Times A Ticking

12

I giggle before I look to my left and watch Dad and Lee walking up to Dianne. She nods her head before running over to her large purse and digging through it before pulling out a set of keys and handing them to them.

I jump slightly as Mom touches my shoulder and pulls me closer to her. "Go get in your sleeping bags, it's dark outside I'm sure of. You all need to rest up tomorrow just incase." She says as she kisses the top of my head then walking to Adam.

"Incase of what?" I ask as she gives Andre a kiss on his head as well. She takes a deep breath before turning and smiling softly at me.

"Just incase we need to leave or something. Maybe your father will want you to help him in the morning, and you know if you're tired how grumpy you tend to be." She says as she rubs my shoulder.

"Okay." I whisper before kissing her cheek and making my way over to my sleeping bag that was right next to hers. I crawl into it and lay down closing my eyes, I could still see the faces of the rotters and it wasn't helping my sleeping matter much.

I open my eyes once the lights go off and lean up quickly. Mom gets into her sleeping bag and faces me, with the dim light from one of the computers in the room I could see her face.

"Don't worry lay back down. Lee turned the lights off for us so we could all sleep." She whispers as I lay back down and face her. Every muscle in my body ache from all the running we've had to do today, and I just wasn't feeling myself.

"Momma?" I whisper out quietly as I scoot closer to her. I gently grab her hand and squeeze it as she opens her eyes and looks at me. I felt pressure in between my eyes as I looked at her, I knew I was on the verge of crying.

"What is it honey?" She whispers back as she caresses my face. I felt the tears roll down and she begins to wipe them away quickly.

"I'm scared." I say as I stare her in the eyes. I watch them softly as her bottom lip puckers out into a pout. She pulls me closer to her and wraps her arms around my figure in a tight embrace before pulling away and letting me prop myself up on my elbow.

"Mommas right here Gabby. I won't let anything hurt you, never. You're safe here I promise you. There's nothing to worry about." She says as she places her hand under my head and makes me lay back down. "I'm not going anywhere." She assures me as she holds my hand and closes her eyes again. "I love you."

"I love you." I whisper back out giving her hand a tight, quick squeeze. I take a deep breath and begin to think about our family outings and all the happy things I had before. I fall asleep with a smile on my face.

•Time Skip•

The bright lights flick on and immediately my eyes pop open and I blink a few times before looking around, Mom was already out of her sleeping bag and walking around holding Ruby on her hip.

I lean up and scratch my head before stretching and yawning. I stand up and look around noticing Andre, Adam, and Hannah still asleep on the floor. I walk over to Zoey and kneel down next to her giving her a kiss as she plays with her doll.

"Hi Zoe." I say as I sit down beside of her. "You hungry?" She sets down her dolls before nodding her head giving me a small smile.

"Yeah, but Mommy is getting us some food. Sissy isn't feeling good so Mommy is also looking for boo boo fixer." I giggle at her little word for medicine before squeezing her soft cheeks.

"I'll go help Mommy get your food done." I say as she gives me a hug before allowing me to stand back up. I walk over to Mom who was already rummaging through a few bags we had brought from home.

She turns around as she hears me move closer and gives me a small smile before turning back around and rummaging again.

"Sleep well?" She asks as she picks up a can of food before placing it back down and shaking her head as she moves some more cans around. 

"Surprisingly yes. Thanks for that little talk last night, it helped." I say as I reach out to grab Ruby. "I'll take her off your hands so you can find something for them to eat. Zoey said that Ruby wasn't feeling well."

"She has a stomach ache. Again." Mom sighs as she lays out canned peaches. "I wish the girls weren't so picky about what they ate." She mumbles to herself.

"I wonder why she has these stomach aches all the time." I say as I grab Ruby from her arms, she wraps her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist before I begin to sway and rub on her back.

"The doctors say it's just built up gas. She doesn't digest food very well, she never has. Can you take her down the hall to the bathroom and try to get her to use it?" I nod my head and walk down the biggest hall before noticing the bathroom sign and walking into it. Luckily for us the bathroom was spotless.

"Hey Ruby can you use the potty for sissy?" I ask as I set her down. She rubs her eyes and pouts up as she shakes her head making me sigh. "If you do I'll see if Mommy brought any snacks for you." I say giving her a wink.

She smiles and runs into one of the stalls, I wait until she is in completely before shutting and holding the door.

"I'm here to help you when you're done if you need help." I say as I look down at the ground, there was a few mirrors lined on the wall in front of me but I didn't want to see what I looked like. I was afraid I wouldn't recognize myself.

I sigh as a few minutes pass and Ruby was still using the bathroom. "I'm almost done Sissy I promise." Her little voice perks up making me smile.

"Okay take your time. Is your tummy feeling better?" I ask as I roll my ankle slightly making it pop. I listen to her squeak out a little yes before I hear footsteps. "Are you done?" I ask and look up before freezing in my spot.

"Don't move."