The next time I wake up there's a faint orange glow in my room. I roll over and groan, my eyes still tired and my head still throbbing slightly. Since the light is shining in from the West, I gage that I only slept about an hour. That explains why I still feel so groggy. I close my eyes again, thinking of sleep, but a loud howl rips through my ears.

     I shoot straight out of bed and away from the slightly open window, screaming as I go. My heart races in my chest as another howl tears through the house. I've heard coyote howls before, but this is something else. I'm pretty sure that wolves aren't common in Indiana, so what are they doing in the woods? That's when a voice from the other side of the door calls my name.

     "Danny?" It's Abigail. She must've heard the wolves, too. Poor thing, she's probably scared out of her mind! I hurry over to the door and throw it open, catching the small girl in my arms. She has tears in her eyes and her blonde hair is a mess. She cries into the shirt that I'm wearing, I realize that it's to big to be my shirt, and I stroke her small head.

     "Shh... it's okay. Just wolves. They can't hurt you, see? They're outside." I speak softly, scooping her into my arms.

     "Bwut... they can come get me! And eat me!" She wails. I try a different tactic to calm her down. Humor.

     "No, they don't want you. You're too sweet!" I tickle her stomach, and she erupts into a storm of giggles. I smile and laugh along, feeling like I've known this little girl longer than a couple of hours. After she calms down, I put her back onto the floor. She looks up at me with her big blue eyes and sticks out her bottom lip.

     She asks," Will you wead me a storwee?"

     "Of course, but don't you want your sissy or bubby to tuck you into bed?" I take her hand, and she leads me to her room. Her night gown drags on the floor as she walks, which makes me smile as she treads lightly, careful not to step on the edges. She shakes her head.

     "No. Sissy and bubby went out. They said it was impotant."

     My jaw drops, surprised and disgusted. What is wrong with these people? They left a child in the house all by her self?

     "They left you here alone?!"

     "No, siwy! You're with me. We're going to wead Cindewella." She jumps on her small bed and pulls back the light pink bed spread. Abbi scoots over and looks at the spot beside her, indicating that she's ready for me to sit down. I quickly look around the tiny room for the book before grabbing it off her white book shelf. Plopping down on the bed, I start reading.

     "Once upon a time, in a far away land..."

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       After a couple pages, I look over at Abigail's sleeping form and shut the book, careful not to let the binding creak. She closed her eyes when I started to read, I guess to relax, but she ended up falling asleep, which is fine. I'm kind of tired myself. So, as not to wake her, I rise off the bed quietly.

     I go to leave the room, but I feel a tinny hand on my wrist.

     "Wait! Don't go yet. Stay 'till I fawll asweep?"

     "Oh, alright," covering my legs up with her pink bed spread, I lean back on the head board and stare at the ceiling," Happy now?"

     "Mmhhmm...." I can hear the tiredness in her voice as she settles into a comfortable position. Her little blue eyes close and I decide to wait five more minutes before heading back to my room. 

    
Hey guys! What's going on? Well, you know how my covers are pretty pathetic and sucky? I'm getting a knew phone, so I'll be able to create awesome covers! Super excited! As always, love ya!
                                                        Stargazer12647