Just have Faith {EDITED}

Photographs

The road trip to the gas station was long and boring, but when we get to the store with the Polaroid cameras, I get excited.

"Excited to get your camera?" Dakota asks

I nod excitedly as I get ready to get off the bus. Dakota ruffles my hair. I huff.

"Aww does someone not like that?" He teases

I smack his shin with my crutch.

"Ouch! Zak!" Dakota cries

"You started it! Not my problem!" He yells

I give Dakota an evil smile.

"You're evil." He says walking away

Once we get to the store, Zak helps me out of the booth and off the bus. My wheelchair is already waiting for me in the parking lot.

"I figured you'd wanna sit down for a little and rest your leg." He says

I nod. I do want to rest my leg. Both of them, the cast is heavy, but my added body weight doesn't help either. I sit down in the chair and wait for the wheels to be unlocked. As soon as I hear the familiar click, I'm zooming around the guys. They all laugh at me.

Stop being so obnoxious, they're going to send you back if you keep this up.

I stop playing around and wheel myself into the store. Zak pushes me through the aisles when I get tired. As the other guys get snacks, Zak and I pick out a Polaroid camera. I find one that I like and grab it off the shelf.

"It's perfect for you, are you sure you don't want something digital?" He asks.

I nod and take a quick look at the other cameras in the aisle. Then I see it. An old film camera. I don't know why, but I love film cameras. I developed a fascination with them during a lesson with Miss Jo and while I went to school with the girls. The school had a photography club where we learned to use film and digital cameras.

I put the one in my lap back on the hook and roll over to the old film camera.

"Ooo. That's a nice one. I like film." Zak says picking it up

"You want it?" He asks

I nod and get very excited. I'm getting my very first camera. I look at the sign on the display while Zak talks to an employee about purchasing the film camera.

~~

20 minutes later, Zak is wheeling me out of the store with my new camera. I am very excited to start using it. I even got an extra roll of film to use when the one I have is all used up. Plus, with my new phone I can look up how to set up a dark room and develop my own film. I smile a little at the thought.

"Are you excited to get home?" Zak asks as he helps me on the bus

I nod. I am indeed very excited. I wait for him at the table, while he folds my wheelchair up and put it in the under trailer storage.

"Good. I'm glad to hear that, but I have a couple ground rules. Nothing too crazy." He says meeting me at the table

Oh no.

Shut up!

"Firstly, I am not gonna force you to call me dad. I want to make that clear. Legally, I'm just a guardian. So if you wanna call me Zak, you can go right ahead. Wanna call me dad? Go for it, but I'm not gonna make you pick. Secondly, I can't promise that I'm wearing everything at night so if you get up and happen to pass by my bedroom, just keep walking. Third, Aaron snores like a fucking bear, so I hope you have headphones or earmuffs, trust me when I say you won't get any sleep on the road with him. That's about it." He says

That's it? Pretty simple.

There's always a hidden meaning, Faith. What if you-

Shut up! God damn...

I nod, implying that I understand. We sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes when Dakota suddenly starts talking.

"So are you gonna use your new camera? I can show you how to use it." He says

I look at him and then dig around my little backpack for my phone. Once I find it and open up the notes app, I start typing out a little message.

'i already know how to use one. I was in the photography club at school.'

I slide the phone towards Dakota.

"Oh. I didn't know your school had that."

I just shrug. I head to the internet app on my phone and start looking up how to start setting up a dark room. All of the equipment to set it up looks expensive, not to mention the chemicals, the baths, the paper for blowing the pictures up. I suddenly feel very discouraged at the thought of how much everything costs. I lock my phone and look out the window of the bus.

How long have we been driving?

I start to think of potential places we could be heading.

"You okay over there kid?" I hear Zak say

The question startles me out of my thoughts. I look up at him confused.

"You look like your going to cry. I just wanna make sure you're okay." Zak says

I nod my head and continue to look out the window. I yawn and look to Zak again. Quickly typing out a note on my phone, I tap on his hand, which is typing away at his phone.

"Yes?" He asks

I show him the screen.

'Tired, is there any place for me to sleep for a while?'

"Oh yeah! We have a bunk set up for you in the back end of the bus if your tired. I put your suitcase in the storage underneath. Let me help you over." Zak says getting up

He helps me to the back of the bus by carrying me there.  He shows me the bunk and where my suitcase is. He even tucks me into the bed with the blanket he bought me.

"Here are your headphones, in case you want to listen to music, and there is a bottle of water in the cupholder over in the corner. If you need anything else, just give me a text and I'll be right over with whatever you need. Sleep tight, kiddo. I'll wake you up when we get to the airport." Zak says

He shuts the privacy curtains and he walks away, leaving me alone in the darkness of the bunk. I plug my headphones into my phones jack and start looking for some music to play. Eventually I find some calming instrumentals and close me eyes. I slip into a peaceful sleep.