NORA
Nora woke in an old, much more familiar bed than the one in Mouse's home. She knew immediately that she was in a dream, but the sheets felt so scratchy against her body as she stood from under the covers that the thought of her own, much more normal reality, passed faster than a blink of her eyes.
She stepped as silently as she could onto the old, splintery wooden floor, hoping that it wouldn't creak. She was supposed to be up early, since it was her turn to cook breakfast. But who was she kidding? It was almost always her turn. Then again, she was the only one who could cook more than burnt toast.
"NORA!" A voice roared from below her.
Nora shuddered, glancing to her nightstand. Her clock showed eight in the morning. Much too late for her to be up cooking breakfast.
She picked up her pace, not even caring to put her worn out slippers on as she skidded through the orphanage hall. Not that her slippers would have benefited her much, anyway. The soles were so thin that Nora felt every bit of cold and every splinter underneath her foot whether she wore them or not.
Nora sprinted down the stairs, skipping the third one from the bottom because last time someone had used it, they had fallen through the stairs.
"NORA KANE GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!!" Mr. Harsche, the orphanage's manager, screamed her name again.
"I'm here, sorry!" Nora gasped as she raced across the hall, landing right in front of Mr. Harsche.
"Where were you two hours ago, though?" He asked aggressively, spitting in her face as he overpronounced his words.
"I-I'm sorry," Nora responded softly, not knowing what to say.
Mr. Harsche started to advance on her and Nora backed away quickly until she felt the cool brick of the fireplace and the uninsulated wall against her sides. She crouched down immediately, curling into a ball as Mr. Harsche began to yell at her.
Nora screamed out as she covered her ears. She didn't know why she needed to scream, she just needed to drown out Mr. Harsche. She just needed space and peace.
And then suddenly there was heat next to her back. Nora's head shot up in alarm. It was never warm in the orphanage. "Fire!" Some kid shouted.
A scream followed.
Nora jumped up, running straight past Mr. Harsche and into the flaming kitchen, not caring if she was burnt.
"NORA!" Someone yelled. She thrashed, but hands caught her and pinned her down.
A familiar face was trapped in the flames, and Nora didn't know if she could help her. "MADISON!" She screamed, "MADDIE!"
"NORA WAKE UP!!!!"
Nora eyes shot open and she gasped. Two familiar faces stared down at her, both filled with concern.
"You were having a nightmare," Mouse murmured from beside her. He was standing next to the bed, his hands on her left arm and leg, still pinning one side down.
"Are you alright?" Jesse was holding her right side down. He sounded just as concerned as Mouse was.
Nora smiled weakly and shrugged off their grips. "I'm okay," She said, gritting her teeth when her hand exploded in pain. It was probably just a phantom pain from her nightmare.
"Do those happen often?" Mouse asked her worriedly.
Nora turned to him and said, "They were every night before I started staying here. I don't know why they stopped."
Jesse and Mouse exchanged a look. Mouse pushed himself off of Nora's bed, wincing slightly, and then stood. Jesse did the same.
"We'll be in the kitchen with Matt Dee, okay?"
"Okay," Nora smiled weakly at the two and waited until they left to slip out from under the covers. She was wearing a winnie the pooh pajama set that she'd found on clearance when she was shopping with Mouse and Deano, but she changed the outfit out for jean shorts and a light blue tank top with a cute, chubby shark decal on it.
She brushed her teeth with her left hand, since her right was still hurting. That didn't surprise her, though. A part of her body always hurt after a nightmare about the fire. She'd been burnt so bad that night that she ahd several large scars across different limbs. She didn't stop to check her right hand, since the pain was not unusual.
"Morning all," Nora said as she walked into the main part of the apartment.
Mouse, Jesse, and Matt Dee looked up. They were huddled together in a little group of three over the island counter, brownie crumbs scattered around all of them. Nora remembered Matt Dee from the lifeguard party as well. She'd thought he was funny because he was so relaxed the whole time.
"Morning, kid," Matt Dee said, snapping out of his trance first.
Nora walked over to them and took a seat at the counter. She set her hands on the table, moving to fiddle with her fingernails, but Matt Dee caught her right wrist before she could. Everyone was staring at her hand in surprise.
"Doesn't your hand hurt, Nora?" Matt asked in surprise.
Nora nodded, "It's phantom pain, it always happens after I dream about the-" She broke off suddenly as she noticed the burn across the side of her hand. It had clearly blistered, and the blisters must have popped overnight. White pus was leaking slightly out of it.
"That's infected," Matt said.
"I'll get the first aid kit," Jesse pushed himself up from the counter and trotted down the hall to Mouse's bathroom.
Mouse took Nora's hand from Matt and examined the burn himself. He looked a little unnerved, which was more unnerved than Nora had ever seen him before. Like he was worrying about her. Nora decided not to kid herself and instead focused on the problem at hand. No pun intended.
Jesse arrived a moment later with the first aid kit and plopped it onto the counter. He wasted no time unzipping it and pulling out gauze, an antibacterial wipe, some cream, and medical tape.
"This is gonna hurt," He warned Nora. Mouse reached over with both hands and encased her wrist and the half of her uninjured hand. His palms were massive compared to hers. Nora thought that he could probably fit both of her hands into one of his fists.
Jesse opened the antibacterial wipe and began to gently wash away the puss on Nora's hand. Nora hissed and tried to pull away. Usually, she didn't have such a strong reaction to pain, but abnormal circumstances and unusual concern for her wellbeing was making her more sensitive than usual.
Matt wrapped his arm around Nora's shoulder. Whether it was to keep her in place or comfort her, Nora had no idea. She took it as the second option and leaned into him.
Jesse wrapped her hand gently in the gauze and then taped it onto her hand. He smiled at her and then patted her arm. "All good?" He asked.
"All good," Nora agreed.
"Good. Now I think we're all a bit overdue for a rest day," Jesse said, "Dibs on the couch with Nora."
Matt and Mouse both laughed, and so did Nora, but secretly, she was sort of grateful that Jesse was being so welcoming to her. Clearly, the three were pretty good friends, so including Nora in their group was very kind.
"Harrison will be over later with Jules, too, to have a ping-pong tournament or something," Jesse added as they walked over to the living room. He slung an arm around Nora's shoulder and pulled her to his side as he sat down on the couch. Nora cuddled into him, grateful for his warmth and his nice hugs. She didn't notice the jealous look Mouse shot him, or the smug one Jesse returned.
Matt rolled his eyes at the childishness of his two friends fighting over Nora, and grabbed the remote from the table. "What shall we watch?" He asked as he plopped down on the other end of the couch, slinging an arm over the back.
"Anything," Mouse took the chair, sitting down with an ice pack wrapped in a towel.
Matt clicked on the t.v., and the first thing to come up was a picture of Bondi Beach. And then there was Harries and Deano! They were standing next to a buggy, watching a swimmer.
"Should I change it?" Matt asked.
"Leave it on," That was Jesse, telling him to keep the channel in place. Nora, of course, didn't see him nudge Matt's hand and then point down to her. She was too focused on watching as Deano grabbed the rescue board and raced into the water.
"What is this show?" She asked after Deano had returned the mother and her child to shore.
"Bondi Rescue," Matt replied.
"It's neat," Nora didn't want to tell them how invested she was already in the show, but she was already very invested in the show.
"Well, we've got nothing better to do and it's on all day," Matt tossed the remote on the coffee table and put his feet up on the same table.