A/N: huge shout out to everyone that favorites/follows/review/ this fic. You guys are awesome and the reason this fic is still carrying on. Every time I get an email that you guys have reviewed or favorited/followed it makes my day. I just...-giant internet hugs for everyone-

By the third night I grew infinitely concerned. Wasn't anyone looking for this child? He didn't seem concerned much by the idea as he sat indian style in front of the tv watching Gunsmoke on a stormy friday night. I've grown pretty fond of the kid, I must admit. It's rather nice not to be alone in the big house anymore. I steal little peeks at him while working on my sewing project. It feels shameful, keeping him here. I feel like a cradle robber. His parents have to be looking for him, right? But I haven't done anything other than look out for the kid.

I never really wanted kids. I was almost relieved when I received the news a few years back that I physically wouldn't be able to have children. The entire process seemed narcissistic to me. Did the world really need another version of me? And the idea of carrying a child was always a bit horrifying. The most natural thing in the world, childbirth. To me, it seemed like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. And then being saddled with the responsibility of raising this child into a person...that's not a job for me. I'm still trying to piece my own life together. If I couldn't take care of myself, how was I supposed to care for a screaming child? But Eli is unlike any child I've ever been around. At first his silence was almost jarring. But now we are comfortable. His lack of words is almost a comforting contrast to how my life had been since Bray Wyatt walked into it. Eli is quiet, like me. Though he seemed to possess and infinite peacefulness I doubt I'll ever be able to achieve.

We both jump at the sudden snap of thunder outside, bringing us both back from our little worlds. "Do you want some more cereal?" I ask as I finish a few quick stitches on my sewing. He shakes his head no and hands me his empty bowl before stretching his long limbs. "Getting sleepy?" I ask after he stifles a yawn and he nods, rubbing at his arms. "Alright get comfy, I'll tuck you in." He shales his head no again and clutches his blanket to him before pointing upstairs. When I don't immediately get what he's saying, he points to his chest then to me, then upstairs. "You want to sleep upstairs with me?" He nods a few times. "Alright. I guess that's okay. Hold on a second." I tie off my stitch and hold up the small teddybear for him to see. I'd butchered one of my old beat up brown shirts when I found a tattered pillow in the living room. The bear's eyes were two mismatched black buttons I found in a kitchen drawer. "You like it?" He grabbed the bear from me, immediately hugging it close to his chest. "I'll take that as a yes, then."

I follow him up the stairs as he clutches the bear. My hand on his shoulder steers him to Bray's room and his eyes widen at the sight of the skulls on Bray's bookshelves. "It's okay, just old bones." I reassure him, tapping one of them lightly. "They won't hurt you." A particularly bright flash of lightning illuminates the room and Eli dove into the bed, covering his entire body with the blanket. He whimpers slightly as we wait for the thunder. "It's okay, it's just the sky being grumpy. We'll be okay in here." I reassure him as I crawl under the covers myself. The loud thunder clap sends him into my arms, burying his small face against my shoulder. "It'll be okay, I promise." I reassure him lightly, running my fingers of one hand through his dark curls. "Why don't you hum a song? Maybe it'll make you feel better?" I asked and he began humming quietly as he hugged my torso, pressing his teddybear against my side. It was unsettling to realize just what he was humming. I could just barely make out 'he's got the whole world...in his hands...'

As the weather calmed slightly, the humming lessened and his breathing became heavier until his little body felt limp against my side. I know that his parents have got to be looking for him. But damn if I don't hope, deep deep down, that they aren't. Which is completely ridiculous I know. He's not a puppy or a stray cat, he's a child. But that still doesn't hinder me from watching his little chest rise and fall as he sleeps, secretly wishing he could stay forever. The lull of the rain on the tin roof is my lullaby, ushering me off into dreamland and we sleep peacefully, clinging to each other in the middle of the big bed.

A sound rouses me from my sleep and I have to blink rapidly to adjust my eyes to the darkness. Eli stirs slightly in his sleep as I wonder what the sound could have been when I hear doors opening and closing downstairs. Someone is in the house. Is it more than one person? Do I go downstairs? Do I wait here and defend us if someone comes up? I hear heavy footsteps on the stairs. I make a move to reach my nightstand but my right arm is trapped beneath Eli's body and asleep from the restricted blood flow. Looking around for anything I could use to protect us from intruders I notice the alarm clock. Seven in the morning. I hold Eli as close as possible with my numb arm and manage to grab the old timey alarm clock from Bray's nightstand. Withholding my breath, I wait for the door to open.