A Little Help Here?

Ronnie turned to look at the clock. If she was self conscious at all about the flimsy, baggy nightshirt she was wearing, it didn't show.

"Don't worry about it. That's what I'm here for. I'm glad we got to talk. I'm worried about you. About us all."

Nils smiled. "You're too nice, Esperanza." He told her, shifting in his seat a bit. "I'm worried too. This has been hard on all of us, and it's not going to get any easier. It still seems so weird."
He shook his head. "What was Baldur like?"

Esperanza opened her mouth as if to speak, but quickly closed it again. She searched for the right words.

"He... he was... nice." she said finally.

She looked down at her hands, folded in her lap and sighed. She'd never really had a father before. To be honest, she wasn't exactly sure what to make of him.

"I uhh... I should probably get back to sleep." she said, "I'm sorry, I just... I want to make sure I'm ready for whatever horrible things are gonna happen next."

Nils sensed pretty quick that he shouldn't have asked. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry." He told her, putting a hand on her shoulder.
When she mentioned getting back to sleep, he glanced over at the clock and jumped up. "I have to get going anyway. I've got a class in a few minutes. I don't want to be late."

Esperanza smiled.

"It's ok, Mijo" she said, "Don't be a stranger. I'm always here if you need to talk."

Nils nodded. "I will. Same to you, alright? Let me know if you need to talk."
He turned and left the room, heading for class.

Ronnie sighed and lay back on the bed, her blue eyes wide open. She didn't think there was any way she'd be able to get back to sleep after that.

Too many thoughts. Too much pain.

She rolled on her side and stared at the clock as the second hand slowly swung around the face.

Less than a minute later she was fast asleep.