The Masked Men

Chapter 10

"It's really late. We've got a big day ahead of us." Things started to get awkward for me.

Ben cleared his throat and said," Yeah, we uh better get to sleep." I could tell he was kind of embarrassed that he cried in front of me. There was also a sign of relief in his eyes. I got off the log and laid down next to Braxton. Ben walked to the other side of the boy.

"Goodnight, Rileigh"

"Goodnight, Ben." And with that, I looked at the freckled boy sleeping peacefully in hopes I would have an easier time sleeping.

I didn't.

Ben passed out like a baby, so I decided to be lookout. I was feeling really anxious. What the heck was Ben hiding? What would happen to Braxton and me? As I thought all these things, I got squeamish. I wanted us to be ok. We still had not found a town, and now we had to take care of a seven year old! I looked at Braxton again, and it calmed me down a little. It also made me more determined to protect him. With that, I cuddled right next to him and fell asleep.

I woke up in the middle of the night to whimpering.

"Rileigh? Are you awake?" Braxton asked.

"I am now," I said.

"I'm scared. I miss my mom." Tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Awe, Braxton. There is nothing to worry about." I opened up my arms, and he crawled in snuggling up to me. I put the jacket on the both of us to stay warm. "Me and Ben are going to keep you safe."

"Are you guys boyfriend and girlfriend?" Braxton sincerely asked.

"What? What makes you think that?"

"Duh.. I thought it was obvious. The way he looks at you and all." He raised his eyebrows up and down.

Uhhhh... that was all I could think of at the moment. It was then silent for a couple minutes.

"Guess what?" Braxton asked suddenly.

"What?" I replied still recovering from the earlier message.

"You look just like my mom. Mostly your green eyes. She was beautiful like you too. With your long and flowy brown hair, you're just like her. It's no wonder why Ben likes you." And with that, he fell asleep.

I didn't go to sleep. I never thought of myself as pretty let alone beautiful. Beautiful was the girls on the cover of those magazines. Their so flawless with their blond hair and blue eyes. I have dark hair and green eyes.

Who even looks like me? Correction: Who the heck WANTS to look like me? Who would want to be with me? Definitely not Ben, right? Even if he did, he didn't show it.

When Braxton said that I was beautiful, though, I just was so elated so filled with joy that I laughed. As soon as I did Ben started squirming. I realized that it was almost morning. I immediately passed out.

+++++++++

I woke up to find that Braxton was still in my arms. I was thrilled, even if he did drool on my arm. I looked up to see if Ben was still sleeping too. He wasn't. He was sitting straight up in cris cross applesauce staring at us intently.

"Ben, I know that you are having trouble right now, but you need to lighten up for Braxton, OK? He doesn't need to know what's going on in your head."

"Yeah, I know. I wouldn't want to worry him." He got quiet for a minute and finally said, "You know, you're gonna make a great mom someday." He looked down at Braxton who was slowly waking himself up.

"Uh thanks." I said. Awkward, Ithought. I thought it was funny how he put the emphasis on someday.

"Good morning, everybody! Where are we going?" Braxton asked, being as adorable as ever.

"The same way we always go, buddy. East." Ben said, adding some fake enthusiasm.

"Ok, let's go!" Braxton ordered, and we were off.