Page 36 of Just A Trip

My thumb hovers over the call button, but I can’t seem to click it. I know I need to talk to him and work it out, and I will. But it’s been nice to have a break and some space between us.

My eyes unconsciously flick to Karli. Funny. All I could think about two days ago was getting out of the family business and tackling my dreams. But I’ve barely thought about the programming course since finding her. I never should have kept my dreams to myself. If this trip has taught me anything, it’s that I shouldn’t take my family for granted.

I flip back to my email, and when I run out of messages I watch a few episodes ofStranger Things. But two hours later, my eyelids are heavy and my back is breaking on this brick called a couch. I stand and stretch. I don’t think Karli would mind if I lay on the bed with her. We’ve shared a bed once before. It won’t be awkward this time.

I gently lay down on the other side of the bed on top of the covers then roll to my side and allow myself to take her in. She’s breathtaking. I can’t believe I didn’t realize how incredible she was the first time I met her.

Something about a crazy lady with sharp objects tends to frighten a man. Or just me. But now, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to take my eyes off of her.

I watch her sleep, not in a stalkerish way. Okay, is there any other way to watch someone sleep? I’ve never had the desire to watch someone sleep before, so I guess when it comes to Karli, I am a stalker. I want everything for her. I want her to be happy, to have a family she never had growing up. Because I care for her.

I groan and face the ceiling.

No, no, no. How did I let this happen? This was only supposed to be a ride home. No feelings were supposed to develop.

I’m never going to hear the end of it from my brothers, Grant, or Lennox when they find out because theywillfind out. One look at my face when I bring her home for Thanksgiving and they’ll know.

The bed shifts beneath me and I glance over.

“Agh!” I scream. Karli is sitting bolt upright in the bed. Her eyes wide open, unmoving.

“Karli?” I whisper, in case she’s possessed, and I’ve awoken a demon.

She jumps out of the bed and frantically runs around the room.

“Whoa, Karli, what’s going on?”

“I need my toothbrush.”

“Uh, okay.”

“It’s in my bag. Where’s my bag?”

I follow her in another circle around the room. “In the van, I think.”

“I need to get it.” She heads for the door.

“Wait, wait, I’ll get it. Just wait here,” I stop her.

She walks to the bed and settles on the edge. “Hurry,” she says. “I need to kiss someone.”

Someone?She better mean me.

She’s sleepwalking again. I’m not about to take advantage of her in this state, but I’m struck by the realization that if she kissed me, I wouldn’t hold back. Because I want to kiss her as badly as dream Karli wants to kisshopefullyme.

I rush out to the van, hesitant to leave her alone for long. I search the back and the front before I find anything resembling what might be her bag. Ah, there. I grab it and stand up too tall, ramming my head into the ceiling.

Stupid van.

I give the wall of the van an extra punch out of spite. Something flutters out of the small cabinet and I pick it up. It’s a picture of a young Karli, maybe eleven, with an older woman, sitting on a porch swing and smiling. The woman looks so similar to Karli’s mother but older, kinder. That must be her grandma. The one that took care of her because her mom didn’t. The one that kept her safe, much like Bertha. Bertha may be fifty percent psycho, but to Karli, she’s family.

Ugh.“Sorry Bertha.”

Great, now I’m apologizing to a van. I’m losing my mind.

By the time I return with her bag, Karli is under the covers, fast asleep.

So much for that kiss.

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