I don’t know how we made it through dinner without Desi questioning our silence. She must have been thinking really hard about how to win over that little weasel, heh. I’m already side eyeing him, but I’m also excited for Desi. First crushes are always so exciting as they are frustrating. As long as she doesn’t get too ambitious, I think I’ll be okay. At bed time, I couldn’t help double checking all the doors and peeking out the window one last time before laying down. I hate how paranoid the intrusion had made me. Still, I’d never get over it if something happened to my girls. If I can help it, they will never feel violated on my watch. Too bad the universe has a cheeky way of making liars out of us. No sooner than I drifted off, the blaring burglar alarm jolted us out of our sleep. I was so disoriented and halfway understood what had happened.
Good thing I got the Police Link upgrade package. By the time I got downstairs, the officer had already arrived and was trying to subdue the perpetrator. I told Sophia to stay put, but all the color drained out of my face when I heard that tiny gasp behind me.
Everything I had done to prevent that look and corresponding feeling had gone to waste. Despite knowing I could not prevent it, I failed. Or at least I felt like I did. Shielding her from feeling violated was a promise I could not keep, but I wanted to so badly. We can’t both be paranoid and traumatized. I didn’t want her to see this, especially when the officer seemed to struggle to get the crook under control. What if she overtook her, then went after us? I’d never forgive myself if Sophia got hurt.
After several minutes, the officer finally subdued the burglar and escorted her out of our home. She didn’t take anything, and no one got hurt; she was on her way to jail. All of that relieved me, but man, this whole situation was so triggering, and I felt my anxiety creeping up. I locked the door behind them quickly, then ran upstairs to make sure Desi was okay.
I hugged her and apologized for the incident, knowing there was nothing I could do, but still feeling like I had to offer up some kind of comfort, even if it wasn’t mine to give. But Desi was calm and noticed how rattled I was. She asked if the burglar took anything, and I said no. Then she asked if the police caught the crook, and I said yes.
“The police stopped her before she even had the chance to look around,” Sophia added.
Desi nodded, like our answers satisfied her, and crawled back into bed. At least someone in this house will get some sleep tonight.
