She laid on her side, staring at the wall. After Grace came in with all the "Ten years too late" stuff, they'd taken her to a little cell somewhere in the building. There hadn't been a door there before, and yet they opened one and took her down to some prison. She didn't remember passing anyone in all the other cells, but now that she was left alone, sometimes she thought she heard people talking.

Nobody seemed to know how long it'd been. She certainly didn't. It felt like hours, even days, but time here was... really weird, to say the least. Guards would fall asleep on duty while the possibly real prisoners would ask about lunch.

She never felt hungry here. She never slept either. Instead, she laid facing the wall, waiting for when she'd wake up and be able to check on Thomas. But, try as she might, she couldn't remember how to leave this world, much less how to get back to her own. So she just stayed, waiting to wake up at Thomas' side.

Raven sometimes showed up. She never saw him, but she could hear him talking to the guards, and, occasionally, he'd come into the cell, probably expecting her to yell at him or attack him. Or even just move. But she didn't give him the satisfaction. He'd stand there awkwardly for a while, trying to find words before sighing and walking away.

It was pretty easy to ignore him, though. It was easy to ignore everyone. The thought of her "normal" life made sure of that. That, and the conversations that she'd hear and make her think she was going crazy.

Sometimes, usually when everything was dead silent, which was a rare occurrence, she'd hear Logan. Or Bailey. Or Hayden and Thomas. And they'd all be talking to her or about her. All their voices overlapped, like playing multiple audio recordings playing at the same time. At random points she'd hear people she didn't recognize, and other times she'd hear Evie or Cody or one of her coworkers from the cafe. Their voices lasted only a few seconds, and she could never quite understand them.

"Harper," a voice said behind her. Raven. Again.

"Listen," he started, taking long pauses to find the correct words, "I told them that they should let you go... She said that was a bad idea though. Which means.... that you're dangerous, I guess? Nobody will tell me why, so I was kinda hoping... that you could? Maybe?"

He kept talking, but his words got softer and softer. This had happened a few times, though usually there weren't people around when it did. And it usually never lasted long.

______________

Harper was laying on her back, her eyes closed. All around her, machines beeped and hummed, and people spoke in hushed tones. She could finally understand them, but that wasn't what she was worried about. What was more important to her was that she couldn't move.

It was a weird feeling. And by that, she couldn't feel anything. If someone were to touch her, she could feel them. But she couldn't feel her own body. It scared her, but she couldn't do much about it.

Someone grabbed her hand–at least, she assumed it was her hand. She wasn't quite sure–and sighed. "You know what's weird, Harper?" They said. Their voice was familiar, but she couldn't quite place it, "I was supposed to leave for home a few days ago. Before I left, the school said that I had to be back on time, or I'd be suspended, or expelled, or something. And yet, the minute I call saying my friend is in the hospital, they tell me to take all the time I need. I don't need to take any time off. But yet, here I am, hoping that you wake up so Hayden and Thomas can stop worrying that you'll die."

Logan. Logan was still here. And he was supposed to leave a few days ago.... Thomas. She'd been like this for a few days? In her cell it had felt much longer, but she'd assumed it'd only been hours, max. That.... that seemed crazy.

Desperately Harper tried to show him she was there. She tried to open her eyes, to move, anything. Nothing happened. She wanted to yell and scream and cry and tell Logan she was there and she could hear him. No sound came out. She just lay there, helpless as Logan held her hand.

And then, she was back in the cell.

_______________________

Isabelle crossed her arms over her chest, half smiling as Harper and Bailey tried to pull off "puppy dog eyes." They were 7 and 5, which made them look both so old and so young at the same time.

After quite a bit of debate, Isabelle let Corin stay, keeping a sharp eye on him and making sure he stayed far from Harper. Gradually, though, she'd grown more trusting, though she did look through his coat pockets and briefcases occasionally. She had to be sure.

Isabelle rolled her eyes, "Will you be careful?" The two girls nodded aggressively, Bailey drawing an x over her heart and Harper struggling to copy her. Isabelle laughed, "Fine. But you have to be quiet."

Harper giggled and grabbed Bailey's hand as they walked through the hall before stopping at the far door. Isabelle put a finger to her lips before turning the handle and pushing the door open.

Asleep inside were the 2 baby boys that had recently joined their family. It was deathly quiet besides the five of them's collective breathing and the floor creaking as they walked over. Bailey stood on her tip-toes and grabbed the top of the white crib as she peered over to see her brothers. Harper, after attempting and failing to copy Bailey's idea, resorted to pressing her face into the crib's bars and tried to see them best she could. Isabelle stifled a laugh as she knelt beside them.

"They're so small..." Harper whispered as she stuck a chubby finger between the bars to touch them.

"They are," Isabelle nodded before standing. She grabbed the older of the twins carefully before kneeling down again, "Here, girls."

Both girls cooed over the baby, running their hands over his small head and letting him subconsciously grab their fingers in a surprisingly tight grip. They giggled and marveled over their little brother.

Before she knew it, Isabelle heard Corin's car pull up. She stood, gently set the baby back in its crib, and grabbed her girls' hands. After shutting the door behind her, she led the girls to their rooms. They knew the drill. While the girls loved their father, Bailey had learned not to be too clingy after Harper's extreme distrust of him, even when they were little. Harper herself couldn't even remember what exactly had happened, and yet she still found it safer to be in her room when daddy came home rather than playing.

Bailey went to her room by herself, but Isabelle followed Harper. She tucked her in and quickly checked to make sure her window was locked.

"Mommy?" Harper asked quietly.

"Yes, sweetheart?" Isabelle asked, kneeling by her side.

"Daddy... daddy won't hurt them, will he?"

Isabelle gave her a reassuring smile, "Of course not, honey. I won't let him hurt anyone. Ok?" She stroked Harper's hair and kissed her forehead. Slowly, she got up and walked to the door, "I love you, starlight."

Harper giggled, "I love you too, mommy."

Her smile growing, Isabelle quietly shut the door. Immediately, her smile fell, and she quickly turned on the security lasers outside both of the girls' doors, as well as the camera. Some would call her paranoid. She just thought of it as being overly cautious.

"I'm back," Corin called from the basement. Apparently his keys weren't working if it took him that long to get inside.

Isabelle went downstairs and put her hand on the banister facing her husband. "Look. We need to talk."

Heyyyyy I'm back! Miss me? Hehe bet not-

Annnyyywayyysss I finally wrote another chapter! I finally finished my school year, so I should (hopefully) have more time for writing. I'm honestly just proud of myself for getting this done-

Uhhhh don't have much to say about this chapter besides.... it's confusing? And it's supposed to kinda be? Idk, I just wanted to seem like I was good at commitment.

Well, that's all for now. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see y'all later! Bye!