Hidden in the Karabo Mountains- Chapter 10

Chapter 10- My Big Screw-Up

"Mmpphh," I sighed, stretching to wake myself up. Eyes still closed, I frowned. There was something on top of me, something big. It felt heavy, but whatever it was, it was resting on me lightly. I pulled one of my arms out from under the blanket and traced my fingers along the thing. It felt... familiar. Slowly, I opened my eyes. I couldn't see anything at first because of the bright morning light, but as my eyes adjusted, I saw exactly what was lying on top of me. A giant hand.

I sighed deeply as the events of last night came back to me all at once. The nightmare... singing... talking about nightmares... sleeping with... Eli. I wriggled around and craned my neck to look up at his face, expecting to see his sparking blue eyes, but he was still asleep. A small smile formed on my lips when I saw Eli's sleeping face. He looked so peaceful asleep, sweet even. And maybe even... cute? Not the kind of cute Bud was, either...

I shook my head and turned my attention to the object on top of me. I figured Eli had rested his hand over me in his sleep, although despite the fact that he didn't  know it was there, he was still being as gentle as ever. Suddenly, something in me panicked. I scrambled around until I managed to free myself from the sleeping bag. I stood there for a moment, looking at Eli. I wasn't sure what my deal was at the moment, but I felt a strong need to get out of there as soon as possible.

Eli's hand twitched, which made me turn and run into the woods. I wasn't afraid of Eli, I had never been afraid. So then what was my problem, you may ask? Well, if your parents were dragged away unconscious before your own five-year-old eyes, you'd be pretty messed up, too. Not to mention the fact that if anyone saw me and Eli, they would automatically assume the worst.

I hurried back to camp in the pre-dawn air. If I reached my sleeping bag before anyone saw me, no one would know I had even left. I could just picture the looks on Cassie's and Mr. Wheatfort's faces if they found out where I had spent the night. Cassie would probably sign me up for the Looney House, while Mr. Wheatfort... I shuddered, trying not to think of what he'd do to Eli. Naturally, I ran into the woods, since it was not only the fastest way back to camp, but it was also my favorite place to relax.

Running at full speed, I burst into the woods, trying to get back to camp in time. As I ran, I decided to sneak a glance over my shoulder, which was a mistake. As I looked back at the way I came, my foot caught on the thick underbrush and I fell forward, barely managing to put my hands out to catch myself. I stayed on my hands and knees like that for a moment, trying to catch my breath. I wanted to cry for some reason, but I knew I wouldn't. It had been a longtime since I had last cried, and I wasn't about to do it then. I picked myself up and hurried the rest of the way back to camp.

* * *

Eli groaned, seeing the bright morning light though his eyelids. Opening his eyes as slowly as possible, he couldn't help but feel like he was forgetting something. Eli glanced around, taking in everything around him. There were the mountains, and there were the woods, and there he was in his sleeping bag, and... crap.

"Jessie?" Eli called as soon as he realized she was missing. "Nononononono," he said frantically, as he searched for his missing friend. Eli's stomach twisted into knots as he continued to search for Jessie, terrified of what might've happened to her.

After thoroughly searching his sleeping bag, and then the surrounding area, Eli was in a full-out panic. There was absolutely no trace of Jessie anywhere, and Eli couldn't help but fear the worst. No, he thought, glancing around once more in despair. I failed her. She's gone.

* * *

I woke up to something furry sitting on my stomach and dog slobber all over my face. When I opened my eyes, I found out where the dog slobber was from, as Bud resumed his previous task of licking my face.

"Blech, Bud, stop it! I'm up, I'm up!" I exclaimed, trying to remove my puppy from my chest. "Ugh, gross," I said, wiping the slobber off my face as I sat up. Bud simply looked at me with a wagging tail. That is, he was until he heard something in the woods, making his ears perk up. Bud charged off in the direction of whatever it was he heard, leaving me to chase after him.

"Bud, wait!" I cried, even though it was pointless because he wouldn't listen to me anyway. I fumbled to get out of my sleeping bag, and then began to chase after my puppy. "Bud, this better not be another squirrel chase... when did you get so fast?" I was running faster than I usually did, which was wearing me out quickly. Bud, meanwhile, was galloping full speed towards a clearing, barking his head off. I slowed as I neared the edge of the trees, completely out of breath. I leaned against a tree for a moment. When I looked up, my eyes widened a little, and I knew what it was that had made me want to cry earlier. Guilt.

* * *

Eli sat on the ground with his arms wrapped around his knees staring towards the camp. I'm gonna have to tell them eventually, he thought. Tell Jessie's own village that I lost her. Of course, I wouldn't have to tell them anything if I hadn't lost her. Eli sighed miserably. "I'm such an idiot," he muttered, hiding his face in his arms.

A familiar bark made Eli look up (or rather, down) at the woods. Bud, Jessie's puppy, burst out of the woods, running straight for Eli.

