I've been dreaming of friendly faces
I've got so much time to kill
Just imagine people laughing
I know some day we will
And even if it's far away
Get me through another day
Adelaide woke up to soft noise in the room. This time it was no longer the beeping of the echocardiogram that woke her up, but the soft angelic murmur of someone's voice combined with the text of one of her favourite books.
Teddy was reading to her. Even when he stumbled over the words, it still made her smile as she slowly opened her eyes. She tried to not make a sound or a move as she did not want him to stop.
"And then he started on my wings. Relief and ecstasy, as muscles eased and the sensitive spot that had my stomach clenching, his hands slid to my calves. He began a slow progression, higher and higher, up my thighs, teasing strokes between them that left me panting through my nose. Rising up until he got to my backside, where his massaging was equally professional and sinful. And then up, up my lower back, to my wings. His touched turned—"
Adelaide tried to slam her hand on the book, Teddy was too young to read that part, even if he didn't understand half of what was going on, but could barely lift her hand. Luckily he noticed the small movement immediately and stopped to look at her. Adelaide looked at her little brother with a soft smile filled with love for him that had him undone as he started to wail and cry out loud. Putting his hands around his big sister, he held on for dear life, as if she would disappear if he let go.
Adelaide simply caressed the top of his head and kept her smile on her face. Finally letting go of his big sister he kept looking at her. He saw all the bandages and casts around her body and still knew that he had to be careful.
"I missed you Lainy!"
"I missed you too, buddy. Thank you for bringing my book and for reading to me. I loved listening to it."
Teddy wiped away his tears and smiled back at her. He immediately jumped off the bed towards his bag. "I got you some other things too."
Adelaide pushed the button that lifted her bed to a more upright position so she wasn't lying down anymore.
Teddy pulled out the different drawings that he made for her and gave them to her.
His drawings were still shit, but what could be expected from an almost five year old, a Picasso? Still, his drawing made her smile even bigger than it already had been.
"These are amazing Teddy, I love them. Can you find a good spot in this room to put them up in, I don't know how long I have to stay here." Teddy fervently nodded his head, sprinting all over the room where Adelaide could still see the pictures.
After getting her some water in a glass, Teddy put a chair next to Adelaide's bed and sat down to tell her everything that happened in his life and school since she had been gone.
Theodore's animated talk made Adelaide laugh, oh how she missed this little boy.
Everything that had happened to her did not come to mind until the door opened.
Looking at his face every detail came to her mind way too fast. Her eyes did not leave his, as she broke down. Tears started to leak and whimpers came out of her mouth as she raised her arms toward him, hinting at him to hold her and not let go. Before she knew it, Lemuel had her in his arms, surrounding her from all sides, her head on his chest while her cries became louder and louder and not calming down.
Lemuel held her tight to him with unshed tears, placing soft kisses on her brow and caressing the back of her head. She needed her older brother now, she would need him forever. She would never let go, not even if he pushed her away. Not that he ever would.
Adelaide had been crying in Lemuel's arms for over an hour before her cries started to slow down and tire her out. Sniffing softly, she looked out of her warm cage to see several other people around them. Letting softly go of her brother that kept holding her in one way or another, she acknowledged the other people in the room.
"What up bunny? Haven't seen you in awhile... So... how's the dad?" Adelaide asked awkwardly, knowing Aubrey still had tear stains on her face, thank god she didn't have any makeup on that day or she would have looked like a cracked up panda. That would be an insult to panda's.
The simple question made Aubrey smile like a lunatic.
"He is awesome, but you know one of the first things he said to me? If I wanted to calm down first before talking to him, because someone basically told him I'm on crack 24/7. Know anything about that?" She said with a pointed look.
Adelaide gulped, then yawned. "Oh, I'm so tired, I think I need to rest a little longer. Goodnight!" Adelaide ducked under the blanket and Lemuel as best she could. Trying to hide from her sister's talk.
This made all the people that were left in the room laugh. Genevieve walked into the room during the big laughing fit, walking into the door with Rebecca and Robèrt, they wondered at the picture they were looking at.
