In the woods Tag: Eva

Ariel was glad when the groceries were in the trunk and the back seat of the cab. She was also glad she had gotten back into the cab, without disturbing anything or waking Lila. Now that she was sitting down, she just relaxed as much as she could and waited for them to get to Eva's house.

About five minutes later, they'd reached Eva's house in the woods. Ariel looked a little tense the entire ride, and Eva made sure to put herself between the driver and her new friend as much as she could to spare her some anxiety.

Once the cab came to a halt in front of the house, Eva paid the man and went to unload the car. It took about four trips for them to get everything in the house. They put the food away first, and then Eva helped Lila and Ariel carry their things up to their room. No sooner had they done that than the doorbell rang.

"Oh! That might be the crib and stroller!" she exclaimed.

Ariel was so glad when they had finally reached Eva's house. When they had Ariel had helped out as much as she could, while still holding Lila. At one point, though, Lila woke up and Ariel put her down so that she could go and be able to grab more groceries as well as the clothing and other things that had been bought.

Once everything was inside, and the groceries were away, Ariel gave Lila the toy bag to bring upstairs while Ariel grabbed as many bags as she could. She was glad that Eva was helping them bring the clothes and other things up to their room.

Ariel heard the doorbell and heard what Eva said. "Yes, it might be. I really hope it is," Ariel said. "Since I don't know, though, would you answer the door?"

"Yeah, sure," Eva said, smiling. "Lila can sleep in the bed in the meantime, and I think that she might sleep better and more comfortably in the crib since it's more suited for someone her age."

"I really hope so," Ariel said. "But yeah, she can sleep in the bed for now." She looked at Lila and noticed that she still looked tired, which didn't surprise her. Ariel went and picked Lila up and put her in the bed. She then went and took one of the dolls out of the toy bag and gave it to Lila. Lila gladly took it. Ariel sat on the bed for a little while, until Lila fell back asleep holding her doll. She then gently got up and started to quietly put things away in the room.

The crib and stroller were indeed what had been delivered, and Eva paid and led them first to the garage, where they could put the stroller, and then to the second upstairs bedroom, where they could assemble Lila's crib. That way, they were far enough from the sleeping girl, but the room was close enough that Ariel could still use the other upstairs room well down the hall.

Ariel heard some activity going on and figured that it was the crib and stroller being delivered. She continued to put her clothes and other things away. For the moment, she didn't put Lila's things away. She figured she'd do that when she found out which room the crib was going to be in. Ariel figured it'd be in a different room than hers. Especially since no one had come in there to set up the crib. So, she just waited to put Lila's things away in the other room.

While the delivery men were assembling the crib, Eva went to go get Ariel.

"We're setting it up down the hall so that we don't wake her," she said in a whisper, "but if you want to move the crib into your room so that Lila can sleep with you, we can do that later on. And there's a bed in that room, so if you need to sleep with her one night, you can do that too." After all, she didn't want to separate the mother from her daughter.

Ariel looked over when she heard Eva come into the room and what she was saying. As she had figured, the crib was being setup in another room. She was glad to hear what Eva was saying, though, about moving the crib to her room. Ariel waited until Eva was finished talking before whispering, "For now, we can leave Lila's crib where it is and see how things go. I'll probably want to move her crib into my room at some point, though."

Eva nodded and looked over Ariel's shoulder to see the small girl sleeping on the bed. Eva felt her heart go out to Lila, and she smiled, happy to see her finally resting so well.

"Yeah, I guess that we should see if she can sleep on her own first," she said.

Ariel looked over at Lila then back at Eva and said, "Yes, it'd be good to know if she can sleep on her own. I'm not sure how well it'll go, but I feel like I should find out. If it's needed, then her crib can be moved into my room. And if I have to, I can sleep in her room with her."

"Exactly," Eva said with a small smile. "And in the meantime, she can nap peacefully right on the bed, and you...well, are you hungry? Would you like something to eat?"

Ariel was silent for a short time, after Eva finished talking, before saying, "Yes, I'm definately hungry. I need to eat. I didn't realize how hungry I was until you mentioned it." She paused then said, "Are you hungry? I mean, you must be. Especially since you didn't have breakfast."

Eva knew that she couldn't lie her way out of this one without raising too much suspicion, so she just nodded.

"Yeah, I am," she said, laughing. "I should've gotten something before all that shopping. But anyway, what would you want?"

Ariel was silent for a short time, before saying, "I would love to have a burger and some cauliflower and a little bit of peppers, along with some grapes, banana and kiwi." She paused then said, "We should go and eat now. I don't know long Lila will be asleep for."

Eva paused and thought over the list, trying to remember what cauliflower was. Once she had that down, she nodded and headed toward the door. She hoped that Ariel would help put everything together. She didn't doubt that that younger would, but still...

All this food preparing...I hope that I do okay, I thought.

Ariel followed Eva out of the room. Once they had left the room, Ariel quietly closed the door so Lila could sleep in peace. She then headed for the stairs and then for the kitchen. Once in the kitchen, Ariel went through the fridge and started taking things out so things could be cooked or put together for her lunch.