"Bud? What is it?" Eli asked softly. Bud ran up to him and sat at his feet, wagging his tail and looking up at Eli. Then something occurred to him. "Bud... do you know where Jessie is?"

At the mention of his owner's name, Bud's ears perked up. He let out a "woof," and looked toward the woods. Eli followed his gaze to a pine tree on the edge of the clearing. The sight that greeted him made him want to jump for joy (of course, that wouldn't be a very good idea). Standing underneath the pine tree, staring up at him, was Jessie.

* * *

Seeing Eli so upset pretty much ripped my heart out. Knowing that it was my fault made me hate myself. How could I have been so stupid? I thought. Of course Eli would worry when he found out I was missing. I stood under the tree, half hiding behind it. I wasn't afraid of Eli, I was just worried that I'd gone too far.

I watched as Bud ran up to Eli, and then looked at me. Eli followed his gaze. Seeing me, Eli's face lit up with a huge smile. When he saw the look on my face, however, his smile vanished. This is it, I thought. This is where he says he doesn't want to be my friend. It happens every time. I watched as Eli inched closer to me. I closed my eyes when he stopped and sat right in front of me.

"J-Jess?" Even though he was speaking softly, his voice was still somewhat loud at this proximity. Slowly, I opened my eyes and looked up at him. Eli's face fell even more when our eyes met. "You're afraid, aren't you?" His already soft voice was barely above a whisper. "Afraid of... me..."

"No!" I said hating what sounded like desperation in my voice. "No. I-I'm not afraid, I'm just... sorry." I sighed and looked away again. "I'm sorry, Eli." Why was he so good at getting me to say things I never usually said?

"Jessie," Eli started.

"I guess this is the part where you say you don't wanna be my friend anymore, isn't it?" I asked. It had to be coming. It always did.

"Jessie, I-"

"I mean, I can understand why," I said, cutting him off again. I turned away and covered my face with my hands before continuing. "It's not like I'm a good friend. Heh, I'm not even that great of a person..."

"Jessie!" Eli exclaimed, raising his voice slightly and surprising me. "Stop that," he said, his voice returning to a softer volume. Carefully, Eli took my arms between his thumb and first fingers, one in each hand, and gently pulled my hands from my face. I stared at the ground, refusing to look at Eli. "Look at me. Please." Slowly, I brought my eyes up to meet Eli's big blue ones. He smiled when our eyes met and let go of my hands. "Jessie, I don't know what's making you say that, but believe me when I tell you that you are not a bad person, and you're certainly not a bad friend. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure a bad friend wouldn't stick up for me when nobody else trusts me."

I couldn't help but blush slightly. "That was one time," I said, barely loud enough for Eli to hear.

"That was more than one time," Eli corrected gently.

I decided not to ask how he knew that. Instead I said, "People used to call me the village runaway, because I'd always run off when somebody tried to talk to me... or tried to be my friend. They would do something to try and gain my trust, to get me to warm up to them, and I would run off... like I did to you."

Eli frowned. "I-I don't understand. Why wouldn't you want someone to be your friend?"

I sighed. "Because... because I don't want to get abandoned again." I paused and looked away again. "I-I can't stand the thought of opening up to someone, letting them see the real me, growing attached to them... just for them to leave me alone again." My eyes widened when I realized what I had just said. I had never told anyone any of this before, yet here I was telling Eli all of it.

"I-is that why you said you're not a good person?" I nodded slowly, my voice suddenly gone.

Eli was silent for a moment, and I wondered what he was thinking. When he did speak again, his voice was back to an almost-whisper. "Jessie, is... is there something you want to tell me?"

I looked up into Eli's big blue eyes. "Something I want to tell you? Not right now."

Eli nodded in understanding. Then he gently took hold of one of my hands again. "I just want you to know, if you ever do wanna tell me anything, I'm here, and I'm always happy to listen." I simply looked at him with wide eyes and nodded. No one had ever said something like that to me, ever.

Eli let go of my hand, and I thought the moment was over, but he surprised me again. Smiling at me warmly, Eli carefully wrapped his hand around my middle, just like he did last night. Bringing his other hand behind me, he held me against him. My eyes widened in shock at first. Then I realized what Eli was doing. He was hugging me. I closed my eyes and spread my arms, returning the hug as best as I could. I smiled for the first time that morning.

All too soon, Eli pulled me away from his chest, his face braking into a grin. "I guess we'd better get back to everybody else, huh?" he asked.

I grinned back, grateful for the change of subject, but not so much the end of the hug. "Yeah, Mr. Wheatfort gets pretty irritated when people are late," I told him. I snickered and Eli did the same.
 
"Well, c'mon, then," he said, still grinning, bringing me up to his shoulder. Bud ran over to us, clearly unhappy with being forgotten.

I giggled. "C'mon, Bud, you too," I called down to my puppy. Eli held his hand out to Bud, palm up, and Bud scrambled on. Eli brought Bud up to his shoulder even slower than he brought me. I scooped Bud up and Eli stood up carefully, but not before I glimpsed a smile on his face.