This Is Where It Ends

I slowly threw Alicia's arm off my body, and gently placed a pillow where my body once was. I put the pillow under her arm, and moved away from the bunk area. I walked into the kitchen area and grabbed out the coffee maker. "Buy now, for only 10.99." A voice on the t.v. said. Damn the guys must off left the t.v. on, I poured the coffee grounds into the maker, and walked into the makeshift living area. I recognized Hayley's dark hair on the floor of the bus. "Hales?" I whispered, moving closer to her.

"Yeah?" She asked, changing the channel to the t.v. She didn't even turn around to face me, she just ignored me completely.

"What are you doing up so early?" I asked, taking a seat on the next to her on the floor. She was wrapped in a spiderman blanket, while she laid on the floor of the bus. She held a stuffed giraffe close to her heart, she looked so lost. She looked so hurt, so emotionally wrecked.

"I kept dreaming about my mom, I couldn't sleep anymore." She said in a low whisper. She spoke so low that I had to strain to hear a word she had said. I reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, she tensed up but soon relaxed into it. "I miss her so much, Mikey." She cried, holding her stuffed animal tighter to her heart. She took in a shaky breath, letting it out very slowly. "I keep dwelling on the past, and I'm not accepting this new family," She sat up and stared at me in the eyes. "I've been given a second chance at happiness, but I keep pushing it away. I'm so scared of losing everyone all over again." She cried to me.

"Shh..." I said, pulling my daughter into a hug. She sobbed into my shoulder as I ran my fingers through her tangly hair. "I promise Hayley, I'm not going anywhere. No one is going anywhere, we are here for you." I said, rocking us back and forth. She held onto my tightly, whispering for anyone to just hold her. Behind the front that she puts on, she's a scared little girl who had to grow up much to fast.

In the background I heard people's footsteps in the kitchen area. I heard them whispering, I could feel them pointing at us. I chose to ignore them and focus on the task at hand. Making sure Hayley knew that I wasn't going anywhere. She was still crying for her lost family, she's never been able to grieve properly. I would make sure that while she was with me, she'd have time to grieve and heal from this. She whispered for all of her pain to go away, she had prayed that her mom was looking down on her.

"Hayley can I tell you a secret?" I whispered to her. She shook her head yes, and slowly pulled away from the hug. Her beautiful blue eyes were bloodshot, her nose was red and running. She wiped away the extra tears that ran down her face. She put all her focus on me and put on a fake smile. I accepted non the less, and grabbed her hand from her lap. "Alicia and I are getting married today, I'd really like for you to be there. No one else knows this, but you. So it'll be like a family secret you know? Would you like to be our witness?" I asked.

"I'd love too." She whispered. The fake smile on her face was replaced with a real one. We may have just made a breakthrough today.