Page 50 of Our Sadie

That’s when she comes to a halt and stares at the wall. “Dad? Where are you? Daddy?”

All three of us go still. She’s speaking in this child-like voice, one that’s sadder and more pitiful than anything I would’ve imagined from her.

I can’t stand it.

That’s when I reach out and firmly clutch onto her shoulders, flipping her around. “Sadie, come back to us.”

“Dad?”

Her thinking I might be her father is just... disturbing. “No, I’m Dom. Zach and Jerome are here, too. But we’re the only ones.”

“Where is he?”

“I don’t know. Do you wanna wake up so we can call him?”

“Man, I don’t think waking her is wise,” Jerome flicks on the flashlight function of his phone, checking her up and down. I don’t see any injuries. Nothing new, anyway.

“Yeah, I agree,” Zach chimes in. “Let’s just try to get her back to bed.”

I peer along the upstairs corridor with its black and white sketches. Underneath these is a round three-legged table with a blooming Christmas cactus on it, a backless wooden bench, and even a glass bottle shaped like a globe filled with sprigs of dried flowers. How she didn’t stumble right into them I have no clue.

Maybe Jerome and Zach are right.

Gripping onto her good arm, I escort her back to her room, even assisting her as she climbs into bed. Along the way, she switches directions a few times, but I lead her with a firm hand. Then, I observe her as she settles beneath her covers. This whole time, she’s had her eyes open, but now they drift shut.

I hope that’s a good sign.

The other two follow me in, and the three of us take up residence in her seating area. For several minutes we stay mute as we observe her, the moon shining through her window and making the pale oval of her face glow, but I have a million questions. Turns out, we’re on the same page.

“How long do you think she’s been doing this?” Zach asks.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Jerome crosses an ankle over his knee. “What I want to know is how she hasn’t gone flying down those stairs or even through a window. There are so many hazards all over this place.”

“Maybe she has,” I say. “Maybe that’s how she received all those injuries.”

But Jerome is shaking his head no. “I’m not buying that, not with the majority of her damage being burns. There’s more to this. And I think it’s time we find out what.”