her, wriggling in his car seat.

…and maybe she didn't need one, at least for now.

Right now, looking at the toddler's chocolate-covered face, there's a bigger issue to be dealt with.

-x-x-x-

Vanessa helps Luis with dinner. Well, at least she attempted to. But Gregory refused to leave her side. He clung to her, like a baby monkey. It would be cute, if not for the hot stove and hotter oven that he keeps getting way too close to.

At one point, Luis kicked her out of the kitchen. Though he uses the word, banished (the absolute dork).

She played with Gregory in the living room. He smiled up at her, before running a truck across the floor. Vanessa had no idea how she would ever repay Luis' kindness. All of his time, energy, and limited funds to help rectify a stupid mistake she made.

"Vroom! Vroom!" Gregory shouts, sounding nothing like the shivering, sickly boy she took from the alley. He smiled at her again. "You see? My truck went reeeealllly fast! Wanna see?"

She nodded.

As Vanessa watches him play, she can't shake the feeling that something is wrong. A clawing, terribly gut-wrenching feeling that has only seemed to get worse the longer she spends with Gregory. And it was not the boy's fault either.

She's certainly dealt with kids of a worse temperament (not that Gregory's at all hard to manage). Kids have spat on her, hit her, cussed at her, and threatened all manner of awful things. But she never once felt this uneasy around them.

And she really does enjoy his company. Hearing his tiny giggles makes her feel all warm and sunny inside.

So, as she does with most things nowadays, Vanessa pushes her feelings of dread, deep, deep down.

It's not long after that dinner was served. Spaghetti and meatballs. Simple and fast. Luis was a wonderful cook.

Gregory babbled endlessly about his new friends and the daycare between bites of garlic bread and sauce-coated spaghetti noodles. Both Luis and she make a valiant (but gentle) attempt to scold him for talking with his mouth full. He didn't listen, and neither of them can bring themselves to get upset about it.

They listen intently to the same story about glitter glue drying on the carpet for the sixth time in a row. Vanessa's eyes flit over to Luis, curious for his reaction.

He always had the best reactions.

He's laser-focused on Gregory, nodding along. "Yeah, and then what?" Luis asks, tone completely serious.

"And then…."

She smiled down at her half-empty plate.

See, she told herself. There's nothing to worry about.

She always got so worked up over nothing.

-x-x-x-

After dinner was a blur of bedtime routine (bath time, brushing teeth, and getting a wriggling, squirming three-year-old into pjs). She cleaned up in the kitchen while Luis dealt with all the craziness.

Washing the dishes and wiping up the table gave her a moment to breathe. The actions are repetitive in nature, and she quickly finds herself floating away. As a child she often found herself having incredibly imaginative daydreams.

They ranged from placing herself in the book she was reading at the time, imagining her ideal future in game design, or even present solutions to problems (for instance, her bull-headed mother apologizing to her for once instead of the other way around).

Maladaptive daydreaming is apparently the word for it. Though, it never interfered enough with her day-to-day life for her to ever seek help. She used to love that feeling, cling to it like a lifeline. It was addictive. Getting through the day was made bearable by her dreams. Rewriting the wrongs in her life (or escaping them all together) were only a single thought away.

Now…

….now she hates that feeling.

Of floating away.

Of being lost in her thoughts.

It reminded her of-

"Vanessa?"

She got startled, the plate falling from her hands. Thankfully, it was Gregory's plastic kiddie plate, so it just thudded against the floor.

Luis moved to grab it before she recomposed herself. "Are you alright?" He dropped the plate in the sink.

She looked at the cupboard over his shoulder. It was better than facing the concern etched into his every feature.

(All she ever did was make him panic and worry.)

"I'm fine."

Luis tilted his head to the side, in a way that usually indicated he didn't believe a word she was saying. "And you'd tell me if you weren't, right, 'Ness?"

"Of course."

He sighed. "Well, if you're feeling up to it, Gregory has requested your presence. He wants you to tuck him in."

She nodded, drying her hands on a dish rag.

"I'll finish cleaning up," Luis said, swapping places with her. "I put him in the guest room. It's up the stairs, first door on the left."

The uneasy feeling returned, contrasting heavily with the happy warmth she experienced earlier. She tugged her sleeves down. "Are you sure you don't want to tuck him in?"

Luis shook his head. "Of course, I do. But I already said goodnight. He wants you now." He smiled, trying his best to reassure her. "It won't take five minutes."

"Five minutes?" She asked rhetorically.

"Five minutes at most ," Luis answered, turning away to start on the remaining dishes. He sounded so sure of himself.

He always did.

She loved that about him.

Vanessa has not been sure about a single thing, in her entire life.

-x-x-x-

Gregory sat on the edge of the bed, kicking his legs. It was a queen-sized mattress, and way too big for someone so tiny. But Luis had boxed some pillows in the center into a makeshift gate of sorts. She fought the urge to mother-hen about it. Luis' phone was charging on the nightstand, so it was likely he planned on camping out here.

Gregory squealed, throwing himself at her.

"Oof!" She managed to catch him, earning a round of bubbly giggles.

"Yay!"

She plopped him down in the center of the pillow-gate. He sank into the mattress (which gave her a mini heart attack. The image of him suffocating made Vanessa dig her nails into her palm until it disappeared). She made sure that he was able to wiggle around, and that his head was supported and not buried under the heavy comforter.

She tucked him in. "Goodnight." She soothed his hair back, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead.

Despite his energy not two seconds ago, Gregory fought to keep his eyes open. He leaned into her touch, almost basking in it. It made her heart sad, though she didn't dwell on it. She started to move off the bed.

Gregory yawned, snuggling deeper into the covers. "'Night, mommy. I love you."

All of the air in Vanessa's lungs vanished. She gritted her teeth, fighting back the urge to throw up. "L-lo- uh….Goodnight." Her stomach curled in on itself. An image flashes before her. Brown hair. Amber eyes. Kind face.

Gregory had completely passed out, which was probably for the best. She swallowed down bile, and hurried from the room.

She stumbled into the hall. Brown hair. Amber eyes. Kind face.

Luis is right outside. He catches her, holding her delicately by the shoulders. "'Ness? 'Ness, are you okay?"

Vanessa shoved him away. "I-I need to go home."

He looked at her, eyes wide. "'Ness, you need to rest. You only ever get worse without sleep."

She shook her head frantically. "No. I need to leave. I want to go home." She didn't wait for his response, turning tail and running until she reached the confines of her car.

Vanessa caught her breath, starting the engine.

Brown hair. Amber eyes. Kind face.

The air was knocked from her lungs again.

She needed to leave, now!

Putting her car into reverse, she pulled out of the driveway.

As she drove away, she looked into her rearview mirror one last time.

Luis stood at the end of his driveway, head in his hands.

What had she done?

-x-x-x-

The time she made it back to her apartment would be impressive if not the countless traffic laws Vanessa had violated in order to do so.

Everything was exactly as she left it. Even the glass of water she forgot to finish before she left for work. She stumbled to her bed. The image was fading now, but the overwhelming dread lingered on.

Some rest should make her feel better.

Energy completely depleted; Vanessa hopped into bed. Still dressed in her work uniform. She pulled the covers over her head, hiding. It was uncomfortable. Stifling hot.

She's safe.

…..She's safe….

….she's….s…a…f….e…..