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“People wear this? It’s… tiny.”
“You’re tiny,” I point out. “And it’s just for sleeping, no one else has to see it. Well, no one other than us.” I wink, clearly goading her.
I’m trying not to stare holes in the damn thing. I thought it would look more modest than this, I suppose. Despite it not being especially skimpy, she looks incredibly… edible. The material is completely opaque, but it’s thin enough to see the shape of her small breasts, the curve of her hip, the length of her legs. It’s maddening. Keep it together.
As a group, we help her climb into bed, all crowding around to say our goodnights and kiss her cheeks and forehead. She’s still wearing that ridiculous beanie that I’m pretty sure belongs to Luis. I assume she’s wearing it to cover the shaved section of her head and the scar that runs across her scalp.
I’m second to last to say goodnight, reminding her that I’m next door if she needs anything. Luis hangs back, waiting for everyone else to finish, clearly wanting to talk to her privately.
Everyone heads to their rooms, clearly ready for a good nights’ rest. Jackson calls out his good nights as he makes his way down the stairs, heading off to his little cabin. Luis emerges from the room last, pulling the door behind him and leaving it cracked.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah man, all good. You?”
I nod. “Good night.”
I don’t head off to bed like the rest of them, though. I rarely sleep more than four or five hours a night, staying up late into the night to work. If I’m not working for my father’s company, then I’m working on my own plans, mostly stock trading to build up my portfolio and bank accounts. I’ve got enough money saved that I would never have to work a day in my life. But I like to stay busy, and I have to stay one step ahead of my father at all times.
I’ve been doing some digging into his financials lately, after our CFO was caught embezzling. Most everything looked above board, and to an auditor nothing would seem out of place or suspicious. But there were some files and account names that I had never heard before, specifically for a company out of Raleigh, North Carolina called “BioCere, INC”. Looking into them more, it looks to be a shell corporation that my father has been funneling massive quantities of money into. I’ve been investigating where the money leads to for weeks, hoping to find hard proof of my father’s nefarious business dealings.
Wondering if his sudden absence could be related, I use the business bank accounts to check expenses. Sure enough, all of his recent spending has been in the Raleigh-Durham area. I might be onto something here.
I finally head up to bed well after midnight. After a quick shower, I am pulling on a pair of soft black sleep pants when I am stopped by a thud in the room next door. I listen for any other sounds and don’t hear anything, but I still go out into the hall and listen at her door.
Six is softly moaning and crying in her sleep, clearly having another nightmare. I slowly enter her room and walk across to the bed to check on her, the moon casting her bed in a soft glow. Empty. For a moment I panic, fumbling forward to turn on the light when I trip over a tangled sheet and see her huddled in the corner.
Her arms are wrapped around herself and she’s rocking slightly, murmuring to herself. I gently call out to her but there’s no response, she might still be asleep. My chest clenches with empathy, I’ve suffered from night terrors my entire life. I hate that she’s suffering this way.
Not wanting to cause her any more distress, I reach out to comfort her, to let her know she’s not living in whatever nightmare is flashing through her mind. My fingers barely brush her shoulder. She starts to scream and thrash, fighting to get away from whatever monster is holding her dreams hostage.
The door flies open, and the lights flick on. Luis, Micah, and Lukas all run in with looks of terrified concern, their faces and hair mussed with sleep. They all run forward, but I stop them from getting too close. Crowding her is only going to make it worse.
“Jackson, she needs Jackson.” Lukas says and I nod.
“Call him, get him here now.”
Lukas steps away to get his cell, and through the window I see the lights from Jackson’s cabin turn on. Moments later, we hear the door slam and Jackson bounds up the stairs.
Jackson runs into the room, barefoot and sleep tussled, wearing only a pair of faded blue boxer shorts. He surveys the situation and carefully approaches.
“I tried to comfort her, but she started screaming,” I told him. “I think she’s having a night terror.”
The lights and sudden barrage of people flying through the door seem to have roused her. She’s mostly awake at this point, but she’s still huddled in a corner, trembling like a leaf.
Jackson starts singing in a low and slightly broken voice, moving in close but not quite touching her. He unravels the sheet from her legs and pulls it around her body. By the time he makes it to the chorus of “Soulshine”, he has her wrapped up in his arms, lifting her back towards the bed.
She looks up at him, her eyes glazed and unseeing, yet so full of fear and pain. “I can’t let them find you,” she says in a small voice, a single tear falling down her face.
“It’s okay, darlin’, you’re safe. We’re all safe, and here with you.” He shushes her and gently lays her on the bed. He lays down next to her, still singing softly as he tucks her against his body. She finally relaxes enough to drift back off to sleep and I dim the lights.
I debate staying, and it seems everyone else is hesitating too. None of us want to leave her.
“Trundle,” Jackson says softly, and everyone nods, understanding the assignment.
Micah and Lukas find a latch under the bed. Pulling on it like a drawer, they roll out a queen-size mattress and lay down together. I decide to climb into the bed on her other side. Luis dims the lights completely and lays on the sofa.
No one tries to talk, we all lay there in silence. Eventually I fall asleep, assured that she is safe and sound with all of us here in case she needs us.
