Smiley and Sunshine

4.

Hayes blinked lazily, coming out of her sleep state. There was a moment of bliss before yesterday's events came crashing back. The dead body; the police at their house; their grandfather. Groaning, she tossed her arm over her eyes to try to fall back asleep. What a silly attempt. After a few seconds, she gave up and rubbed her eyes, getting rid of the sandman. Speaking of yesterday, where was their grandfather? She wondered if they had found him yet. That man had a bunch of explaining to do.

Stretching her limbs, Hayes tossed the comforter to the side and sat up. In the bed next to her, Glen lay still fast asleep. She figured he'd be up soon though. As much as they cursed their internal clocks, it was reliable with 6am wakeup calls every day. She got out of bed and grabbed a sweatshirt off the floor that she carelessly tossed the previous night. She quietly slipped out of the bedroom and headed to the bathroom. The girl had to pee!

To her unfortunate surprise, the bathroom was already occupied. "Patrick," Hayes groaned, knocking several times on the door. "Hurry up." In the midst of her knocking, the door opened and Patrick stood there with a grin.

"What's up homie?" They fist bumped ending with an explosion before he moved out of the way for her. "Bathroom is all yours."

Hayes shut the door behind her. As she moved, she caught sight of herself in the mirror. She was wearing a silly smile on her face. Glen and Hayes hadn't seen Patrick last night due to a basketball tournament so this was the first time she had seen him since Friday morning. His normal cheery attitude, similar to Glen's, made Hayes feel at ease. Hayes wondered if they'd get to go watch Patrick play today. That sounded way more fun than having to go back to the police station. She shivered. That place was just creepy. Hayes hurriedly used the toilet and brushed her teeth before hunting down the Rayon family for some answers and possibly some breakfast.

Swinging her arms back and forth carefree, Hayes entered the kitchen where 2/3 of the Rayon family was gathered. Stephen was nowhere to be seen.

"Good morning Hayes," Deja greeted the young girl, "What would you like for breakfast?"

"May I have some cereal?" Hayes noticed that Patrick was eating Fruity Pebbles, a delicacy she rarely got to have. The Bear only ever bought two cereals, Apple Jacks and Cheerios. Hayes once questioned his choice of cereal and he claimed they were good for his heart. Cheerios, sure, but Hayes had a hard time believing Apple Jacks were healthy for you. Either way, she was just happy to have food to eat.

"Of course! Sit down, I'll get it for you. Did you sleep well?"

Hayes shrugged as an answer and took the open seat next to Patrick at the table. She fiddled with her sweatshirt sleeves as she waited for the bowl of cereal.

"Yo," Patrick pointed his spoon at her, "You and Glen going to watch me play today?" He had been informed last night that the kids were staying at their home, but wasn't told why.

"Duh." Hayes replied.

"Oh, I don't think so," Deja objected, setting the bowl down in front of Hayes. Hayes swiveled her head around to look at Deja.

"Please?" Hayes frowned. She'd much rather watch a basketball game than be stuck at the house all day. Deja shook her head no. "What? Why not?" she whined.

"Because, young lady, you and Glen have to go back to the station today."

"Huh? The station? What trouble could you have possibly gotten into?" Patrick was confused but at the stern look from his mother, did not question it further. "That's alright Hayes, maybe we can shoot hoops later. Or, come to the championship game tomorrow. Watch us win it all." He tried to appease the girl but it was too late. Hayes' mood dropped to negative feelings that could not be saved. Not feeling so hungry anymore, Hayes swirled the cereal around in the bowl counting down the seconds to when this nightmare was over.