A Bush Blessing (Alaskan Bush People Fan Fiction)

Chapter Nine

~COPYRIGHT 2016~

Noah retired for the night following dinner. He was exhausted from all the work he had helped Gabe with today. They had gotten quite a lot done. And considering the night before, getting minimal sleep in the chair, he just wanted to go to bed.

He lay down in his bed with a poetry book and switched on the small book light above his head. He slipped on his reading glasses and immersed himself in the book. He was only disturbed when he heard laughing outside of the tent. He couldn't help himself as he listened in to see what was happening out there.

"Today was really cool. Thanks for showing me around some more," Angel's voice filtered through the door.

"It was a pretty awesome day," Bear's voice echoed back. "You know, I really like having you here."

"I really like being here," she told him.

There was a moment of silence.

"You're really pretty," Bear suddenly blurted out.

Angel let out a small giggle. "Thank you."

"Um...would you maybe want to come to Hoonah with me tomorrow? There's some supplies that we need again and maybe we could have lunch at the diner or something."

"I would love to! After all, I didn't exactly get to see Hoonah last time we went."

"Great! So it's a date?" he asked.

There was another space of silence. "A...date?" she finally questioned.

"Uh...yeah...if that's okay with you. I would love to go on a date with you."

"Um...okay! I can't wait! I'll see you tomorrow, Bear. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, beautiful."

Noah rolled his eyes at the interaction. Looks like Gabe had been right. As he heard the tent's door move to the side, he acted like he was reading his book once again. He only looked up when Angel stepped into the tent.

"Going to bed early?" Noah wondered.

"Yup," she said with a pop of her "p".

"What made you so tired today?" he asked, curious.

"I did a lot of running around with Bear in the woods. That guy can sprint!" she told him.

"Yes, he surely can. Anyways, I'll be turning off the light soon. I want to read a few more poems before going to bed."

"Don't worry about it. I'm pretty sure I could sleep through a tornado."

He chuckled and went back to reading. Angel crawled into bed and soon enough, he could hear her tiny sighs, signaling that she was asleep.

After about twenty more minutes of reading, Noah placed his book on the bedside table and switched off the lamp above his head. He tucked himself into the covers and closed his eyes, sleep coming easy.

It was extremely early in the morning. Noah had been up for nearly half an hour now. Angel tossed and turned in her bed, whimpers escaping her lips. He had thought she would quiet down, but it appeared she wasn't going to be anytime soon.

With a sigh, Noah rolled over in bed and placed his pillow over his ears. That worked for a while, at least until Angel started mumbling words in her sleep.

"No!" a gasp sounded out.

Noah pulled his pillow away from his ears and listened, his eyebrows furrowed.

"No!" another gasp came out, louder this time.

"NO!" she screamed.

Noah jumped out of bed and nearly sprinted to Angel's bed. He shook her to wake her up. Just like the other night, she awoke with a jolt, sitting up in bed. This time no scream came out though.

"Hey, hey, are you awake?" he asked her as she looked around the room frantically.

Her eyes finally met his and she looked at him questioningly.

"What're you doing?" she asked, scooting away from him.

"You were screaming in your sleep. You were having another nightmare," he informed her.

"I'm fine," she said, pushing him away. "Go back to bed."

He stood there, staring at her as she faced away from him, lying back down in bed.

"I can feel you staring at me. Go back to bed," she ordered.

"No," he finally replied. "This can't keep happening without me knowing what is going on."

She turned back around and sat up in bed, staring at him.

"I told you I'm fine," she grumbled. "Why can't you just leave it alone?"

"Because we're sharing a tent and you're screaming "NO!" in your sleep nearly every night," he said. "You can't just do that and expect me not to question it!"

"I'm fine!" she shouted. "Leave me alone!"

"No, I won't leave you alone! What is going on?" he yelled.

"JUST LEAVE IT!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face.

Noah sat down on her bed, trying to meet her eyes. He lifted a hand up and wiped a tear.

"Why are you so upset?" he whispered.

"Do I really have to tell you?"

"You don't have to, but I would really like to know. You're like family now. I'm concerned."

With a sigh, she looked up at him. "It started like this..."

~COPYRIGHT 2016~