Her Grey Eyes

"Turn Around, You Asshole,"

    We had decided to settle in for the night as there was nothing more for Jake and me to investigate. We all took turns using the small bathroom attached to the room. As I got dressed I thought about what  Uncle Oggie had said. If the house had been bombed with everyone inside, how was that letter sent to Abe's grandfather two years ago? I thought to myself. I threw my hair into a messy bun, letting a few strands rest on my neck, brushed my teeth, and gathered my dirty clothes before exiting the bathroom. The chill of the room hit my skin as I walked toward my suitcase and put my dirty clothes away. "Why didn't he tell us that they all died?" Jake was sat on our bed, hunched over in defeat. I scoffed at the sight of him, clad in boxer shorts and a T-shirt, he looked pathetic. "He leaves to join the army and three months later, everyone he knows gets killed? Not even Grandpa could turn that into a bedtime story." Mr. Portman was rummaging through his bag as he absent-mindedly replied. A silence fell on the room as I quietly moved to sit next to Jake. I broke the silence first, "No wonder he was scared when he became a father, being close to anyone must have been hard," I looked to Jake, who was fiddling with the hem of his shirt. I placed my hand on his knee, catching his attention. He cut his eyes toward me as his dad began talking, "Listen, kids if you two need to talk this out with someone," He paused and looked between the two of us, "You can call Dr. Golan." Mr. Portman finished as he started to type on his computer.

    I rolled my eyes at Mr. Portman's insensitive response but didn't pay it any mind. "Hey, if you want we can go investigate the house tomorrow," I said to Jake, quietly, as I gently punched his shoulder. He turned his head to look at me properly and gave me a small smile. "We have to sneak past the warden, though," Jake whispered back as he glanced at his dad. I nodded and clumsily crawled toward the head of the bed. "We'll figure that out in the morning, but I'm tired," I was peeling back the covers and snuggling into the scratchy material. Jake didn't reply as He got under the cover as well, making the bed warm. I scooted closer to him to mooch off of his warmth, "Night, Jake." I muttered as I started to doze. "Night, Is." I heard Jake say as he made himself more comfortable in the small bed. 

    Heavy. That's the first thought that occurred to me when I woke up the next morning. I slowly opened my eyes to see that Jake had gotten on top of me in the middle of the night. I rolled my eyes as I felt his breath tickle my chest. I looked around the room to see that Mr. Portman was nowhere in sight, then moved my gaze back to the sleeping boy. He looked peaceful and happy resting here on my chest, too bad. Reaching my hand out, I started to card my fingers through his soft hair. I could feel Jake take a deep breath and move closer and when he did, I smacked his face. He bolted up and held his face in a confused stupor as I laughed at him. "Why did you do that?" He asked. His words were slightly slurred and he had a scrunched look on his face. "You were sleeping on top of me, so I made you move!" I exclaimed through my laughter. Jake glared at me as I got out of the bed and walked to my suitcase. "You could've just woken me up nicely for a change," He murmured under his breath. I heard him slump back onto the bed, but I ignored him. I walked into the bathroom to change and brush my teeth.

    I walked out and saw that Jake was sprawled out on the bed, but he had gotten dressed. "Alright, hun, get up. We have to get food," I told him in an overly sweet voice. He groaned but sat up anyway. We both made our way downstairs, the chatter and clamor of the bar getting louder as we walked. I pulled my hair down and tousled it so that it looked like I purposefully messed it up. When Jake and I got to the bar, we saw his dad at one of the tables, watching the television. "Hey, Dad, can we hang out with the kids from yesterday?" There was a long pause as Mr. Portman looked at us with a suspicious expression. "They asked," I added. Jake nodded and looked from his Dad to me with a doubtful look. Surprisingly, Mr. Portman's face melted into a smile, "Yeah, that's awesome!" He said as he nodded and drank his beer. I let out a quiet sigh of relief and discreetly stole one of his fries as I walked toward the door.

    "Do you think there's another way across?" I asked. We had walked back to the swamp the led to the Children's house, but it was just as muddy as it was yesterday. "I don't know, why?" Jake turned to me with his hands shoved in his pockets, "Cause my boots are made of cloth, and I don't like getting my feet wet," I pointed to my boots, which were in fact cloth and would not hold up well against the mud. "I could carry you across on my back," Jack suggested. My eyes widened in surprise that he had offered me a piggyback ride. I usually just jump onto his back and yell at him to move. "Are you sure?" I asked as I rolled up my sleeves. "Actually, no, you can just stay here," He said with a smirk. I narrowed my eyes and groaned as he laughed. "Just turn around, you asshole."