Dating the Dead • lrh

18. the children

I watched St. Agnes' Orphanage's children in awe. As Haley went around to meet everybody, she was given papers from their own notebooks. Some even gave her pencils and crayons.

My gaze traveled from them to Shelby who was babysitting Marcus. She seemed pretty happy playing with him. Her eyes met mine and her smile grew wider.

"They're lovely, aren't they?" she said when I came up to them on the side of the cottage. "I'm conflicted."

I sat down next to her. "Why?"

"I'm not sure if I will be glad Haley and Marcus arrived today," she paused, as if thinking about what she's telling me was painful for her, "I'm glad you get to see the kids this way. It's one thing to teach charity at such young ages and it's another thing to see them do it. It's wonderful but... but it's sad to know another kid has lost a home."

Shelby blinked back tears and Marcus looked like he's about to throw a tantrum.

"Can I hold him?" I held out my arms and by the sight of them, Marcus held out his. "Hey there lil' guy. I'm Luke."

At around one o'clock, Harper came to us. Shelby helped Hayley stitch up her notebook and her brother's. Even though Marcus can't write yet, he's got a pad of his own.

"Time to go," Harper said.

I stopped playing with Marcus. His round green eyes peered up at me. "I'm going to miss you lil' guy," I said, ruffling lightly his blond head.

Ashton shouted something to the children and they all got up and rushed to the nearest tree. As we followed through, they were scrambling around in position and I just knew what we were doing. The smaller kids sat on the ground while the taller ones stood with us. Ashton was on one end while Shelby and I stood on the other.

After Harper took pictures, we bade goodbye to the children. Shelby gave everyone a hug, including Ashton. I frowned at the sight.

Is he an orphan too?

I shook the thought away as I waved goodbye to the children, especially to Molly, Sean, Haley and Marcus.

During the ride home, Shelby was oddly quiet. I wanted to talk to her but I thought it would be best to leave her with her thoughts. We didn't say a word until we went inside my house.

"Hey guys! How's the road trip?" My mum hugged Shelby first. I opened my mouth to respond but Mum sensed something was wrong with Shelby. "Honey, what's wrong? Did Luke do something stupid?"

Why is this on me?

Shelby smiled a little. "No, Luke was amazing. It's just that, I was thinking about the new kids at the orphanage," her voice was small.

As my mother comforted Shelby, I went to the kitchen to grab some snacks. And since I felt a bit generous today, I crouched to pet Lukey who was napping on the rug. The lump of laziness opened his eyes and then went back to sleep.

"I should get going," Shelby was saying. Her gaze landed on me at the threshold of the kitchen. She offered me a small smile. "Bye."

"I'll walk you out," I said and went out of our house together. "Shelby?" I started. We were standing at the  porch, their car was parked in front of the lawn. "I had a great time. It was crazy but I had fun. Thank you."

My eyes widened as she pulled me into a hug. I quickly recovered and wrapped my arms tighter. When we broke apart, I could see her fighting back tears. "I hope you continue to live after this."

I smiled, running my thumb over her cheek where a tear made its way down. "Don't worry, I will."

•
637