That night Avalon was in the commissary drinking a cup of herbal tea. She wished it was coffee as she was trying her hardest not to sleep, even though she didn't really like the taste of coffee. And even if she did, she knew that it wasn't good for the baby. Coffee and lack of sleep. However, since about almost three months ago, Avalon hasn't liked sleeping because that's when the nightmares came. They came at night.
Avalon was staring into her cup so intently that she didn't even hear Mick walk into the commissary until he waved his hand in front of her face. She jumped slightly, her shoulders tensing up.
She blinked rapidly, falling out of her trance, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
As Avalon looked up, she gave a relieved sigh and relaxed. She remembered meeting him earlier in the day with Charlie, but he'd been too busy to notice. She wasn't sure that he had caught her name, given how he didn't even introduce himself. Yet, Avalon knew that he was harmless. That he would never hurt her.
"I'm Avi. I'm just drinking tea trying not to sleep."
"Mick Rory." Mick introduced, "Try coffee."
Avalon shook her head, "I'm….uh….I don't like coffee."
She didn't want to tell Mick that she was pregnant and that it was the reason why she wasn't drinking coffee. She truly didn't know why, but she didn't feel very comfortable talking to Mick. Maybe it was his size, his grumpy demeanor, or simply his gender, like with Nate and Ray.
Avalon quickly finished her tea in one gulp before standing up, taking her empty cup to the sink. She said goodnight to Mick and then headed into the hallway, not to her bedroom though because even though she felt sleepy, she wasn't ready to sleep. Not yet.
Avalon was looking for Charlie, but when she checked the room, the lights were out, and Charlie was fast asleep. She didn't want to wake the fate, so she just moved along. Since that was a bust, Avalon decided that she would just have to settle for Zari. She wasn't ready to talk to Sara about any of this. She wasn't ready for Sara to know about her real-life nightmares that kept her up at night.
Avalon found Zari's room and then knocked on the door, listening for a response, before opening it slowly. Nervous, she inched into the room, not going any closer than the foot-end of the bed.
"Zari?" She spoke, soft and timid, "Can I talk to you?"
"Of course." Zari replied as she looked over at Avalon. She patted the spot next to her on the bed, "Come sit. Tell me what's on your mind."
Avalon walked closer to the bed, sitting down on the edge. She was biting her lips nervously. It was an old habit, something that she has done since she was a young child. As young as four years old. What she'd had to be nervous about at that age, she didn't know. She guessed that she'd always been a nervous child. Maybe nervous what's right though. Maybe she was just very sensitive to other peoples' auras or something, their energies.
"I...um...I don't like to sleep at night….because of the nightmares."
"Can you tell me about the nightmares?" Zari questioned
Avalon gave a nod, "They're about my parents...my dad."
"What happens?"
"Happened. It's not just a nightmare. It's all true." Avalon corrected, "But enough about me, what's keeping you up so late?"
Zari shrugged, "Same thing as you. True nightmares."
"What are yours about? If you feel comfortable talking about it."
"My brother." The older woman answered, touching the space on her chest where her necklace usually rests, "The totem I wear during the day used to belong to my brother. He died saving me, and even though he told me to leave, I feel guilty about leaving him behind."
Avalon nodded, "That's understandable."
"He was my younger brother, but he was stronger, braver and better than me. He was the only family I had left."
The teen sighed, touching her belly, "This is my family. Inside of me. My dad….he...um….I'm pregnant with my dad's baby."
Zari nodded, slowly, "Okay. Can you tell me more? Or are you not comfortable with that?"
Avalon shook her head, "No. It's fine. My parents wanted another child, but my mom couldn't have another baby after me. They wanted me to carry a baby for them. The baby I'm carrying is supposed to be my brother or sister, but I couldn't...I couldn't let this baby be raised by a man willing to have sex with his own daughter."
"I'm so sorry about what your dad did to you, Avi, but I promise you will never have to go back." Zari told the girl, "However you do have to sleep. Not just for yourself, but for your baby."
"I know. I just can't. Every time I close my eyes I see my dad having sex with me to conceive the child that I'm now carrying."
Zari stood up, "I'll go make you a cup of ginger tea. Would you like that? It's great for sleep."
Avalon smiled, "Yes please."
As Zari left to make the tea, Avalon thought about how nice everyone on the ship was. She couldn't believe it. No one had ever been this nice to her without wanting something in return. That's what she was waiting for. The requests. The 'hey, I need this.' Or 'I want you to do this for me. It'll make you special'. It made sense to Avalon. If her own parents could do it to her, then any stranger or friend could too.
Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoy. Comments are greatly appreciated.
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