“Ah, damn!”

My eyes snapped open. The room was dark and it took a moment to orient myself. “Who’s there?” I finally managed to ask.

“Me, sweetie,” replied the voice of my father. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

Groggy, I sat up. “Are we leaving?” I asked.

“No,” said my mother. My dark-adjusted eyes saw here standing next to my father. “We got back after the shop closed so we couldn’t go pick up the van. We’ll get it first thing in the morning, though,” she explained.

“Okay,” I said, laying down again. My eyes closed momentarily before a thought went through my head. “No, wait.” I sat up. “Where are you two gonna sleep? Lynn and Eve -”

“Lynn and Eve are sleeping out in a tent in the back yard with . . .” My dad paused. “Three of the boys and the two girls, I think,” he said finally.

I nodded. “Okay,” I said. “G’night.”

“’Night, Jaye,” my mom said.

“Goodnight,” Dad added.

Both of my parents took a bunk of the bed. I laid down and closed my eyes. However, it was immediately obvious to me that I wasn’t going to get back to sleep. I had been sleeping for half the day. I sighed and climbed off the top bunk.

“Where are you going?” my mother, who was on Zac’s trundle bed, asked.

“I want some water,” I lied. Without waiting for a response, I tip-toed across the room and slid out the door.

The hallway was dark. I walked carefully so as not to wake Walker or Diana or Mackenzie, the brother I had decided wasn’t included in the tent-out.

Once in the living room, I started for the couch, careful not to trip over the blankets Isaac, Taylor, and Zac had left from the previous night. I sighed and sat down on a pile of blankets on the couch.

“Hey!” Isaac yelled groggily.

I stood up quickly. “Oh, I’m sorry! I thought you were in the tent!” I whispered apologetically to Ike, who was sitting up.

“I went out there when I got home,” he began, patting the cushion beside him where his feet had been before, “but they wouldn’t let me in.”

I sat down. “Why not?”

“I didn’t know the secret password.” He laughed lightly.

I smiled. “Where did you go, anyway?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Out. Around. I just walked. I had to think,” he explained.

“About what?”

“Everything,” Isaac admitted. “The past couple days have been so fast and so much . . . I just needed some time to get everything straight.”

I giggled. “You’re overwhelmed?” I asked, feeling silly for saying it.

He shrugged. “Yeah. I guess I am,” he agreed. “I needed to get my head together.”

I nodded. There was a silence, amplified by the darkness. I sighed. “We’re leaving early tomorrow,” I said.

“I know,” Isaac replied. “Your parents told me when they got here.”

“Oh.” I sighed again and looked aimlessly around the room. Then, wordlessly, I scooted closer to him and put my arms around his body. Almost unsurely, he returned the embrace. I laid my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes.

“Jaye,” he began.

I shushed him. “Don’t say anything, please? I just want to sit here, okay?”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “Okay, Jaye. Okay.”

“Thanks,” I whispered.

Isaac threaded his fingers through my hair gently. I could feel his warm breath against my ear. I smiled.

“I don’t want to leave,” I said quietly. “But I can’t stay.”

This time, Isaac shushed me. “Just go to sleep, okay?”

“I’ve been sleeping all day,” I protested, yawning.

He let out a soft laugh. “Looks like you’re gonna sleep some more.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “G’night, Ike.”

He kissed my forehead. “Goodnight.”

continue
The Index
The Window Seat