Sakura Eyes

Chapter 31

There were no words after that exchange between Justin and I. I'd cried so much and long that my eyes were so puffy and red, I could barely open them. I tried to stand up and hide my face with my hair, but Justin swept me up into his arms and told me to pretend to sleep.

We passed a lot of people, and even came across Catherine who was playing with a group of kids. 

"Is she alright?" I heard Catherine ask, her voice laced with worry.

"She's just tired," Justin responded. "I'll put her down in bed and then come out to help you with the kids."

I felt Justin start to move again and dug my face deeper into his chest. I felt so warm and content next to him, I almost fell asleep against him. When we got into the house, I cracked open my eyes and looked up at Justin.

He placed me down in bed and put a hand over my eyes. "Sleep, Princess."

I nodded off. Crying was so stressful and energy consuming, I almost immediately drifted off to sleep. Before I did though, I managed to mutter out, "Sorry, Justin. Your shoulder...is wet now."

I heard Justin snicker and turn me over so that I was laying on my back. I heard the bed creak and the mattress around me dip as I felt Justin hover over me. Before I escaped into the darkness, I felt a light brush against my eyes as if someone were kissing me goodnight.

                                                                                         ...

I stared out from the front porch as Justin rolled over the dirt track to play with a group kids. He screamed and laughed with the kids as they crawled all over him and attacked him on all sides. When Justin was with kids, I could tell he was genuinely happy.

I don't know why I was so surprised when he had to take care of all the kids back at the hideout, but I supposed since I always thought Justin was more on the introverted side, he wouldn't do well with new kids. But it wasn't probably just because Justin loved kids and worked well with them, but these kids were orphans too. And that just brought everything on a whole new level.

After my little mental breakdown, we didn't talk about it—

"I swear those kids are demons," Tristan groaned as he pulled up on to the porch, breaking my train of thoughts. "I don't know how Justin keeps up with all of them..."

"They're just a little—" Catherine started. Suddenly, she fell over, and Tristan had to grab her before she hit her head on the ground. I rushed up to them. "Catherine?!"

"She's fine," Tristan said, peering closely at her face. "She's just tired. She hasn't gotten a goodnight sleep in a long time—"

He stopped when he looked at my face. I realized I was wearing a guilty expression and quickly tried to hide it, but Tristan already saw me. "Don't worry, it's not your fault. The kids were just too hard on her."

I nodded slowly. "You guys should all get some sleep."

"How about you?" Tristan asked.

"I will," I sighed.

Tristan nodded and carried Catherine into the house to rest. I went down the porch and over to where Justin was playing with the kids. One of them noticed me and broke free from the cluster of boys to run over to me.

I smiled and pinched the boy's cheek lightly. He stretched his arms out; I thought he wanted a hug so I reached for him, but his hands stopped before me and landed in front of me. On my chest.

Immediately, I felt my cheeks flush. I tried to remain calm and grabbed the boy's hands. "A-alright...not there..."

"Hey," the boy said. "Why do you have two lumps on your chest like that other blond girl? Is that a thing with all girls or—"