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“We’re all stressed.” Jesse sat in the chair at her side and uncovered the dish Simone had left for him. He set a syringe on the table near his plate.
“Who’s that for?”
Jesse’s gaze flicked to Ava.
Minji finished dabbing at Ava’s t-shirt and studied her daughter’s face. Ava’s eyes remained steadfastly on her mother. The thought of Ava being sedated and strapped to a bed made her queasy. It was a strange comfort to have both of her daughters near her, even in Ava’s condition.
“She drank some water and part of the protein shake,” Minji said.
“Which is impressive considering the state of the other mesmerized, but she’s going to be in danger of dehydrating if she doesn’t get more fluids into her system,” Jesse said, shoveling food into his mouth, chewing rapidly.
Minji pondered his words.
“It won’t hurt her, Minji.”
“I know that. I do.” Minji glanced at Ava again thoughtfully. Why was she so reluctant to sedate her daughter?
“I moved a rollaway bed into the room where I placed your husband. We can keep her there, close to her father.”
Ava’s eyes shifted to Jesse and back to her mother so rapidly Minji almost missed the movement.
“No, no. I’ll keep her with me. If she stops cooperating with me, I’ll reconsider.”
Jesse picked up the syringe. “Are you sure?”
Ava took a sharp step toward Minji, appearing to take refuge behind her.
“Whoa.” Jesse pinched the syringe between his fingers and waggled it at Ava. “Look at that.”
The little girl’s eyes were now firmly on Jesse, not Minji.
“Put it down,” Minji said, trying to infuse her words with a warning.
Jesse continued to wag the syringe at Ava. “She’s paying attention to me. Actually looking at me!”
Minji wanted to scream that it was not Ava watching him, but something other, something dangerous, but her instincts compelled her to be cautious. “Stop it. I’m not going to allow you to drug her.”
Maybe the nurse practitioner caught the implication of her tone, or maybe he became unnerved by Ava’s stare, but he set the syringe aside. “Maybe she’s waking up if she’s afraid of needles.”
“Just don’t do that.”
“Seriously, Minji, maybe it’s a good sign,” Jesse suggested, then dug into his meal once again.
Minji knew otherwise. Something was watching through Ava’s eyes and it did not want to be sedated. Sedation meant blindness. Whatever was observing them wouldn’t abide that.
Minji kept her theory to herself, but was certain she was right.
Leaving Jesse to his meal, she collected Bailey, took Ava’s hand, and hurried to the patient room where Jake slept. Bailey was already close to dozing off, so Minji laid her next to Jake. Her heart broke just a little when the baby girl lovingly touched her father’s shoulder and snuggled into him.
Settling into the chair next to the bed, she held Ava on her lap. She combed trembling fingers through Ava’s red curls while staring into her daughter’s glassy eyes.
“Ava, if you can hear me, I love you. I love you so very much. I’m going to try very, very hard to free you. I promise.” She took a deep breath. “And to the other inside of Ava, I know you’re there. I know you’re watching me. Not only through Ava, but the others. You need to tell me what you want from me. Tell me what you are and what I can do so you’ll let Ava and the others go.”
The little girl’s eyes did not waver from Minji’s face.
With tears running down her cheeks and dripping from her chin, Minji pleaded with the nameless being to release her daughter and the rest of the world. Frustration, anger, and despair spurred her rambling appeal. The entire time, Ava’s eyes stared into Minji’s, mouth twitching as strange sounds emanated from her throat.
“Please stop all this,” Minji whispered. “Please stop killing and hurting us. Just tell me what you want from me. What can I do?”
