Chapter 4
The house was dark and everything was still. Bam rolled over, still fast asleep, and pulled out of Jenn's loose embrace. He kicked a couple times and soon lost his comfort. He sat up, still with eyes closed, and sat in that spot for a moment or two.
His eyes opened slowly and he gazed into the darkness. A cold panic ran through his body as he stood up out of bed.
"Where am I?" He whispered to himself. "I have to… I have to find dad and mom."
He blindly made his way over to the door and cracked it open. The hallway was dark too, which made his panic worse.
He peered out the door and his eyes widened. This wasn't the hallway that led to his mom and dad's room. This wasn't the house he was used to.
"Dad?" He could feel the hot tears form in the back of his eyes. "Mom? Where are you?"He sat down on the floor in the hallway and his tears began to fall.
"Where's my mom and dad?" He whimpered.
Jenn woke up to the sound of Bam's soft whimpering. She got out of bed and walked over to the door where Bam was.
She turned the hall light on and looked down at Bam. He was sitting on the floor in Indian style, rocking back and forth slightly as he cried. He looked up at her.
"Where's my mom and dad? Who are you?"
"Bam what's the matter?"
"I wanna know where my mom and dad is. Where's my mom and dad?"
"Bam you're scaring me. Why are you doing this?"
"Don't call me Bam. You're not allowed to! I don't know you so you call me Brandon!"
"Ba… Brandon what's wrong?" She asked, trying not to sound worried, which she very much was.
"I want my mom and dad. Where are they?' He asked, continuing to sound like a small child.
Jenn decided the best thing to do was to go along with Bam. He was obviously out of his mind, thinking that he was a little kid again.
She stooped down next to him and wiped a couple of his tears away for him.
"Hush now. It's ok Brandon. You must have forgot, did you?"
"Forgot what?'
"Well…" She thought of a lie that would satisfy him. "Your mom and dad aren't here right now. They'll be here to pick you up tomorrow."
"Are you my babysitter?"
"Yes. Yes I'm your babysitter. Now dry your tears. Everything will be all right Brandon."
"What's your name?" His tears came to a stop.
"I'm Jenn."
"Jenn? So you're watching me tonight?"
"Yes Brandon."
"W…where's Jess Jess?" He asked with a sniff.
"Jess Jess? Oh well…. He's with your mom and dad."
"Why?"
"I uh…" She paused and looked at him. "Well let's not worry about that right now. Time for you to get back to bed, ok Brandon?"
"Can I stay up some?"
"No. No Brandon you have to go back to bed. Come on."
She had him stand up and took his hand as she led him into the room. He stopped and looked at her with pleading eyes.
"Jenn? Could you carry me? Please?" He held his arms out, waiting for her to pick him up.
"Why? The bed's right there."
"But… But it's dark and scary. Carry me please."
"No Brandon. You're a big boy. You don't need me to carry you."
He put his arms down and pouted. "Ok." He held his hand out and closed his eyes. "You don't have to carry me. But hold my hand. It's too dark."
"Ok Brandon. Just let me turn the hall light off first."
She stepped onto the hall and flipped the light off. When she returned, she took Bam by the hand and led him back into bed.
Jenn tucked Bam in bed and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. Bam slowly closed his eyes.
"G'nite Jenn." He said boyishly.
"Good night Brandon. Sweet dreams."
Once she knew that Bam was asleep, Jenn quietly walked around to the other side of the bed and lied down. She watched Bam sleep for a while and thought to herself.
She was hoping that this was only a bad dream, and that when she woke up in the morning, Bam would be acting like he was before. She would take the deeply depressed Bam over the Bam who thought he was a little boy.
This side of him scared her even more than anything else.