Eager Beaver

Chapter Twenty-Three - Zach's Mom

I opened my eyes to a dimly lit room. When did I fall asleep? Where was I? My vision partially obscured by the ear of the fluffy dalmatian onesie drooping in front of my ear, I turned my head to my left and spotted Laurie snoozing underneath the covers right beside me. Now dressed in his own pajamas, a simple Paw Patrol themed t-shirt and shorts set, he had his arms wrapped around mine and was letting out occasional quiet high pitched snores like a contented baby kitten. I wriggled out from under his tight cuddle, just about able to maneuver it out of his grasp without waking the golden haired boy.

Sitting up, I saw there was a night light set up by Zach's bed dimly illuminating the room. I had forgotten that he was afraid of the dark. The light wasn't like a toy or anything - not like something you might get for a baby - just a solitary bulb sitting in the socket filling the room with a dim blue light. His bed was still empty, and the red glowing numbers of Zach's alarm clock read 10:12 PM.

I blinked in bewilderment, a little surprised at how late it had gotten. I must have been asleep for a few hours. Hopefully Laurie wasn't upset with me. He had seemed so excited to play fireman.

Thinking back, it occurred to me that I didn't actually remember going to bed. I blushed, realizing I must have nodded off watching Laurie play. Worse, either Kianna or Zach must have had to pick me up at some point to put me in Laurie's bed. I didn't think we would actually share a bed for the sleepover, but that didn't really matter now. We must have been sleeping peacefully together for a good couple of hours - fireman and loyal pup cuddled up snug.

Laurie's bed had a safety rail on each side, so I had to crawl down carefully to not wake him up. The wooden boards felt cold on my bare feet as I stepped down onto the floor. The bedroom door was ajar, light seeping in from the hallway making clear that the two babysitters were still very much awake. I could hear their voices from somewhere in the house, muffled argumentative murmurs reverberating up through the floor. I couldn't make out exactly what they were saying, but it sounded like Zach was rather upset. Narrowly avoiding impaling my foot on an upturned DUPLO block, I moved silently across the bedroom and slipped out the door - trying to hear them better.

Feeling like a secret agent, I slowly crept down the stairs - my fantasy shattered somewhat by my silly costume. I briefly wondered if I could be a new secret agent hero pup on the Paw Patrol, though just the silly thought made myself blush. Pretend games like that were fine for kids like Laurie, but I was eleven years old - no matter what people thought. Besides, I was dressed as a dalmatian, and the Paw Patrol already had a dalmatian. I was so distracted, that I almost ran head first into Zach's bottom. He was standing in the doorframe leading to the kitchen holding a cordless phone, and Kianna was standing right beside him. Luckily however, neither one seemed to have noticed me. I scurried back to the hallway, lurking behind the stair rails.

"You need to call your Mom." Kianna told Zach sternly. "You were in a fight, got hurt, and you've been upset all night."

"You're not in charge of me." He argued in a defiant tone, though he was still clutching the phone obediently in his hand. "I don't need to tell her anything."

"She's going to find out either way." Kianna said.

"From who?" Zach demanded.

"From me, for one." She told him.

Zach grunted and groaned for a second. "Fine." He agreed and started to punch in numbers quickly, clearly knowing it from memory. "I'll call."

I tried to hold my breath, but it was so tense I couldn't even look away. I felt my breath rising in tempo instead, feeling thoroughly out of place - like a naughty little boy eavesdropping on his parents. I considered scampering back up the stairs, but I was frozen in place, eagerly listening in.