Houses

"And we can always count on Callum and Lyra to keep an eye on her as well."

"We should let her spread her wings more."

"No, not like Elizabeth. With her we weren't careful. With Tessa we need to be more..." He searched for the right word, hands moving as if he could pluck it from the air.

"Caring. Rather than careful. We shouldn't hold her down too hard, but we should also pay attention to what she's doing."

"I'll make myself a note to remember."

He sighed. "I'll make lunch, then."

Izzy sat by her daughter's bedside, a leaflet clutched in her hands. It had been presented to her by the neurosurgeon after Tessa had been discharged, and summarised the steps of her recovery. Words such as 'temporary speech impairment' and 'PTSD' had jumped out at her from the page, and she wasn't sure if she felt better or worse for having read it.

Tessa stirred lightly, and her mother placed a gentle hand on her forehead. The incision on the girl's head was large, and ran from the top of her scalp to end just behind her ear. The sutures knitting the pale skin together were dark, and formed an ugly contrast. Tessa hadn't seen it yet, and Izzy was sure that it was for the best. Her daughter had only been awake long enough for them to assess her speech, mobility and memory and scan her brain, and then she had fallen asleep again during the journey home. Understandably, she was exhausted. The operation itself had been eight hours long, and she was conscious for most of it.

Tessa mumbled something incoherent, making a vague attempt to rise and Izzy stood, not wanting to show any weakness in front of her daughter. It wasn't something that she needed in her current condition. "I- erm, I'll go and fix us all up something to eat," she said quietly.

The girl in the bed let out a soft whimper as she finally managed to lift herself up enough to rest against the headboard of the bed in a somewhat seated position. A wave of dizziness overcame her, and she blinked fiercely a few times to clear the sensation. Elizabeth. She glanced over at her bedside table, identifying the book and making an attempt to reach out for it. Her hand jerked vaguely to the left. Tessa frowned, furrowing her brow and focusing on moving it towards the table to retrieve the journal. After a painstaking minute or two, she'd managed to place it in her lap, and nudged it open somewhat clumsily.