Green Eyes

CHAPTER 26

The campfire crackled, shooting sparks into the air. We each had our own fold out chair placed in a circle around the flames. 

Katie had eaten several s'mores and we were all tired. 

"I don't know about you kids but I'm going to bed." My Dad yawned. He slowly got up from his spot around the fire.

"Goodnight, don't stay up to late." My Dad said, unzipping his tent to get in.

"I think I'll follow your father's lead." My Mom smiled and ran after him. "Put out the fire before bed!"

It was just us three around the campfire now. 

"I am pretty tired..." Grace smiled. "I'm going to head to the bathroom first."

"Okay, I'll go with you, I'm going to put out the fire first." I said, picking up a large bucket of water to dump.

Katie crawled into my parents' tent to change into her pajamas while me and Grace walked up the hill to the bathrooms.

The starts were bright and I held her hand as we went. I brushed my teeth in the dimly lit men's bathroom, the sink's were dirty and the stalls were covered in graffiti. The bathroom door opened and I saw Grace walk in, holding her toothbrush. 

"I couldn't get ready in there, someone painted a dick on the mirror." She cracked a smile and joined me near the sink.

It only took five or ten minutes to wash up. We started to walk back to our tents when I clicked the flashlight off for a moment.

"What are you doing..." She asked me.

"Look." I pointed up to the sky as the starts shone clearer then before. As she searched for constellations among the sky, I watched her green eyes reflect the light. 

We made it back to the camp and I crawled into bed next to Katie. Grace slept on the twin mattress on the floor of the tent.

I was nearly asleep when I heard Katie get up from bed.

"Where are you going?" I whispered.

"I'm going to sleep with Mom." She said.

"Why?" 

"Because I can hear wolves." She looked at me, frightened.

"There's no wolves, Katie."

"Yes there are, James. Goodnight." She left the tent and took her sleeping bag. I sighed and turned over in bed. 

After several minutes I heard Grace shuffle around and move herself onto the larger air mattress, next to me.

"hey." I whispered.

"Hi." She smiled. I could hear her breathing as we both fell asleep, under the starts, next to each other.