Page 115 of Uprising

When I try to soothe her she freaks out even more, screaming, clawing, completely losing it until the doctors all but force me from the room and lock the door so I can’t get back in.

I stare in through the window, my heart breaking as I see how traumatised she is, how changed. And then they draw the curtain, cut even my vision of her off, and though I want to smash down the door, to kick it off its hinges and storm back in, I know that won’t help. That won’t make things better. It will only make it worse.

I walk into Sofia’s room, where she’s still there, barely conscious, her eyes dazed from all the meds they’ve put her on. There’s a pump by her bed, feeding some sort of liquid in through her arm. I try not to look at it because for some reason this turns my stomach more than anything else.

“Daddy?”

I turn at the timid call of my name.

“You okay Sweetpea?” I reply. She’s not meant to be in here. I didn’t want her seeing Sofia like this but clearly she’s found a way in when we were all out rescuing Rose.

“Aunty Sofia won’t talk to me.” She says.

“She’s resting Lara.” I say. “She needs time that’s all.”

She nods like she understands it and then she’s lifting up her arms, and I pick her up, holding her against me.

“It’s okay. Everything will be okay.” I say.

“Did you find mummy?”

I give her a smile. “I did.”

Her eyes widen. She bites her lip in the same way Rose always does when she’s happy and doesn’t know how to contain the emotion.

“Can I see her? Please daddy, please let me.”

I frown pulling her in. I want to say yes. God, more than anything I want to carry her into Rose’s room and hope that the mere sight of our daughter will cure everything.

But I’m not that naïve.

Right now Rose is clearly lost in her trauma. Processing whatever the hell has happened to her. If I let Lara see her like this, it won’t help. If anything it will scar them both more.

“How about we go watch a movie?” I say. It’s not what I want to do, but I know Koen and his men are in control, and I know Holden is with them now.

Besides, with Darius gone there’s nothing left for me to do.

I got my child, I got my sister and now finally I have Rose safe as well.

She winces like she wants to say no but that urge to keep my happy, to appease everyone around her takes over. It’s the same way Rose behaves, that same conditioning and I make a mental note to work on that, to ensure in the future they both put themselves first.

“Okay.” She whispers.

“Come on then.” I murmur turning to leave but as I do I hear the voice, the quiet timid, fearful word.

“Roman?”

I spin around. “Sofia?”

She looks at me and for the first time I think she’s actually seeing me. “Roman?” Her face screws up. She looks so confused. She looks at Lara and then back at me. “I don’t understand.” She says. “I, I thought you were dead.”

I put Lara down, rushing to the bed. “It was a lie.”

“You’re, you’re alive?”

“I am.” I say. “And Ben is too. And Holden.”

“How?” She tries to sit up, she tries to move but she’s still so weak she just crumples into the pillows.