Protector

Chapter 8

8

​I woke up the next morning with Storm lying beside me. My arm was draped over his stomach. I got up with a start. Storm stirred, but still was asleep. I checked the clock. It was 3:55 am. I lay back down and tried to sleep. I opened my eyes ten minutes later.

​Nothing.

​I got out of bed and went downstairs. It was dark and mysterious, I turned on the lights. I sat on the couch and wrapped myself in an electric blanket. Storm came plotting down five minutes later and he snuggled up against my leg. I turned on the TV and the only thing that was on was the movie 'Mary Poppins' so I watched that.

​It reminded me of when I was little I would watch this movie all the time. I was humming the all the songs, I was surprised that I remembered all the songs from when I was about six or seven. I stifled a laugh when Storm snored so loudly I couldn't tell what the actors were saying. I checked the clock.

​It was 6:05.

​I got up and started pouring some cereal. I poured the milk in and sat back down on the couch. I turned on the animal planet and ironically, wolves were the subject. They just talked about wolves living in the wild, and what they eat. I glanced at Storm who was still snoring like a dinosaur with a sinus infection. My mom came downstairs around seven and gave me a puzzled look.

​"Why are you up so early? I thought you liked to sleep in?" She asked puzzled.

​"I woke up really early and I couldn't go back to bed." I said simply, still glued to Animal Planet.

​"That explains a lot, you fell asleep at 4:00 last night."

​"Really?" I asked, she nodded.

​"After Jason left, you were out. Your Father and I tried to wake you up, but you were dead to the world." She sat down next to Storm and I. "What are you watching?"

​"They are doing a wolf segment on Animal Planet." I replied. We sat in silence as we watched before Katharine came down at around eight.

​"Whatcha guys doing?" She asked. She glared at me when she saw Storm sleeping in my lap. She came over and sat next to Mom,

​"What's this?" She asked, disgusted.

​"Brie found a wolf segment on Animal Planet, it's a two hour marathon." My mom informed her. Katharine took one last glance at the TV, grabbed the remote from the coffee table, and the channel to some stupid reality TV show

​"Hey! What was that?" I asked in surprise.

​"I didn't like the show." Katharine replied. I balled my fists. She was such a brat. She got whatever she wanted just like that!

​"Yeah, ever heard about taking one for the team?" I shot back. Storm woke up and I could feel the deep rumble of his growl. It still surprised me that he could tell when I was mad or not. Mom shot me the it's too early to be fighting look. I gave up. I went upstairs to my room. Storm plodded up after me. I sat on my bed. I was really tired, being up all morning. I lay down on my bed with Storm at my side. I don't know how long I was asleep, but I know I woke up that evening screaming at the top of my lungs.

​I did not scream out of fear, but out of shock. I had no nightmares while I slept. Storm woke up with a start. I started laughing a cautious laugh. I bear hugged Storm around the neck.

​"I feel so relived." I told him, I checked the clock. It was 7:50 in the evening. I still had at most, twelve hours before I had to go to school. I walked out of my room with Storm at my side. I went into the library and skimmed the shelves of books. I finally found a book I hadn't seen before. I grabbed it off the shelves and looked at the cover.