"So..." Eva began as they got into the the kitchen and got to work, "are you feeling better than you did last night?"

She waited patiently for Ariel's answer as she sliced the cauliflower.

Ariel was silent for a short time, before saying, "Yeah, I guess. I'm not really sure in what you mean. If you're talking about my bruises and cuts feeling better, then yes, they do. Well, as better as they can feel. I mean, it'll take awhile for them to be completely healed. It's nothing new."

She paused then said, "If you mean, do I feel better about being around other people, well then, that'd be a no. I'm still nervous and I'm sure you can understand why. I hope that'll change someday, though."

She went and started taking some of the grapes off of one of the bunches and when she had enough, she washed them off. She then peeled a banana and cut that up and the peeled and cut up a kiwi. Ariel then went and put everything in a bowl.

Eva sighed as she cut up the peppers and mixed them together with the cauliflower. Then she went to make the burger.

"I think that it will change," she said with an encouraging smile. "It'll take time, and you'll need some help, but I believe that you can do it. You've come this far after all. You're safe now."

She went over to open one of the packs of ground beef, and she asked, "Will Lila want a burger too, do you think?"

Ariel smiled a little when she heard what Eva said, "Yes, I'm sure things will change and you're right about it taking awhile. As for help, I agree I need it."

She paused then said, "I never said I wasn't safe, Eva. It's just that I don't always feel that way. I guess I just feel like there's something lurking around the corner or something. Not that there is. It's just that it's how I've felt for awhile."

Ariel was silent for a short time, before saying, "Um, well, I think Lila might want a burger. She probably will. It'd be safer to make her one. Oh and she'll want some carrots and applesauce." She went and got out the carrots and apples and started to cut up the carrots and apples so she could cook them, in two different pans.

Eva nodded and said, "Then I'll make three." As she rolled the burgers, she added, "I can understand the paranoia. I'd be paranoid too if I'd been through what you have."

She took the burgers over to the pan and began to cook them that way. She could cook burgers on a stove pretty well, and she unfortunately didn't have a grill here.

I guess Freddy thought that would be too much pretending, she thought. As she watched the food cook, making sure that it didn't get too hot, another thought occurred to her, one concerning Ariel.

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you trust me yesterday? Were you just desperate for help?" she asked, wondering if there was more to it than that. Eva doubted that there was, but she hoped she was wrong. It would be nice to have her new...friend actually trust her for herself.

Ariel felt kind of hurt by Eva's questions. She hadn't just been desperate for help. There was more to it than that. After being silent for a little whille, Ariel quietly said, "No, I wasn't just desperate for help. Part of me actually trusted you and that trust keeps growing. Yes, it's slow but at least it's growing. I also think of you as a friend, Eva. I know that may sound strange coming from me, but it's true. If I didn't, I would let you be around Lila and wouldn't have told you what's been going on with her."

She paused then said, "I'm sorry I gave you the impression I was just desperate for help. I know I have a lot that I've had to deal with by myself. I guess my way of dealing with everything is telling you about it. I'm sorry, Eva, but like I said I don't know what I'm doing. I have no clue. So, I'm looking for advice and a friendly shoulder to cry on if I need it. I'm also looking for asnwers, but that's probably something I'd have to get from someone else. I try to be as pleasant as I can be, but it's going to take awhile for me to be anywhere near normal. Especially when I hear my daughter screaming and crying in her sleep or talking about things that aren't there and I don't know how to help her."

Eva sighed when she realized that she might have offended Ariel with her questions.

"I'm sorry for the question," she said honestly. "I was just curious. Honestly, you've been very nice to me, given the circumstances. I just wasn't sure how much you could trust any stranger, given what you've been through."

She sighed again and brushed a strand of her long, black hair behind her ear and turned to look at Ariel.

"I am happy to help too, and I don't mind your confiding in me. You need to talk to somebody, obviously, and I like being your friend," she added. "I am very, very happy that you consider me to be one, and I'm sorry again if I offended. I don't always think very carefully before I speak."

With a slightly teasing smile and while hoping to lighten the mood, Eva added, "I really do need to work on that. If you want to help me with that, just hit me if I say something thoughtless."

Ariel had silently listened to what Eva was saying, feeling better as she was hearing what she was. Ariel waited for Eva to finish talking, before smiling and saying, "It's ok, Eva. I forgive you. I'm glad I have you as a friend and that you don't mind me confiding in you. As for offending me, it's something that can happen really easily. I obviously took your question wrong."

She paused then said, "I can understand why you asked it, though. I mean, I've been through so much and it would make sense if I didn't trust anyone. For some reason, though, I trust you."

Ariel was silent for a short time, before seriously saying, "I would never hit you, Eva. It wouldn't solve anything and I know how bad it feels. I'd find another way to let you know when you say something you maybe shouldn't."

Ariel went and put the carrots and apples in two seperate pots and cooked them for awhile. When they were both mushy, and the apples had a little cinnamon in them, she turned off the burners that those pots were on.