Pick Up The Phone. (The Walten Files AU)

Chapter 4: Raised Right. (Mostly Sophie POV)

||Sophie POV||

     It had been nearly two weeks since Sophie had gone into Felix's care. She had been put onto Paxil and Prozac due to developing anxiety and depression from the mysterious disappearance of her family. She had still been pretty quiet and antisocial, though, not having many friends. She didn't tell Felix this, though. She didn't want to worry him.
     One night, when she was going downstairs to get a glass of water, she heard Felix talking in his room. As far as she knew, her caretaker didn't have anybody over. She stopped, holding her ear up to the door.
     "Jack, I swear, I'm not going to let anybody hurt her, not even myself. Yes, I've thrown away all the alcohol. Yes, Jack, I'm not going to let her near Bon. Calm down. I'm going to raise her as my own, I won't let anything happen to her. Jack, I have your family's missing posters framed on the wall of my office! Of course I care about you!" 
     Sophie frowned. She couldn't hear any responses from the person that Felix seemed to be talking to. Jack... where did she recognize that name from? She softly pushed open the door, poking her head inside. Nobody was there. Felix, alerted by the creak of the door, turned to Sophie and jumped back a bit.
     "Lord, Sophie, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" He said, letting out a sigh of relief. "What are you doing here? It's nearly midnight." 
     "Oh, I was getting a glass of water and I heard you talking in here." She frowned, her brow creasing. "Are you ok?" 
     "I'm fine. Just been a bit stressed at work. Why don't you go get your water and go back to bed? You've got school tomorrow." Sophie nodded and closed the door, but she was still worried. Nobody talks to themself like that.

||Felix POV||

     When Sophie had closed the door and he was sure that she was gone, Felix turned back to the ghosts of the Walten family. Jack, Rosemary, Ed, and Molly. He gave an awkward smile, laughing nervously.
     "Nice save." Jack said, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms. "Now my daughter is going to think that her caretaker is insane!" Rosemary nodded in agreement. She was still furious at Felix for everything that he had done.
     He sighed. "Jack, why can't you just let me do this for you? I've royally fucked up with all of you, and I want to make it up to you. I want to help Sophie! Would you rather she go through the foster system? You may never see her again if that happens! I promise, if she stays with me, she'll be raised right." 
     Jack and Rosemary vanished for a moment before soon returning. Jack nodded to Felix, placing a hand on his shoulder. Felix winced slightly, but shook his head, clearing the pain. He smiled slightly.
     "Does this mean that you're okay with it? With me raising Sophie?" Felix asked hesitantly. Jack nodded again. "Thank you, Jack, you can trust me with this! I promise!" He hugged his friend, but he couldn't hold on long, due to the searing pain. 
     "I trust you to take care of her, Felix. We'll see you soon to take care of her." Jack and the others vanished, and Felix sighed. He was shouldering a lot of responsibility now. He'd make it, though.

||Sophie POV||

     Sophie struggled with getting back to sleep that night. Eventually, she managed to rest. She opened her eyes, and she was in a white void. She sat up. There was nothing there, except for a mirror that looked oddly familiar. Wasn't that the mirror in her old house?
     She stood and walked over to the mirror, looking into it. At first, she was shocked and distracted by the fact that she didn't appear to have a face. No eyes, nose, mouth, nothing. Just smooth skin. And then she saw it. A group of figures was standing behind her. They weren't facing her, but they were nearby. 
     She turned and walked hesitantly over to them. She tapped the woman on the shoulder. When the woman turned, though, it was a horrifying sight. Her eyes and the inside of her mouth were all black, with a dark liquid dripping out of them. Sophie stepped back. She tried to scream, but nothing came out.
     Sophie shouted and shot up in bed, waking up from the strange nightmare. Felix knocked on the door before opening it and looking inside. 
     "Everything alright?" He asked. 
     "Yeah. Just a nightmare." She wiped her sweat, taking deep breaths. Felix nodded, understanding.
     "Well, since you're already awake, why don't you get ready for the day? It's only a minute or two until your alarm goes off. Might as well start now." Felix suggested. Sophie nodded and got out of bed, stretching. 

||Time skip brought to you by starting to forget your family and having a weird dream with their ghosts in it||

     Sophie was mostly quiet after coming home from school. She had been distracted all day, thinking about her nightmare. The people she saw seemed so familiar. Felix had tried to start a conversation a couple times before eventually giving up and letting her be. 
     "Sophie! Dinner!" Felix called. Sophie came down and sat at the table. Felix gave her some food and sat down across from her, beginning to eat. Sophie simply stared at her food. She didn't feel hungry. 
     "Something on your mind?" Felix asked, looking up from his dinner for a moment. She nodded, sighing softly."
     "It was that nightmare I had. It's been bugging me all day. And there's something else, but... I don't know if I want to share that yet." She mumbled as she spoke, and Felix nodded in understanding. 
     "If you don't mind me asking, what was the nightmare?" Felix asked, continuing to eat. Sophie frowned.
     "Well, I woke up in this weird white void. And there was a mirror there, it looked familiar. When I looked in the mirror, I didn't have a face at all, and I saw a couple people behind me. One of them looked normal from where I was standing, but the other three were just weird. One of them was a grey dude in a suit, and then there were two that were all red. The only normal one was this woman in a sweater."
     Felix paused for a moment, thinking, before he nodded.
     "Go on."
     "Well, I tapped the woman on the shoulder, and when she turned around, her eyes and mouth were all black and dripping. I couldn't scream, and I couldn't run away, and... that's it."
     Felix nodded, setting down his fork and thinking for a moment. Sophie watched him think, wondering what could possibly be on his mind. He picked up his fork again and quickly finished his dinner. 
     "I'm sure it was just a strange dream. Don't forget to take your pills." Felix said, standing up and taking his plate with him to the kitchen. Sophie stayed where she was, though, even when Felix went up to his room. Why was he acting so strange about her nightmare?