The Tortoise and His Sunrise | ✓

26. The Wait

The familiar sight of Mr. Lawson's mostly sparse backyard met my eyes again. There was the heated outdoor pool to my left, the water lapping at the sides of it. The rest of the lawn was bare. The entire backyard was fenced in by a cedar privacy fence so that no one could look in.

It was currently 11:00 p.m., and we had just put down our stuff shortly after arriving.

Nolan started walking around on the empty lawn.

Since our hands were linked, I followed him.

"It was a good idea to come back," I said. "No one can peek in."

"I'll probably lie down here in the morning," Nolan said, gesturing in the general direction of the grass. "Or should I just lie here tonight and wait until the sun rises?"

I hesitated. "You'd rather do that?"

"I'm not sure."

He began to sit down on the grass, pulling me down beside him. I leaned my side into him.

"I think it'd be painful enough to come out here without clothes tomorrow," he said. "Not sure I'd have the presence of mind to walk to a good spot and settle down properly. At least if I lie here, I know I'll be in a comfortable position, right?"

"I'm not sure the comfortable position would matter once the sun comes up ..."

Nolan laughed and looked back at me.

"You're right," he said.

Letting go of my hand, he lay down on his back to stare at the sky. I lay down next to him. There were twinkling stars scattered all across the night sky. I closed my eyes and breathed in the cold fresh air, hints of the chlorine from the pool mingled in it.

"Can you be here with me tomorrow?" he asked. "I don't ... I don't want to be alone."

To tell the truth, I didn't want to be out here to watch Nolan burn. I didn't think I could handle seeing his body break down under the sun or hear him trying to hold back agonized grunts. But Nolan needed me more than I was scared of seeing the suffering he would undergo. It would be selfish of me not to bite the bullet. This was about him.

"For sure," I said. "I'll be right by your side."

I felt his hand cover mine. "Thank you."

The tremor in his hand was slight but noticeable. I flipped my hand over to hold his.

"Do you want your binoculars? I can grab it for you," I offered. "We could do some stargazing tonight before I go to sleep."

His hand clamped onto mine. "No, I'm good. Don't go anywhere, okay?"

"I'm right here," I whispered before leaning over to brush a kiss against his icy cheek. "I'm not going anywhere."

He turned his head to press his mouth against mine.

"Good. Don't."

For the next several hours, we made inconsequential small talk. Eventually, my brain decided it was too late to stay up and started shutting down on its own, so I headed back in to get some sleep. Although Nolan couldn't fall asleep at this timing, he went back in with me. It was—most likely— his last night as a vampire, and he needed to prepare himself mentally for tomorrow.

------------------------------------------------

In the morning, I ate toast, bacon, and eggs that Mr. Lawson had made while Nolan buried his head down in his forearms at the same table.

Mr. Lawson sat with us, sipping black coffee from his mug and spacing out at the blank wall the kitchen table was lined against. He'd looked extremely distracted earlier, nodding at us but not really meeting our eyes when we entered the kitchen. Of course, if I were him, I'd be a little out of it too. My son was about to either walk to his death or walk into life again. There was no telling which it would be. All we had to hinge this theory on was Sylvan's word.