Seated upon the old sofa, Faith fixes her eyes on her fatherâs hands swallowing hers. How many times has he patiently tried to calm her down like this over the years? There is an attempt to subtly slide her eyes over towards his face while Faith bites back a sigh.Â
Too many, was the only real answer, and Faith knew it. The poor guy hadnât known what he was in for when he signed up to be her dad.
Squirming slightly in place, Faith darts her eyes away before her father can catch her gaze, huffing out a sigh even as she shakes her head in acknowledgement that clearly lets him know, thereâs more to the story.
âIssues.â The single word is said devoid of any real feeling, as if Faith was detaching herself from it. âI suppose thatâs the nice way to put it, yeah,â she drawls out, tone taking on a slightly bitter turn. âBut thisâŚ?âÂ
Lifting her eyes, if not her head, Faith licks at her lips, âThis is⌠Different⌠Sorta,â she half explains. âI umâŚâ Sucking in a deep breath, Faith lifts up her head and looks over towards the doorway back where Sam was still sequestered in the kitchen. She wouldnât mind him here for a bit of moral support right about now.
Redirecting her attention back at her father, Faith tries again, âThis is some really weird crap, Dad,â she prefaces what sheâs about to tell him, voice somewhat low, and cautioning. âThese dreams Iâve been having - Theyâre not the same kind of nightmares. Not the ones Iâve had before I mean. These areâŚâÂ
Pausing, Faith gives her head a slow, thoughtful shake, âDad, these are⌠Itâs like Iâm possessed or something, and you know that I wouldnât go saying something like that lightly since I know thatâs nothing to joke about. When I have these dreams, itâs like Iâm another person, andâŚâÂ
Closing her eyes in a slow blink, Faith draws her hands back, running one through her hair and stopping to nervously fidget with one long, curly lock. She opens her eyes slowly, looking back up at him through a thick fan of lashes. âItâs likeâŚâ Faithâs voice has dropped to a stage whisper, âthe dreams are teaching me stuff⌠Fighting and other stuff, but they also scare the hell outta me - Some of the stuff I see and FEEL. Dad, I FEEL whatâs happening in these dreams like Iâm there.â Faith breathes out, eyes widening as fear bleeds into them.
Just the jaded way she said Issues, like she thought he was being dismissive, made Bobby wince slightly, but he stayed where he was and let her talk it out. He could see Sam hovering in the kitchen doorway behind her, trying not to look like he was listening in; the teenager was always worried when his cousin had a bad moment.
Faithâs demeanour shifted, and Bobby leaned closer, intent on the urgency with which she spoke. A chill went down his back as she went into more detail about the bizarre dreams she was having, Feeling possessed? Being taught things?
âYou... wouldnât be able to tell me when all this started, would you, sugar?â he said, as an old memory nudged the edge of his consciousness. âOr any details about it other than that youâre scared? This kinda feels like somethinâ I mighta heard about once... a long time ago. Just a few vague bits.â He was almost pleading for her to understand why he wouldnât be able to locate any answers for her quickly.