Waiting for her with food, at least, so that was good. Wasn't it?
Sparks had been worried when Amelia was nowhere to be found that morning, but coming back to find that she'd eaten the food he brought for her had been reassuring, at least. Still, he sort of bummed around the warehouse for a bit all the same, in case she came back. This time, he'd even brought the kitty. Velcro was pretty excellent for putting wary little minds at ease, after all.
He'd been a few pages into a novel he'd brought with him when she ducked into the warehouse, and this time he did catch the movement, looking up toward her with a little smile.
"Hey, kiddo," he greeted, dog-earing a page before closing the book, and then nodding at his backpack. "Missed you this morning."
Amelia froze and gave serious consideration to just ducking back outside. But it was warmer inside, and she hadn't been attacked and, okay, she mostly almost trusted Sparkle.
"Saw you this morning," Amelia said, though she didn't return his smile. "No one but you has been here?"
"Not that I could see," Sparks replied with a little shrug. "I was just sitting here and reading for a while, and you're the first person through that I've noticed."
It was just that she couldn't shake the idea of turning a corner and finding the burning man coming for her. Stupid. The park was way closer to other people. If he'd gone after anyone, it would be them.
Not her.
Her eyes fell on Velcro. "You should go away," she said bluntly, wandering over to pick up the kitty, because kitty. "And take Velcro with you. It's not safe."
Oookay, that was not the sort of reaction Sparks had been expecting to a question like that, and suddenly he found his hackles up a bit.
"What's the matter, Amelia? Did somebody hurt you?"
Because yeah, he wasn't going to be leaving the little kid behind alone if it wasn't safe, thanks. There was a difference between 'comfortably camped out in a warehouse,' and 'actively in danger.'
And now Sparks was pretty sure he was going to have to destroy somebody. Not that he thought for even a second that he could, but if there was some creep out there scaring little girls...
"A scary man?" He frowned deeply, and then nodded, just a little. "So you don't feel safe here right now, right? No locks on the doors, no guarantee that he won't come in here?"
"He was in the park," she said, shrugging a little and sitting down near him, with a glance at the nearest entrance. "Not here."
Which was like a tiny silver lining, right?
"He made me feel bad inside, just being near him." And then she'd spent the day hiding, even from Sparkle. Safe was about the last thing she felt like right now. "I thought there were no monsters here."
Damn, she made Sparks want to wrap his arms around her and keep her safe and woe betide anybody who came close with trouble in mind. He'd bite off their kneecaps or something.
"There... weren't, that I knew of," he said, carefully. "But sometimes that changes, here. Would you feel safer in a place with proper locks on the doors, Amelia?"
And heating and running water? Those were also nifty perks that came with 'not living in a warehouse.'
"I wouldn't wish a home on anyone," Sparks replied, shaking his head. "Been there, remember? I walked through the front door for the first time when I was six, and just... all the breath went out of me and it stayed that way for months. It was awful."
Sparks hadn't thought at the time that things would ever be okay again. But apparently second chances were actually a thing. He got that, now.
"I meant more... In the dorms, over there by the school? I could set up something in my room. Move your air mattress in and set you up on the floor or something. There'd be food and heat and running water and locks on the doors and Velcro. And no monsters."
Velcro, who really should've been named snuggle-cat, got an extra snuggle at the mention of monsters. Or she agreed that Velcro was a definite incentive.
"The dorms also mean other people," she pointed out reasonably. "Big people, who might not want me around."
"So? You won't be staying in their room," Sparks replied. "Anyway, you're not the sort of kid to get underfoot, and if they knew there were monsters out there, they'd understand, for sure."
He gave her a little smile.
"And anyone who doesn't can take it up with me. But it's not even like you'd be the only kid to ever live with a Canadian in the dorms. Rilla's got Jims, too, and he's even smaller."
Okay, so, maybe Rilla didn't have Jims right now. It wasn't like Sparks knew that.
"Still learning to talk small," Sparks replied, perfectly willing to field any questions she wanted to throw at him while she thought. "I don't know him very well, though. They live up on a completely different floor."
Rilla was up on the fifth to Sparks' second, so treks up to see the kid weren't exactly something he often did.
"I've got a little sister," she offered, not looking at him but rather at Velcro. Amelia wasn't sure she still had a sister, since Elena had disappeared at the same time everyone else had, and Amelia had woken up in the future. "She might be littler than Jims."
Sparks had been worried when Amelia was nowhere to be found that morning, but coming back to find that she'd eaten the food he brought for her had been reassuring, at least. Still, he sort of bummed around the warehouse for a bit all the same, in case she came back. This time, he'd even brought the kitty. Velcro was pretty excellent for putting wary little minds at ease, after all.
He'd been a few pages into a novel he'd brought with him when she ducked into the warehouse, and this time he did catch the movement, looking up toward her with a little smile.
"Hey, kiddo," he greeted, dog-earing a page before closing the book, and then nodding at his backpack. "Missed you this morning."
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"Saw you this morning," Amelia said, though she didn't return his smile. "No one but you has been here?"
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He tilted his head at her thoughtfully.
"Are you expecting someone else?"
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"No," Amelia said firmly. "Definitely not."
It was just that she couldn't shake the idea of turning a corner and finding the burning man coming for her. Stupid. The park was way closer to other people. If he'd gone after anyone, it would be them.
Not her.
Her eyes fell on Velcro. "You should go away," she said bluntly, wandering over to pick up the kitty, because kitty. "And take Velcro with you. It's not safe."
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"What's the matter, Amelia? Did somebody hurt you?"
Because yeah, he wasn't going to be leaving the little kid behind alone if it wasn't safe, thanks. There was a difference between 'comfortably camped out in a warehouse,' and 'actively in danger.'
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"I'm not hurt," she said, since that was the important question. "But there's a... thing... out there. A scary man. I saw him last night."
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"A scary man?" He frowned deeply, and then nodded, just a little. "So you don't feel safe here right now, right? No locks on the doors, no guarantee that he won't come in here?"
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Which was like a tiny silver lining, right?
"He made me feel bad inside, just being near him." And then she'd spent the day hiding, even from Sparkle. Safe was about the last thing she felt like right now. "I thought there were no monsters here."
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"There... weren't, that I knew of," he said, carefully. "But sometimes that changes, here. Would you feel safer in a place with proper locks on the doors, Amelia?"
And heating and running water? Those were also nifty perks that came with 'not living in a warehouse.'
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Sparks hadn't thought at the time that things would ever be okay again. But apparently second chances were actually a thing. He got that, now.
"I meant more... In the dorms, over there by the school? I could set up something in my room. Move your air mattress in and set you up on the floor or something. There'd be food and heat and running water and locks on the doors and Velcro. And no monsters."
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"The dorms also mean other people," she pointed out reasonably. "Big people, who might not want me around."
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He gave her a little smile.
"And anyone who doesn't can take it up with me. But it's not even like you'd be the only kid to ever live with a Canadian in the dorms. Rilla's got Jims, too, and he's even smaller."
Okay, so, maybe Rilla didn't have Jims right now. It wasn't like Sparks knew that.
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Amelia knew she was stalling but figured that was okay. She was thinking about it and thinking didn't have to be done out loud.
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Rilla was up on the fifth to Sparks' second, so treks up to see the kid weren't exactly something he often did.
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Given what she had to go on, it was hard to tell.
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