Jodee

Chapter 33 - Time

It was almost midnight and I still haven't gotten a wink of sleep.

My brother and I went to bed at about 10 o'clock after our movie night and I had been trying — and failing — to go to sleep for the past two hours. My mind was just racing with all sorts of different things, preventing any form of sleep to even come close to me. 

Of course, one of my top worries was that my father was trying to get custody once again. 

I didn't want to go back to him at all. In fact, I've been content with never seeing my father ever again just a couple days ago, but that all changed in a matter of minutes today. I wasn't even sure why Tobias wanted to take custody of me again. He absolutely hates me and I don't think he's capable of changing his ways. A man like that isn't capable of change. 

Even if he was, I would think a father would want to make right with all of his children and in this situation — me and Ace. Just the fact that he's trying to steal me away from my brother leads me to believe his motives are against Ace. 

But right now I was trying to push that out of my mind which is surprisingly easy because my mind has been completely filled with Caleb. I feel so bad about what I said to him. I was mad and it just came out — but that was no excuse. I was just so scared that Caleb was going to hate me forever.

So I did the only thing I could think of to calm myself down — I went to find my brother.

I came up to Ace's door which was right next to mine and knocked three times, praying that he was in his room. My stuffed animal, Blue — who I fished out of my closet when I couldn't sleep tonight— , was clutched safely and tightly into my side.

"Yes?" Ace's voice called from the inside.

I sighed a huge sigh of relief that he was actually there. Then I opened the door and peaked my head in. "C-can I stay here, t-tonight?" I questioned, tentatively.

I knew that I was definitely too old to be sleeping in my big brother's bed because I'm scared at night or lonely or for any reason, really. But I kept telling myself that it just didn't matter because I really needed this right now.

When I was younger I used to sleep in Ace's bed all the time. I would sleep there when I was afraid of the dark or when I had a bad day at school or home or sometimes just because I felt lonely in my room all by myself so I went to find him. 

This continued up until I was six and then I began sleeping in my own room most of the nights. But when I was seven and we moved to California with just me, Ace, and Caleb I started to feel super scared just because it was a whole new place where I knew no one and nothing. So then I continued to sleep in his bed up until I was about eight or nine. From then to now — at fourteen — I have probably slept in my brother's bed all of twice. I was too old for it, but tonight I was going to make an exception.

Ace was sitting up against his headboards in sweatpants and a white t-shirt when I peaked into the room. His computer sat on his lap as he typed away on it. When my brother saw me, his face softened and he answered my question by reaching over and pulling the covers up on the other side of the bed to invite me in there.

I wasted no time in closing his door and running to jump into that side of the bed that was now fully open for me. I laid my head on the pillow facing Ace and watched him, silently. Blue and the covers tucked tightly under my chin to get the warmth back into my body from being out in the cold house at night.

Ace finished typing something real quick on his computer, before setting it on his nightstand and looking at me. My brother pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor before laying down beside me on the bed, facing me and mirroring my pose.