Nightmares of Caitlin Lockyer

Part 42

42

"Want to watch some TV?" I asked Caitlin. We were done with breakfast. I'd helped her in the bathroom while the trays were cleared away. I wasn't game to even mention the laptop. After her marathon effort two days ago, she'd agreed to try to tell me more yesterday, but it hadn't been long before she was too tired to talk.

She nodded and I hit the power on the remote. I flipped through the channels, hoping we wouldn't get stuck with any kids' shows.

"Oh, wait," she said suddenly. "That didn't look too bad." I blipped back to the one she indicated, with a bunch of people sitting in a helicopter. It looked familiar. "That one."

I settled into the chair beside her bed. "Is that…Jurassic Park? I haven't seen that since I was a kid."

Caitlin nodded, a slow smile appearing. "Nor have I." The smile faded fast.

"Do you want to watch this?" I asked her, my fingers poised over the remote. I'd take all-day cartoons if it meant she wouldn't cry.

She looked resigned. "Sure. It'll be fine." Her eyes were already on the screen. She folded her arms across her chest, pressing her lips together.

I stared at her for a few minutes, just waiting.

"What?" she asked finally, turning to me.

I nodded at her crossed arms. "It doesn't look like you want to watch it. What's wrong?"

I think she held out for another minute before she relented. "The first time I saw it as a kid, I had nightmares about velociraptors for weeks."

"Have you seen it since?" I probed.

"No," she admitted. "But even the thought of them still freaks me out."

I fought to keep the laughter out of my voice. "So you don't like this movie because you think you might have nightmares after watching it?" I tried to keep my face expressionless.

"Yes," she replied defensively.

"Nightmares worse than the one you told me about yesterday?" I asked gently, my eyes not leaving hers.

Her face hardened. "No. Velociraptors sound like a picnic after…what they did to me." Her voice faded from fierce to a barely audible whisper. She swallowed. "Bring on the dinosaurs. Watching them eat people will be fun." Her expression was fierce.

I laughed. "Even the bloke on the toilet?"

She struggled not to smile, but she gave in with a breathy laugh. "Yes, even when the T-Rex eats the man on the toilet." She laughed properly. "There aren't enough scary scenes in toilets."

I grinned back. "Yeah, because the world needs more crappy horror scenes."

We both settled back to watch dinosaurs eat people, even the T-Rex with the toilet. I heard Caitlin's musical laughter again at that part and smiled to myself. Maybe she was finally recovering from her ordeal.

As the movie progressed, my thoughts turned dark once more. If Caitlin was more scared of the men who'd hurt her than a pack of vicious, intelligent dinosaurs, then I needed to know what she knew, so I could hunt the bastards down.

I resolved to try again later. I'll set up the laptop and ask her to tell me more as she cries and cries and…I try to be a heartless bastard. Yeah…no.

It could wait until tomorrow. Let her be happy for today.

Oh, wait. No, not tomorrow either. The next day. Tomorrow's her eighteenth birthday and I don't want to spoil it by upsetting her. The day after tomorrow, then.

Two days of peace wouldn't be too much of a delay. It's not like the hospital was going to be overrun with velociraptors or vicious bastards, plus she'd been in surgery yesterday. She deserved a rest. She'd been unconscious for almost two weeks – what more could happen if we waited another two days?