Chapter 24

Sara's face was as red as a cooked lobster, as if it was going to bleed.

She snapped the drawer shut.

Hank looked at her back and asked, "What's wrong? Are the sizes wrong? I'm guessing..."

Sara interrupted, "... No, you got them right."

She was so shy that she didn't want to talk to Hank anymore. She quickly took a set of pajamas. After hesitating, she quickly took her bras out and placed them into the pile of clothes.

Hank saw it was lavender-colored and said lazily, "Hey kid, I'd like to see you wear the pink one."

Sara was wordless.

Sara thought, if she was a teapot, there would be steam coming out from her head.

Perhaps she was too embarrased, she glared at Hank and said, "Stop it!"

It was rare that Hank didn't get annoyed after being glared at fiercely. Instead, she greatly piqued his interest toward her.

Sara quickly made her way into the bathroom as if she was fleeing.

Originally, there was only a set of toiletries on the washstand, but then there was a new set.

The toiletries were mint-colored, the towel was pastel yellow and there were a cleanser and some other skincare products. Sara could tell it was not prepared by Hank.

Sara pursed her lips when she saw herself blushing in the mirror.

After showering, she changed into her pajamas. Only then she found out that it was a long and straight suspender dress. It was about knee length. The beige color looked warm and it complimented her porcelain white skin.

After Sara had blow-dried her hair, she saw Hank was already lying on the bed.

She laid the mattress on the floor. She found it quite comfortable after spending a night on it. Besides, she had the heater to keep her warm and the blanket was really fluffy and comfortable too.

Sara tucked herself in the blanket.

When she was hesitating on whether she should say good night to Hank, Hank suddenly asked, "What do your family call you?"

Sara was surprised. She thought and frowned, "Just Sara."

Or, a b*tch, an illegitimate daughter, a wh*re, or even a sl*t. The list went on. Anyway, those were nothing good but insults. She didn't want Hank to know.

He turned over to the other side of the bed. His tone was light, "I mean what do your mom and grandpa call you?"

Sara thought and replied, "Jackie."

He chuckled, "Your mom must have really loved your dad. She called you Jackie!" Sara murmured after a pause, "I don't know..."

"Jackie." Hank said out of the blue, "Tell me a bedtime story."

It had been ages since someone last called her by that. Sara was somewhat surprised and she couldn't help but smile. She found Hank rather cute as he even wanted a bedtime story. She asked, "What would you like to hear?"

"Anything."

She pondered about it. She didn't really know many bedtime stories. All the bedtime stories she knew was from Caroline, her mother. Since her mother's death, no one ever told her any bedtime stories.

After a long moment, Sara recalled a story. She forgot the title. It was probably called a tree elf and a snowman.

Her sweet voice echoed in the room, "Once upon a time, there was a group of tree elves living in a large forest. They had lived there for generations and had never left."

"In one of the winters, it snowed heavily. An elf built a snowman and befriended it."

"The snowman realized his friend tended to perch on the top of the tree, looking into the distance. So, one day, he asked curiously, "Tree Elf, Tree Elf, what are you looking at?"

The elf replied, "I'm looking at the sea."

The snowman replied, "Can you see it?"

The tree elf said sadly, "No, I can't. But grandpa said that the sea is just outside the forest. I have never seen the sea before and I wish I could see it."

The snowman tried to cheer him up but the elf was getting more and more emotional. The elf wanted to take a look at the sea so badly that he neglected the snowman. One day, as the sun rose, the elf suddenly thought of the snowman but he was nowhere to be seen. As the elf descended into panic, his grandpa spoke to him, 'Look under the tree, my child."

The elf looked under the tree, only to realize the snow had melted. In that puddle of crystal clear water was the reflection of the beautiful sunlight.

The grandpa elf continued, "My child, the snowman has melted and left you with a view of the sea in its absence. Are you happy that you finally get to look at the sea now?"

The elf cried. It no longer wanted to see the sea, it just wanted its friend to come back. Alas, that would never happen.

Sara finished the story and was anxiously waiting for Hank's comment but he had already drifted off.

He listened as the girl's voice drove away the horrors of the night. For a long time, he had dreamed about gunshots, betrayal, gore and death. After so many years, he was able to sleep soundly, with no disturbances. He would not wake up in the middle of the night and look for the knifes under his pillow trying to put it on someone's neck in the room.

Sara had waited for him to wake up until she fell asleep.

The sun rays fell in the room. Sara opened one of her eyes and was happy to see that the alarm clock didn't go she could sleep in for awhile. off yet and that

However, the alarm went off brutally on the next second.

Sara begrudgingly turned it off and gently squeezed in the blanket. She thought, "It was only seven o'clock. My class is at eight o'clock, I can wake up after ten minutes!"

Not even after a minute, someone pulled her blanket away.

Sara shivered a little and opened her eyes, she saw through her blur vision that Hank was sitting next to her.

She covered herself with the blanket and closed her eyes as she didn't know how to react.

Hank said slowly, "Hey kid, I'm gonna have to kiss you if you don't wake up."

Sara was suddenly wide awake. Her long dark curly hair was down on her back, accentuated her milky white rosy face, making her more beautiful.

Hank raised his brows and pinched her cheeks, "My girl, come here."

She was fine with being pinched, but certainly not being kissed. She said sofely, "Uncle, I'm going to get up and prepare for school."

Hank snorted and slowly moved his hand down from her face to adjust the suspender's strap on her arm. Then, he pinched Sara's skin again and say, "Hurry up. Breakfast is ready."

She quickly fixed the shoulder strap and stood up. While brushing her teeth in the bathroom, she suddenly realized Hank was being very gentle that day.