Royal Thief (Editing)

Chapter 35

Logan

I stood beside the fridge watching Gloria manoeuvre the kitchen utensils with shaking hands, it was obvious she couldn't take the quietness from her granddaughter's room any longer and had to do something.

I couldn't help but wonder how Annabelle was able to persuade Emily to open the door. Seeing how frustrated Gloria was, I moved to her and gently took hold of the pan. "Let me."

She nodded and let it go, wiping her hands on her blue apron.

"Are you sure you can do it?" She asked, sniffing and rubbing her nose with her elbow. It was clear she couldn't hold back the tears.

I shook my head. "I've never cooked in my life, but that is why you are here right? So what am I going to add?" I inquired, staring at the properly mixed and boiled combination of butter, Cocoa powder, sugar and milk.

"You need to stir in the peanut butter, oat and vanilla." She moved the mentioned content before me and handed over a spoon for stirring.

"What I'm I making again?" I asked, stirring the ingredients into the saucepan.

"No-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies or biscuits as you English people call it," she said, with a smile that touched her cheeks and made her once dull eyes shone like the stars in the night cloud.

She spread a baking sheet and took hold of the pan from my hands.  With care, she dropped teaspoons full of the mixture on the baking sheet lined with wax paper.

"Let's leave that to cool off." She pushed a stool forward and took her seat, "I'm really sorry for calling you in."

"That's not a problem, I'm sure she's going to snap out of it soon," I said, taking a stool beside her.

"I heard about the fire, I hope there was not much damage and no one got hurt?" She asked, changing the topic to an even sour one.

I watched her pressed her hands together as I narrated the incident and Annabelle being involved but sparing the details of Laura starting the fire.

Mother kept Laura's involvement and Annabelle's unconscious from the press. But telling Gloria seemed right, somehow I knew she could help with the recent nightmares.

She stood from the stool and slowly moved to the biscuits. "My mum once told me; to get someone to open up you need to also do the same."

"You need to let her feel safe in telling you about it," she said, wiping her hands with a towel and taking her seat, "You need to try."

I scratched the top of my left brow, it was the same thing grandma said and the same thing she did when I had my boyish nightmares.

It's a tell for a tell.

Seconds after our little discussion, I walked out of the kitchen ready to check on Annabelle and Emily like I did every five minutes, but the rolling sound of wheels stopped me on my tracks.

I felt Gloria behind me and turned to see her staring at her granddaughter being wheeled my Annabelle.

"I'm sorry Grandma." Was the first thing that popped out of her lips.

She wheeled herself forward and stopped right in front of Gloria. "I'm sorry for getting you scared," she whispered. Her eyes were red and swollen, she met my mine and immediately dropped them to the floor.

I watched Gloria knelt in front of the little girl and wrapped her in an embrace.

"You never do that again, promise me? Promise me you are never going to scare your old grandma again."