Him?

Chapter 20

Alexis's POV

I sat still, smiling cutely with a tiny white kitten curled up in my lap as I sat on the green grass. The park was kinda empty, what with the angry looking storm clouds above us. I refused to pay them much mind because Ismael said the cloudy sky was great for photography. He bought me a pretty little straw hat on our way to the park and I was excited to let him take a few pictures of me when we got there.

I admired the sparkle in his brown eyes as he snapped away on his digital camera, taking shots at different angles. I suppressed a giggle when he stooped down for a picture and fell over, hitting his head on the ground but it didn't seem to bother him as he grinned victoriously, holding up the camera.

"She's safe!" He exclaimed, kissing the device before giving it a hug.

I laughed at him and he captured my reaction in a split second, showing me the picture afterward. The kitten stood up on all fours in the pic, the hair on his back and tail stood up straight and his eyes widen in surprise at my sudden outburst. I wiped happy tears from my eyes as I saw myself, laughter all over my face and the straw hat halfway to the group as it fell off my head.

"Omg! This is priceless." Ismael whispered, his voice sounding somewhat awed.

"No it's not. Delete it."

"Like hell, I will." He replied, "right after I put it on Instagram."

I lunged at him to take the camera but Ismael laid on the grass so I ended up on top of him and his right hand in the air, still keeping the camera from harm. I stared down at his warm eyes, shining with mirth before I kissed him. He wrapped his arms around me, finally putting down the camera and turned so that I ended up beneath him before he pulled away.

"I have something to tell you." He said, smiling as he looked into my eyes.

I nodded, telling him to go on. "You remember Sofia Kyle, the lady who always comes by the orphanage to help out the sisters?"

"Yeah..." I answered.

"She wanted to foster some of the kids there, so she took a few of us in." He grinned at me and I was overjoyed. Ismael got a home. I mean, he was always at home at the orphanage but now he's got a foster mom!

"That's great! How many of you?" I asked excitedly.

"Just four of us," he said, "she wants to take in some more but has limited rooms at the moment. She took the triplets and I. I'll be helping her out with her home expansion when she's ready."

"I'm so happy for you guys," I replied, "the Power Puff Girls must be over the moon about this!"

The triplets, Jade, Sapphire and Ruby were three years old. Three forms of adorable little tyrants, who happened to be the youngest children at the Lake's Town orphanage. How Mrs. Kyle was going to manage their pranks and tantrums, I had no idea, but it was out of love and a good heart that caused the lady to do it.

Ismael sat up beside me and looked across the grassy park, a sad look on his handsome face. "I don't deserve all this." He whispered.

"Whatever do you mean by that?" I said, sitting up to place an arm around his waist.

He shook his head, "I'm a horrible person. I don't deserve the orphanage, a home, a family the sisters, Mrs. Kyle. I don't deserve you."

"That's bullshit and you know it," I replied with conviction, placing his head on my lap to play in his wavy black hair. "You deserve all of this and much more. I love you, Ismael."

*********

I sat up in bed for about the hundredth time in the night, wiping the sweat from my forehead. I sighed heavily through my nose and checked the digital clock on my bedside table. It read 3:30 am in bold green lights. I sighed again and crawled out of bed.

I hate memories in the form of dreams.

I went to wash my face in the bathroom and felt my stomach growl in hunger. Destiny's apple pie came to my mind and I crept to my bedroom door and slowly pushed it open. I tip-toed down the stairs and to the kitchen and almost had a heart attack when a shadow moved beside the stove.

I stifled a scream with my hands as I jumped five feet in the air and my heart went nuts in my chest. "DJ what the f'ck!" I whisper-shouted.

He chuckled softly, "hot chocolate?" He asked, offering me a mug of steam while he poured out some for himself.

I gratefully took the mug and put it before my face, taking a long deep breath of the chocolaty aroma before I took a sip. I moaned at the delicious taste as I savored it. Destiny's hot beverages are always amazing. I looked up and found him staring at me in amusement.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" He asked casually, leaning on the kitchen counter.

"I came here for food, not you." I replied, rolling my eyes, "what are you doing here anyway?"

DJ tried to avoid answering me, he said instead, "you know it's not healthy to be eating at this hour."

"Who cares." I retorted, not really wanting to have this conversation.

"I do." He answered.

"Stop avoiding my question. What are you doing up at this time?"

"Couldn't sleep." He said, not meeting my eyes.

"Wanna watch a movie?" I asked. Maybe it would help me with my nightmares and Destiny could get some sleep.

He shook his head no. "We might wake Christina."

"There's a freaking volume control on the TV, or we could use your laptop and earphones," I said, dragging him out of the kitchen towards our collection of movies in the living room.

"Okay, fine." He sighed and finally gave in. It didn't take much persuasion though.

We picked a series show that we've probably watched over about a million times before. I nestled myself under Destiny's arms as I waited for Grim season one to start and maybe fell asleep as soon as it did. Falling right back into another nightmare.