“What? You’re just gonna sit in here till it’s time to leave?” Lynnie asked me. At least an hour had passed since I’d talked to Mom, and I was still in the guys’ bedroom.

“No,” I said defensively, sitting up from my laying position on Isaac’s bed.

“Coulda fooled me,” Lynn muttered. “Look, Jaye-Jae, how do you think you’re gonna feel when we’re back home and you realize you had all this time you coulda spent with everybody and you didn’t?” she asked.

“My sister, the psychotherapist,” I said sarcastically.

Lynnie rolled her eyes. “C’mon, Jaye, this is serious.”

“ ‘C’mon, Jaye, this is serious’,” I mimicked, laying down and rolling onto my side.

I felt little hands grab my ankle. “Jaye,” Lynn whined, pulling my foot off the bed. “Come on.”

“Hey!” I called, grabbing onto the corner of the mattress to keep from being pulled off. “When did you get so strong?”

“Zac told me that when you’re on the floor, you’ve got more leverage than a person on the top bunk,” she told me. “I didn’t believe him, but . . .”

“Lynn! Leggo a me!” I cried.

“Get off the bed and come outside,” she insisted.

I groaned. “Fine! Just let go of my leg!”

Lynn’s grasp on my ankle lessened. “Come down here,” she ordered.

“Excuse me?” I asked, twisting around to look at her. “Who died and made you the boss of the world?”

Lynnie grinned but said nothing. Instead, she pivoted and left the room.

After a minute, I followed.

“Oh, this is much better than sitting in the room,” I muttered. Evie, Lynn, Zac, Taylor, and I were all standing outside around the back door of the house.

Lynnie shrugged. “I don’t know where Isaac went,” she said defensively.

“Yeah,” Evie agreed, “he just kinda . . . left.”

I sighed. “Fine then,” I muttered.

“Don’t sound so depressed, Jackie,” Tay said, giving a casual shrug. “Let’s . . . Let’s do something, okay?”

I gave a small half smile. “Okay then,” I agreed. “What’re we gonna do?”

Everyone fell silent.

I laughed. “Great. I think I’m gonna go take a nap.”

“Aren’t you a little old for a nap?” Zac asked, cocking an eyebrow.

I shrugged. “I would’ve guess that with your profession, you’d know the worth of a good nap,” I told him, starting for the house.

“Jaye,” Evie began.

“Look,” I said, pivoting to face her, “I’m probably gonna have to help drive back to Michigan and it won’t be good if I’m fighting to keep my eyes open. If I’m rested up, it can only help.” With that, I turned again and walked back into the house.

“Fine!” Lynn yelled from behind me. “Be that way!”

I didn’t reply.

continue
The Index
The Window Seat