𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐎𝐧𝐞-𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬

A Sleepless Night

(Settings:
In the Safe Haven.
Seven years after WICKED got destroyed)

"Are you kidding me?" Groaning in annoyance, Siren blindly searches for the light as Alice's cries wake Thomas up too.

"I'll go," he whispers, and almost immediately gets out of bed before Siren even has the chance to protest. Still, she isn't able to fall back asleep and waits a full ten minutes for Thomas to return.

With a sobbing Alice in his arms.

The girl immediately crawls between the sheets and clenches both her arms around her parents.

"Hey, hey— what's wrong?" By now, Siren definitely isn't as cold-hearted as she used to be and isn't scared to show some pity either, especially at her own child. Her eyes flicker up to Thomas. "What's wrong?" She repeats. "Nightmare?"

He nods. Mouths something, but the dark room makes his lips unable to read.

"What did you dream, Little Mermaid?" He wipes tears off his daughter's cheeks. "I thought it was always butterflies and flowers." A gasp. "That unicorn in your dreams didn't dare to be rude to you, right?!"

She sniffs, a ton of snot coming out when she exhales, all of it spreading on Siren's sleeve.

Siren stares at the mess. Then at Alice, and then pulls a face.

"I lost you and mommy," she cries out. "We went swimming but you two never got out of the water and no one could save you."

"I've told you already. Mommy must got some kind of mermaid gene, according to her name," Thomas says. "I'm sure your dream spoiled it. We must've gone swimming underwater."

Siren can't help but go with it. Runs a hand over Alice's back. "Yeah. That must've been it. Mommy and daddy fled from the two little monsters they're always stuck with!" She squeezes her waist, causing laughs to leave the kid's mouth at the ticklish feeling.

"That was definitely it," Thomas adds. "If the unicorn you told me you dreamed of is rude, tell me, though! I'll personally show up in your dream and learn him a lesson."

"Like you did to Rat Man? Minho calls him that, at least."

"Yes," he confirms. "But that depends on what the unicorn did. If he's as mean as Janson, I'll for sure kill him! But you know who was also mean to me?" He points at Siren. "And now I'm practically married to her."

"But you can't marry the unicorn, too!"

Both Siren and Thomas laugh. "I won't," he promises. "Just learn him a lesson. Super good at that."

"You'll squeeze him between walls!" She giggles. "Or push him down the stairs like you did to the zombie! And then flee by sliding under the door! Or maybe you'll jump out of the window."

Sighing, Siren has to hold back a smile. "Did he make you believe it was all that spectacular again?"

"It was spectacular!" Thomas defends. "I'm not the one telling them the harsh truth and scaring them to death."

"I only once mentioned the way I killed Amery." She shrugs. "And Chase liked it!"

"Chase said that Minho told him that Tío Jorge hung all of you upside down," Alice adds in. "Is that true?"

"Yes, but—"

"Was it meant nicely?"

Her parents share a glance. Siren nods heavily, Thomas shakes his head.

"He wanted to either kill or sell us."
"It was just a fun game we were playing."