It's been five days since my accident, Callie tells me. In that time, I've managed to gain enough strength to stand for periods of time, and sit up without pain. I've begun to decipher the personalities of both Callie and Marie, and I realize I'm depending on them more and more. Is that a bad thing?

Marie comes into my room. She smiles when she sees I'm awake.

"Hey, Rosa. How're you feeling?"

I smile as answer.

"Callie's making pancakes again." She says, rolling her eyes. I giggle, realizing she's joking. "I wanted to give you a little tour of our apartment. You haven't seen the living room yet, or Callie's and my rooms."

I sit up and get dressed, listening to Callie's excited ranting. She's apparently heard something really cool in the news, but I can't understand what she's referring to. Maybe it's an Inkling thing, and I don't know about it yet. When I'm finished, Marie takes my hand.

"Come on." She says, pulling me out into the kitchen.

Callie beams at me. "Hi, Rosa!"

I blush and look down, smiling despite myself. Marie waves at her cousin, then leads me into another room. The floor looks really odd. The color is off somehow too...what is this? When I step on it, my foot starts to sink into it. The floor is swallowing my foot! I'm falling into it!

Panic shoots through me. I cry out and yank my foot back, managing to get onto safe ground again. The small flash of adrenaline fades, leaving me panting with fear and trembling, gripping the doorframe so tightly my knuckles are white.

Marie, who walked in like nothing was wrong, turns and sees me. "Rosa? What's wrong?"

I can't even think of talking now. I'm trembling too hard. Instead, I point a shaking hand at the floor.

"It's carpet." Marie says, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "See?"

She squishes it. I whimper, afraid her foot will fall through. She looks at me, and it seems to dawn on her.

"Have you ever seen carpet before?" She asks gently.

I shake my head, shrinking away from it. She takes my hand, squeezing it.

"It's okay, Rosa. It's perfectly safe. Come on, let's do it together."

Before I can comprehend what she's saying, Marie puts her arm around me and pulls me away from the doorframe. She deliberately puts a foot on the carpet, letting it sink down, then turns to me.

"Just follow my lead." She says.

I carefully reach with my foot, touching the carpet. As my foot begins to sink, I gasp and leap back.

"Try again, Rosa."

I try to back away, trembling too hard to speak. Marie's arm around my shoulders stops me from running away. She squeezes me gently.

"It's okay, Rosa." She says softly. "Trust me?"

I look up, knowing she can see the fear in my eyes. Her gaze is gentle and kind. I know she'd never do anything to hurt me.

With that knowledge, I close my eyes and put my foot next to Marie's, directly on the carpet. My grip on Marie's arm tightens as I start to sink...and then stop. I don't sink that far.

My eyes pop open in surprise. I'm...fine?

Marie takes another step, pulling me along with her. I step fully onto the carpet, tensing again as I sink a little.

"That's it." Marie says encouragingly. "Keep going."

We walk slowly into the room. My steps slowly become more confident. About halfway across, Marie releases her hold on my shoulders and lets me walk on my own. I go all the way to the wall, turn, and go back to her. As I approach, she enfolds me in a hug.

"Good job, Rosa. You faced your fear and won."

I smile and hug her back. As she smiles at me, I feel a fuzzy feeling in my chest. I'm happy I did that. There's probably an Inkling word for it, but I don't know it. 

Callie comes in with a plate overloaded with pancakes, walking onto the carpet without even looking down.

"What's going on in here?" She asks, looking confused.

Marie pulls away to smile at her cousin. "Rosa just faced her fear of the carpet."

Callie looks down, as if realizing it for the first time. "Oh! You're never seen it before, have you? I'm sorry, I didn't think!"

I smile at her to let her know it's okay, then put my arms around Marie again. I feel safe when she holds me. Marie looks down at me, her gaze warm.

"Come on, Rosa. Let's get you back to your bed. You can eat there."

As if she knows I want her to, Marie gently lifts me into her arms. I immediately burrow into her and smile, feeling safe. Callie follows us, her eyes as warm as Marie's.

Why do they look at me like that? I wonder. The only other people who ever had that look when they saw me was my parents...and they looked tired too. This warmth is something I haven't seen before.

Is it a good thing? Or not?

"What're you thinking about, Rosa?" Callie asks softly.

I look around, not sure how to say it. Marie sets me in my bed, pulls the covers up, then hands me my paper. I scribble something, hoping I'm saying it right.

I don't know why you look at me like that...you're happy with me, I think, and...

They read my words and cast a glance at each other. Callie speaks first.

"It's because...we love you, Rosa."

My thoughts go blank for a second. I look up, knowing I'm staring but unable to tear my gaze from their faces.

What?