My Little Stargazer(Adopted by Remington Leith)

(3) - Drive

I stood outside the bus psyching myself up for introducing Cherry to everyone. I opened the door and walked up the steps.
"Finally!" Sebastian said.
"Uh. . . What's with the kid?" Phil asked. All eyes turned to Cherry and I. I cleared my throat.
"This is Cherry. I'm fostering her." Cherry glanced up, saw all the people and promptly hid her face in my neck again. She kept her necklace in her mouth and grabbed onto my chain and padlock necklace. "She's shy." A few questions were thrown my way, but the conversation was cut short when Mom called.
"Hi, Mom."
"Hi, Honey. When were you planning on telling me you're a foster parent?" She wasn't upset, just curious.
"Today. I was gonna call. I just hadn't gotten around to it yet."
"When can I meet her?" I smiled. She sounded really excited.
"We'll be back in two days."
"Wonderful! I wish I could talk longer, but I gotta go. Love you sweetie! Bye!"
"Love you too, Mom. Bye." She ended the call and I put my phone back into my pocket. Cherry was rubbing her thumb across my padlock and making an interesting gurgling noise.

———

  With a full day of driving ahead of us I settled into my bunk with Cherry and turned on a Disney movie on my laptop. She sat beside me eyes glued to the screen, fingers in her mouth. I gently pulled them out of her mouth and held up her necklace. She grabbed it and put one of the beads in her mouth.
"Have you seen my sketchbook?" Emerson asked. Cherry shrieked and backed into the corner. "Is she okay?"
"Yeah. Just, um, trust issues. You lost your sketchbook? How the fuck did you do that?" Emerson sighed.
"I did. I don't know how. You haven't seen it?"
"Last time I saw it was in the dressing room last night."
"I took it back to the hotel. I used it before I went to sleep. Damnit! Sebastian!" He walked away and I turned my attention to Cherry. She was still sitting in the corner, hands over her ears, shaking.
"Hey, hey. It's just Emerson. He's not gonna hurt you. I promise." She stared at me with wide eyes. I wrapped her in a hug and kissed the top of her head. She settled in beside me and continued watching the movie with her beads in her mouth. I fell asleep shortly after and she followed not far behind.

———

"Damnit!" There was a thud, indicating Emerson had kicked the wall, I woke up and being disoriented sat up and woke Cherry up. She immediately burst into tears. I pulled her to my chest and then pushed the curtain back.
"What the fuck, Emerson?" I asked. Emerson was pacing and tugging on his hair.
"My sketchbook is gone and I don't have another one right now, because I just started using it." I sighed and rolled my eyes.
"You're my brother and I love you, but you're scaring Cherry." I gestured at the little girl who was clutching at my shirt, her face buried in my chest, shaking.
"I-sorry. Sorry." Emerson was genuinely upset by the loss of his sketchbook. I sighed again before pulling the curtain back across.

———

  The bus was oddly quiet. The assumption that everyone was tired didn't seem completely ridiculous. Deciding I was hungry I slid out of the bunk. Cherry was sleeping. I gently put the blanket over her and closed the curtain. I stretched, yawned, and walked into the kitchen. I was in the middle of making a peanut butter and Nutella sandwich when I heard a shriek and a thud and then crying indicating Cherry was awake and had fallen out of the bunk. I dropped the knife I'd been using to spread Nutella and ran toward the bunks. Cherry was sitting on floor in front of the bathroom door holding her head. Emerson and Daniel were crouching in front of her. She was crying, shaking her head and trying to keep as much distance between her and them as possible. I put my hand on Daniels shoulder and he backed up so I could kneel in front of her. She shot into my arms. I rubbed her back and kissed her head.
"It's okay. They aren't gonna hurt you. No one here will." She pulled back a little bit and stared at me with wide blue eyes.
"Pomithe?" She asked. She had a lisp and it was the cutest thing ever.
"Promise." She nodded and stuck her fingers in her mouth. I pulled them out and held up two of her beads. She stuck them in her mouth and then rested her head against my chest. I hugged her tightly and rested my head on top of hers. This poor little girl just needed someone to love her and protect her. I stood and moved her to my hip. I squeezed past Emerson and Daniel and went back to the kitchen to finish my lunch. Making a sandwich with one hand is a very difficult task. She watched me the entire time I struggled to get Nutella on the slice of bread and not my hands.
"Do you want some? Are you hungry?" She nodded vigorously. I chuckled. "Can you sit right here so I can make one for you?" I put my hand on the counter beside me. She nodded slowly and I sat her down. I quickly made her a sandwich too before picking her up again and going back to my bunk.