Daddy [Mommy Sequel]

Chapter 49: Experiments

As soon as we ran into the room, the children exclaimed with relief, scrambling off their beds to meet me—before they saw Alex. All of them froze in horror, afraid of the staff before Pyne continued to rush towards me—passing a thankful smile at Alex.

"Thanks for finding her. Don't worry, guys. He's not a threat."

At his words the children hesitantly gathered around me, beginning to ramble questions and worried statements. Oliver didn't get up, however. He was laying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling with a blank, spaced out expression.

Oliver had been crying.

"Are you okay, Harper?!"

"You totally went off on the Master—I'm surprised you're not dead!"

"Pyne said he took you somewhere—what happened?!"

"A-are you okay, Harper? You're b-bleeding!"

I was overwhelmed with so many questions that I had to back away from them. Not only that, but I had a lot of things to explain as well—a lot to apologize for.

"Wait, wait guys—calm down. I have a lot to say—

"Are you going to apologize for killing Kiera?"

I suddenly paused as the voice came from the mousey boy sitting on his bed at the back of the room. His hair was a mess, and Charlotte was sitting next to him, gently rubbing his shoulder.

He looked angry—and guilt swarmed over me in waves. My stomach clenched as all of the children's eyes focused on me.

"I-I didn't—"

"Because if you are, I don't want to hear it. It's your fault she's dead."

I froze, my head spinning. I shook my head, stuttering as I tried to think of something to say. Something to defend myself with.

But Oliver was right—it was my fault she was dead.

"Don't listen to him," Alayah spoke up, frowning at the boy. She placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, and I sighed. Alex and Rosabeth sat on my bed, watching us intently.

Alex didn't know what happened.

"We understood why that happened, why he killed her—but it wasn't your fault. Kiera made that choice for herself, and it's not your fault that some crazy guy decided he wanted to kill her—"

The children were very kind, but I could see their upset expressions and uneasy emotions. They knew a part of it was because of me—although they would never admit it.

"Did you not see how they killed her?!" Oliver broke out, standing up. His voice cracked, and he was crying once again.

"Did you not see what happened to her?! She shriveled up like a a corpse—she wasn't even recognizable! She didn't look real! If Harper didn't only care about herself—if she wasn't so reckless—this wouldn't have happened! You killed her! You did it! You—"

Charlotte pulled him back onto the bed, lightly scolding him as the boy broke down in sobs once again, covering his face as he leaned onto her thin shoulder. I felt awful, and I knew I was responsible for her death.

I swallowed guiltily.

Of course, Alex was unaware to the situation, and he looked at both of us in shock—unable to catch on what happened in the first meal while he wasn't there.