Don't touch them.

Chapter 16

   He's fallen asleep, but for some reason, I can't. So around four thirty, I get up. I can't pick up Sam with my injured hand, which is throbbing horribly like my jaw, so I carefuly slide from under him. It takes a few minutes because I keep stopping as he readjusts himself to make sure I don't wake him up.
   When I do get up, I head to the bathroom to do my buisiness. I can hear Ace or Eve snoring in my room, no noise from Anna's, and I can hear faint rustling in Heather and Sandra's room. They're probably waking up. I thought they'd sleep a little longer considering last night. Who knows?
   I go to Sam's room and grab the soft, fuzzy grey blanket from the foot of his bed. I go back to the living room where Aspen is sitting up beside the chair, in front of the side table dutifuly. I carefuly pull the lever on the side of the chair, reclining it slowly. He groans and stretches out, quickly settling down. I drape the banket over him, and he grabs it, pulling it up to his chin and curling up into a little ball. I hear quiet laughter and turn to see Heather standing in the door way to the hall. Heather grabs the dishes from the coffee table and I get the ones from the table by the recliner, and follow them quietly into the kitchen.
   "He's been doing that since... Ever. He always curls up like that for some reason." She says. I place the dishes in the sink and she starts preparing the coffee pot.
   "How'd you sleep?" I ask.
   "I slept alright. Sandra was extra snuggly." She sighs. "What about you?"
   "I just got Sam to fall asleep a couple hours ago I think. I lost track of time." I explain.
   "You didn't sleep?" She raises her brow at me.
   "I couldn't." I shrug. She just nods and gets out the stuff to make eggs. I watch from the small table in the middle of the kitchen before I get up to get the laundry.
   "Don't." She warns, glancing back at me from the stove. "How does your hand feel." She's focused on the eggs again.
   "It hurts, but it's not horrible." That was a lie. It's not as bad as some injuries I've had though, pain wise.
   "I'll get you some pain medicine in a second." She flips her eggs. "Are you hungry?" She asks.
   "Not really."
   "Okay." She turns off the stove, not pushing the matter. "That bruise hurt much?"
   "Yeah..."
   "Go ahead and grab an ice pack from the freezer." She motions to the double decker fridge, which has a freezer drawer in the bottom. I grab one and when I turn back to her she hands me a hand towel to wrap it in.
   "Thanks." I wrap it up and press the bag of cool gel to my jaw. Just then there's a knock at the door. "I'll get it." I yawn, limping out of the kitchen. They knock again, and I pick up the pace, not wanting them to wake Sam. I open the door to find Jermy and Del.
   "Hey guys. You can come in, but try to keep it down. I just got Samuel to fall asleep." I turn away from the door, trusting them to let themselves in. I limp away from the kitchen, pausing momentarily to see that Sam's still asleep, before limping back to the kitchen where I sit down and lay my head on the table, letting the gel pack rest on my jaw.
   "Tector help Sam? Tector's hurt?" Del asks softly, hugging my side. I don't look up as I wrap my arm around him.
   "I'm okay buddy."
   "The guy punched you pretty hard huh? That's a sweet looking bruise." Jermy sits in the chair to my right. I just nod.
   "Dain did good though. The burnett not only has a jacked up hand, but the big guy has a badly broken nose." Sandra yawns as she walks in. I can hear her feet on the tile but they stop suddenly.
   "Dain, how'd you sleep?" Her voice sounds different... Almost tense?
   "I didn't. I just got Sam to relax enough to rest." Heather sets a mug down in front of me. From where my head's on the table, I can see her turn to face Sandra, but she too seems to freeze. I sit up. Jermy's grinning like an idiot, and everyone's looking behind me now. I turn to see why. Part of me was afraid that I'd see the two men from last night, but what I did see scared me even more.
   There stood a woman with long, dark brown hair that curled around her shoulders, and bright, silver eyes. She's thin and curvy and dressed cassually in dark blue skinny jeans, knee high boots, and a simple black blouse that frills a little around the modest neck line.
   Next to her... Is a tall man. My height. He has straight, black hair and eyes such a dark brown that they look black if your not in total sunshine. He's well muscled and toned, but lean. He's in blue jeans and a black t-shirt with tennis shoes on. I can feel my breath hitch as I watch them. And I can feel my eyes well up as realization hits me. I haven't seen this man in... Three years.
   "Dain." He whispers, his own eyes brimming with tears.
   "Daddy." I sob as I launch myself into his chest. He wraps his arms around me, and I wrap mine around his, afraid to let him go. Afraid that if I let him go, he'll be dead again. That I'll be back in that horrible house with that crazy woman, and he'll be dead in a fire.
   "We thought we lost you." He buries his face in my hair. "She told me you were dead." He sobs. This is the first time I've seen my dad cry.
   "Dain?" I look up to see Sam, teary in the doorway looking frightened and confused. I hesitantly let go of my Dad.