Briana Miller

Chapter 4

A loud shriek woke Naomi in the middle of the night.

"D-don't do it, please!" Naomi looked down at the sleeping child who had tears streaming down her cheeks. She was dreaming.

"MOMMY! DADDY!" She shouted.

"Briana? Wake up, baby. It's just a dream." She tried to wake her up but she kept screaming.

The room in her door burst open and Bennett stepped inside.

"What happened, Naomi?" He switched on the lights immediately.

"I don't know, Bennett. She is dreaming something bad. I tried waking her up but she wouldn't wake up." She said and Bennett crouched down next to her, concerned.

"MOMMY! They are hurting me. P-please don't." She was sobbing.

"Briana? Wake up. It's a dream." Bennett tried.

"Daddy! It hurts. Please, m-make it stop." She kept sobbing.

Bennett gently picked her up, patting her back to wake to her up.

"What happened?" came Declan's voice as both Jordan and he came inside the room. Naomi told them what happened and they sat beside her too.

"They are h-hurting m-me, daddy. Make it s-stop, p-please." She hiccupped.

Naomi couldn't see her anymore. It hurt so much to see an angel like her sobbing like this. But Bennett kept patting her shoulder slowly.

"Wake up, love. No one's going to hurt you. I'll make them stop. Wake up." He kept whispering and eventually her sobs died down and she woke up. Naomi looked at him in disbelief.

"Daddy?" she called.

"Yes, princess?" He ignored the looks he was getting. "What happened? What did you dream of?" He asked softly.

"They were hurting me again, daddy." She sniffed.

"Who's hurting you? Tell me, princess." He pressed.

"The girl there and some boys. They always trip me, I-I fall. They ripped my t-teddy bear, mommy g-gave me that. They are baddies. They always make the teacher angry and sh-she beats me with a big sti-stick. Sh-she even locks me i-in a room. I feel so scared." She said, there were still tears on her face.

Everyone looked at one another with wide eyes. Naomi was crying now. She picked Briana from his lap and hugged her tight as she cried. She couldn't believe only a four-year-old had to go through the thing they all went through. In fact, she was still going through this.

Jordan was looking down while Declan was clenching his fists so tight that his knuckles turned white. Bennett let out a long sigh and wrapped his arms around both the girls.

"Why are you crying?" Briana asked. She looked up at Naomi. But Naomi was far too hurt to even reply.

"Babygirl, you wanna hear another story?" Jordan said suddenly, trying to lighten her mood. He picked her up and placed on his own lap.

"You know what happened once?" She shook her head. "One day, I was crying just like you and..." Declan left the only to be back with ice creams.

"What about we hear the story with ice creams?" He pinched her cheek and she giggled.

"I thought there were monsters under my bed. But then you know what happened? I ..." His story went along but Bennett and Naomi were not listening. They were lost in there own thoughts.

"Naomi, please. Don't cry, at least not in front of her." He tried to shush her down.

"Did you hear what she said? She gets bullied. Just like us. While she was supposed to be treated like a princess, she gets bullied. I can't take this; she doesn't even have her parents. She doesn't deserve this." She said.

"Sometimes it just happens that way, Naomi. We can't do anything about that. But we still live, hoping maybe a light would come out and take us out of the darkness." Bennett said and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"We made it. You are halfway through and she'll do it also." He paused. "I will talk to the orphanage she lives. I won't let them hurt her." He promised.

"Thank you so much, Bennett." She said, wiping the tears.

"You are saying that a lot today." He chuckled softly.

"They are hugging again." Briana said to Declan. Both jumped apart from each other.

"Why do they hug so much?" She asked herself.

"Because they are donkeys." Jordan chuckled and gave her a slight squeeze.

"Then why are you hugging me? Are you a donkey too?" She asked innocently. Jordan pouted and Declan let out a loud chuckle.

"Right back at you!" Bennett and Naomi snapped at the same time.

"No, I'm not. I am hugging you because I love you." He reasoned.

"So they love each other?" She asked. Declan couldn't control anymore as he roared with laughter.

"Jesus! What are you doing to her in the middle of the night?" Naomi said sternly but her face was betraying her.

"Get out of her room, right now!" Bennett ordered. "Briana, love, please go back to sleep." He said softly.

"You're not gonna stay with me?" She pouted.

"Wh-what?"

"I taught her so well" Jordan whispered to Declan who looked at them in amusement.

"They will come back again. What would I do then?" She looked like she was about to cry again.

"No no no, don't cry. They won't come back. If they do, Naomi will be here, right?" He tried to reason.

"No!" She whined.

"Bennett, take her with you. Will it be okay if Bennett sleeps with you?" She asked but the girl stomped her foot.

"I want both of you." She argued.

"She's amazing!" Declan wiped an imaginary tear.

"Briana..." Bennett desperately tried to tell her but after all, reasoning doesn't work on kids.

Jordan said, "C'mon, Bennett. It's not like you don't want to." But getting a death glare from his friend he quickly added. "She'll get scared and you don't want that, do you?" He said keeping a straight face.

With hesitant eyes, Bennett looked at Naomi who nodded, sighing.

"Fine!" He said defeated. Briana started jumping up and down in victory.

"Bye bye, baby girl" Jordan said blowing her a kiss.

"Bye, strawberry!" Declan smiled and looked at Bennett and Naomi.

"And you two, don't squeeze the girl. She has been squeezed enough for today." Declan winked and walked out before Bennett could say anything.

"I bet they are having a party inside their head but I really don't want her innocent eyes to see anything." They heard Jordan saying to Declan.

"You two better start digging your grave now and hide there. Because when I get up in the morning, I'll burn the both of you alive" Bennett shouted.

"I volunteer as tribute!" Naomi shouted as well as she turned off the lights.