Stealing Beauty

Part 6- Road Trip

The next morning I woke up after a nice slumber. I was refreshed and ready to start a new day. I had the best sleep ever last night since I was so... exhausted. But it was beyond worth it.

I looked down at the ring on my finger, and I twirled it absentmindedly. Smiling, I kissed Konnor's lips while he snored quietly to himself. I turned on the tv and watched the beginning of The Little Mermaid when he finally opened his eyes.

"Good morning, beautiful," he complimented. I blushed and he laid his head on my bare chest. We were tangled in sheets and had managed to sleep through the night without a comforter. That just gave me more of an excuse to cuddle closer to him.

"Good morning love," I said, kissing the top of his head and scratching his bare back. At first he winced at my touch, and I looked at his back to see what the problem was. When I saw it, I blushed, because his back had several scratches, some had even drawn blood.

"I'm so sorry, Konnor."

"It's okay baby," he looked up and smiled at me. "I enjoyed it."

"Obviously I did too," I laughed.

"I'm glad you did," he said, while tightening his arms around my body. "So," he went on. I looked down and I met his curious blue eyes. "What are we going to do today?"

"I... I don't know," I looked up at the tv. I wanted to lay here all day and just watch movies, but my heart was telling me I needed to see my father. "I should go see my father, but it's quite a drive."

"We've got all weekend. Why not take a road trip to Dallas?"

I was about to answer, but my phone started to ring. I reached over to see my mother calling me.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hey sweetie, how are you?"

"I'm okay, feeling better now that I had some sleep. How's dad?"

"He's awake and somewhat stable, but it's still undetermined whether they'll transport him yet or not."

"Oh. Well, Konnor and I were just discussing if we should come up there or not. He took off of work today and we won't have Karsyn until Sunday."

She sighed, and I could feel her annoyance radiating through the speaker. She said she would work on accepting him.

"Zander and Ray are coming. Apparently Raylynn's parents are watching Ryder so they can stay overnight. I'm sure your dad would be happy to see both of his kids."

"We'll be there."

"Okay. I'll see you soon. Love you."

"Love you too, mom."

Right before I hung up the phone, she stopped me.

"Natalie?"

"Yes?"

"Your dad asked to talk to Konnor. So, I think y'all should get here as soon as possible."

"RIght," I said, "we're on our way now."

We hung up and I looked at Konnor. "Get your bags ready. We're going to see my father."

***

The trip to Dallas wasn't so bad. Konnor and I had a great time; I blared a mixture of Eminem and Disney music all the way there. We stopped at a local Starbucks at the beginning of the trip, and ate at a cheap Italian hole-in-the-wall. Dallas was only a 2 hour drive, and as soon as we arrived, we dropped our clothes off at the hotel. We were lucky enough to stay in the room across from Ray and Zander, and we met up in the lobby.