Enjoy!
David glanced at the clock. 7:30. They'd been driving for an hour and a half. Kelsie and Nicole were asleep, and Jacob stared vacantly out the window.
"Okay, Jacob?" he asked. Jacob jumped, but never answered. A few minutes later, David shoved Kelsie awake as they pulled into a gas station.
"Hey, Kels. Wake up,"
"Hmm...what?" she shoved the hood of her sweatshirt off of her head, and pushed hair out of her eyes.
"We're stopping for gas. You want anything?"
"Yeah. Get me some Pringles and an orange pop,"
"Got it," When he came back he, he spent a few minutes pumping gas, and then they were on the road again. Kelsie opened the convenience store bag, and opened her Pringles and orange drink.
"You should call Uncle Joe," she said after she took a sip.
"I'll do it first thing tomorrow morning. We should stop soon."
"Where are we?"
"Somewhere in the state of Illinois,"
"Helpful,"
"I try,"
About half an hour later, they were checking into a small motel in a small town in Illinois.
"We'll have to share beds for tonight," David said as he opened the door. Inside the rectangular room, were two double beds with a nightstand in between them, and on the side closest to the door, a small round table with a couple of beat up chairs. There was a small bathroom on the side opposite the beds.
"Anybody hungry?" Kelsie asked, as everyone put their stuff down. Nicole shook her head.
"No," Jacob replied, "I just want to go to bed,"
"Suit yourself," David shrugged. Jacob barely bothered to take off his shoes before falling into bed, and it wasn't long before Nicole followed suit. Quietly, David and Kelsie sat at the table, and finished off the Pringles.
"They're just going to have to stay with us," Kelsie said.
"No! We can't babysit two kids and teach them magic on the road. It wouldn't work," David answered.
"Where else are they going to go?" Kelsie gave a half-smile as she spoke.
"I don't know. That's why I'm calling Uncle Joe,"
"I'm going to get ready for bed," She stood, dug some stuff out of her bag, and walked to the bathroom. A few minutes later, she emerged, wearing a pair of sweatpants and tossed her jeans and shoes at the foot of the bed. She sighed and rubbed her face.
"Kelsie?" David said, concern laced through his tone.
"Yeah?" her voice came out as a throaty whisper.
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah. 'Course,"
"C'mere," She did, and David stood as she came over to him. Her lip quivered and her eyes watered. She pulled her arms in to her chest as though trying to make herself small. David wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace and she finally let the tears fall.
David was quiet for a minute; he just let her cry. Then he began to sing. His voice was smooth and a little deep.
Good night my angel
Time to close your eyes
And save these questions for another day
I think I know what you've been asking me
I think you know what I've been trying to say
I promised I would never leave you
And you should always know
Wherever you may go
No matter where you are
I never will be far away
It was the song their mother used to sing. It was the song that chased away childhood nightmares and the pain of scraped knees. Kelsie cried harder. David continued singing. He sang the whole song, and slowly Kelsie's sobs faded into quiet sniffles. He rubbed her back for a moment then said, "Get some sleep, Kels." She nodded.
"You too,"
"I will. Don't worry," he whispered. She never saw the tears glistening in his eyes.
______________________________________________________________________
The next morning, Kelsie woke up to the sound of a door closing. She opened her eyes in time to see David slip out of the motel room with his phone to his ear. Quietly, she got out of bed and started getting dressed. She wore a pair of blue jeans frayed at the end because they were too long for her, an old band t-shirt, and her shoes; a beat up pair of black high-top Converse. She was in the process of brushing her shoulder length blonde hair when David came back in.
"Alright. Yes, I understand, Uncle Joe. We will. Okay, bye."
"What'd he say?" Kelsie asked, a knowing smirk playing on her lips.
"He said we'll have to keep them with us. We can't send them to a government place, and giving them to another magic family would be a death sentence."
"Told you," she couldn't resist the words. David just glared.
Nicole rolled over in bed and blinked.
"What time is it?" she asked groggily.
"7;30," Kelsie replied, "You should probably get up. We won't be here much longer." Nicole pulled herself out of bed, walked over to Jacob, and poked him awake.
"Get up," she said. The only response was a groan, and Jacob burying his head in his pillow.
"Suit yourself," Nicole muttered.
A few minutes later though, Jacob got up and ran his fingers through his messy hair, trying to flatten it a little.
"Are you guys hungry?" Kelsie asked in an effort to dispel the sullen silence that had descended.
"No," Jacob's voice was monotone; painfully flat.
"I just want to go home," Nicole said. She sounded like she was about to burst into tears.
"Well, you can't!" David rounded on the pair, shouting. "You can't ever go home!"
Here's the link to the whole song. It's called Lullaby by Billy Joel and it's amazing.
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