Wide-eyed, Rae's attention turned to David when Eli explained the story of his younger brother's sleep-screaming. "That's horribleā¦" she blinked. "I wonder if it had to do with dreams he had or what." Rae remembered a couple of times when her cousin Kylie had woken up screaming, but they'd been after nightmares of the incident where her parents, Rae's Aunt Emma-Sue and Uncle Mark, had been killed. It made sense, the idea that David had nightmares. With his obsession with ghosts and scary things, it made perfect sense for him to have nightmares. She was sure Elliot was aware of this, so she didn't say anything.
"Okay, well then let me rephrase that. I would prefer your company to a book. Every time," Rae said, thankful for the dark, dimming the pink in her cheeks. She stepped back over David's sleeping bag and tucked the book back in her bag for emphasis. "I mean, if you don't want to sit and chat with me, that's fine, but I always enjoy your company." There was a comment about no one being able to make her feel better like he did right on the tip of her tongue, but she pushed it back.
Besides that, the thought of Eli walking around outside alone, after her adventure with Patterson and the swimmers made her nervous. Pushing the dark expression from her face before Eli noticed it, she turned to him. "So, please. If you want to, come with me. If not, I'll just have to stalk you out the door."
Pushing a hand through her hair and moving some of the pink-fading-to-blond locks back from her face, she grinned a little bit. "Maybe we can come up with our own story about what the clown needed the orange ash for while we're out there," she added with a playful smile. "Because frankly, I don't know if I can deal with not finding out. This is exciting news." Her tone was mocking, but playfully so.
She offered her hand down to Eli to help him stand up. "Shall we?"