Adelaide hiding her head under her brother's arm, Aubrey trying to pull the blanket off of her. Both girls had a sheepish look when the adults walked into the room.
"Aubrey!" Rebecca started.
"Non, maman! It's not my fault, she started it! She will get my wrath!"
"I had said nothing untrue!" Adelaide countered.
"You dare talk about me?!"
"The way you are currently behaving is just adding proof to what I said. And I never said you were on crack. I said you were like an energiser bunny, ask Robèrt."
Aubrey stood puffing and pouting while the rest of us laughed.
Everyone stood or sat down, wanting to be close to the one on the bed. They wanted to hug her, make sure that she was okay, or at least on the journey to getting better. All but Robèrt. He stood next to his wife, whom he had not seen in almost six years. The woman that held his heart and soul. This moment was the first moment since their reunion that he had let go of her and walked away from his wife's immediate vicinity, towards the girl that had brought him home. The girl whom he had physically seen tortured in front of him, the images of it he would never get off his retina. He embraced her from both sides, held on to her and in his mind promised he would stand by this young lady as well. Giving her all that she would ever need in terms of care, love and happiness.
Adelaide didn't understand for a quick second what was happening. The man she had heard so much about but never really knew held on to her tightly. His arms and body exuded warmth and love in a form she had not felt in years. So Adelaide did the one thing she could think of, take all that he was giving her, so that one day when she would not have it anymore she could replay it in her memory and the warmth would come back to her shattered heart.
Aubrey saw the scene play out in front of her and tears flooded her face again as she stood next to her mother. She had loved Adelaide from day one and was more than happy to share her own mother with her best friend, knowing that her best friend had been deprived of the love she had gotten from birth. She didn't mind sharing, because the love and happiness she got in return was more than she had given out. Adelaide was her best friend, partner in crime on too many occasions to count and was a happy relief to have after they thought her father had died. The tainted memories of her father due to his death faded because of the attention that she gave to her best friend and the memorial that Adelaide had made for him in their first year as friends just showed how much the girl with the so called 'shattered heart' could give in terms of love and endearment towards others, never wanting anything for it in return. Yes, with her father back in her life, the four of them would always be perfection in her mind.
The perfect family.
As much as Rebecca loved the show in front of her, there was something pressing on her heart that she needed to talk out.
"So Cherie..." The tone alone made Adelaide freeze. That overbearing motherly tone that every child knew. She was in trouble, big trouble. Slowly letting go of Robèrt, she looked at Rebecca whilst gulping hard.
"Yes mama?" She asked softly. Adelaide's predicament was currently that of a deer trapped by a wolf.
"When were you going to enlighten me about this part time job that you have on the side, le conducteur?"
"aha- haha..." Adelaide laughed awkwardly looking around her, trying to find any way to escape her mother with this question. Seeing no possible way out she slowly turned her head back to the people in the room.
"Okay! Who snitched?!" She glared at everyone.
"Oh no young lady, you don't get to blame them for something you did. Explain, Now!"
"I was just trying to make a little money, I didn't know I would become popular. If anything it's not my fault those men can't function properly. Apparently their job titles are so far up their heads they need a girl to do it for them. Honestly I should just become a don..." Adelaide muttered.
"Cherie!"
"It's true mama, the younger these dons get the more stupid they are. I have been the conductor for 3.5 years and I've saved Adrien's ass more times than he can count on his fingers and yes Adrien thumbs are included. They don't know how to get themselves out of sticky situations and they're administrative work is shit. How in the world they've been surviving before me should be the actual question. And... And, maman, if I had not been the conductor, we would probably never have found Robèrt since we all thought he was dead. So you can't fault me for this." Adelaide said smirking which made Rebecca only sigh.
Adelaide had finally won an argument against her, which was a feat of itself.
"Who's ready for some dinner?"
So does anyone know what book the scripted paragraph is from???
Hint.. it is one of my favourites and I would recommend it to anyone..
Hint 2 the author of this book has the same first name as me...😍
Love, Sarah