Left Behind

Chapter 12

Jesse woke up to the sounds of the twins crying a bit. She groaned as she sat up and rubbed her eyes. She quickly grabbed her slippers and started to head over to the twins' bedroom. However, when she reached the door, she noticed that it was already opened slightly.

Jesse took a peek in the door, expecting to see Lukas had already gotten up and calmed down the twins. But to her surprise, Stanley was awake. He was checking on the twins, and seemed to be talking to them. The babies calmed down, their crying slowly growing quieter. And as the twins calmed down, Jesse could hear Stanley whispering to them.

"Shhh. It's okay. It's okay. Cousin Stanley's here... I'm here to protect you from your nightmares," Stanley whispered to Adam and Ashley.

The twins were quiet now. They were back asleep.

"Good night Adam... Good night Ashley..." Stanley whispered to the babies.

Slowly and quietly, Stanley made his way out of the room. He made it back out and closed the door almost all the way, leaving it open just a crack so they could listen in case the twins cried again. Once he stepped out, he ran into Jesse.

"Oh. Sorry Auntie Jesse. But Adam and Ashely were crying. I calmed them down," he whispered.

"I know. I heard them. Thank you for your help Stanley," said Jesse.

"You're welcome," said Stanley, before letting out a yawn.

Jesse chuckled. She picked up the child and carried him back to his room.

"You get some rest. Tomorrow will be a fun day," she whispered to him.

"Yeah. I hope it'll be a great first birthday party for Adam and Ashley," said Stanley.

Jesse opened the door and walked over to Stanley's bed. She lied the child down on his bed and pulled the covers over him. She gave Stanley a kiss on the cheek.

"Good night, Stanley," she whispered.

"Good night Auntie Jesse," Stanley whispered back.

Jesse smiled at Stanley. She made her way out of the room and shut the door. Stanley smiled back as he watched his guardian leave. He closed his eyes and quickly drifted back to sleep.

Morning arrived. As Jesse and Lukas expected, Stanley was up before them, eager to get to decorating for the twins' birthday party. The twins were still fast asleep, so the adults headed downstairs to eat some breakfast. When they got there, they saw that Stanley had poured himself some cereal.

"Good morning Auntie Jesse! Good morning Uncle Lukas!" he greeted them.

"Good morning, kiddo," said Lukas.

"I see you're up and ready for today," said Jesse.

"Yeah! I am so excited for Adam and Ashley's first birthday party! I want it to be the greatest first birthday party just for my little cousins!" said Stanley excitedly.

Lukas and Jesse smiled at Stanley. Ever since Adam and Ashley were born, things had been content for all of them. Stanley had been doing a good job of not only helping out with taking care of the twins, but also controlling his powers. With the babies around, Stanley felt that his purpose of controlling his temper and his powers was stronger.

And for a full year, Stanley hadn't been bothered by the fact that he was different. And not just at home. School had gotten better. After Morris beat him up that day, Stanley didn't have to worry about the bully because Morris got expelled from school. Stanley and Dante were able to set aside their differences. Dante was truly sorry for how he behaved, and with Morris gone, Dante was able to come out of his shell. He and Stanley were becoming good friends, and Stanley even invited him to his little cousins' birthday party.