Chapter 1
I dragged my suitcase into the terminal of the DFW airport, fighting to keep my eyes open. I had just gotten back from a month in New York, and my plane decided it would be fun to have technical difficulties. So here I am, back in Dallas, almost three hours later than planned.
Everyone, with the exception of myself, had fallen asleep during the flight, which made the terminal look like a zombie apocalypse had finally happened. People were staggering around with half lidded, bloodshot eyes, trying to find their way to the family members giving them halfhearted waves and tired smiles. I looked around, but didn't see the tired smile that I had hoped to find. Pulling out my phone, I saw a voicemail from my Dad. He said that the hospital was short staffed again and he'd had to work a double shift, so he couldn't come pick me up, 'sorry kiddo'.
"Great," I muttered to myself as I walked over to a seat. The hospital was always short staffed so this shouldn't have surprised me.
When I was seven my mom had died, since then my dad has always found an excuse to be at work. I think it was a way for him to cope at first; he would work all hours, so when he would get a break he didn't have enough energy to do anything besides sleep. It didn't really work, but he hasn't cared enough to break the habit.
Even knowing that, I thought that he would at least take the time to pick me up since I'd been gone for the past month. I really only have three options now: call a cab, which I can't afford, get a rental car that I also can't afford, or call Dalton. I hit my speed dial and instantly heard Rue's whistle playing throughout the airport. I stood and looked around, trying to find where it was coming from; right when it was about to end I saw him. Dalton was a couple of rows over, sprawled out across multiple chairs, asleep. I couldn't help but laugh quietly as I grabbed my suitcase and walked over to him.
"Dalton," I said, shaking him lightly. "Wake up sleepyhead." I received a grunt and a 'five more minutes mom' in return. "Dalton! Wake up!" I half yelled, giving up on trying to wake him gently.
He shot up, looking around with wild eyes, and practically screaming "What?!" It took him a good thirty seconds before he realized where he was and who was waking him up.
"Kaitlyn!" he yelled, and wrapped me in a hug, making my feet come off of the floor as he spun us around; smiling and saying how much he had missed me. He put me down but didn't let go until another minute or so had passed. When we did let go, he slung his arm across my shoulders, grabbed my suitcase and guided me towards the parking lot and his old beat up, black pickup truck.
Dalton stuck my suitcase in the bed while I climbed into the passenger seat. He stumbled over to the driver's side, and turned the key in the ignition, making the dash light up. I didn't realize just how late it had gotten until then, it was quarter to four when we pulled out.
While Dalton was focusing on trying to find his way out of Dallas and into Sunnyvale, I decided to turn up the radio. A wave of nostalgia came over me once I realized that he'd had The Black Parade album on. I looked over at Dalton and just started smiling like an idiot. Dalton glanced over at me and saw that I was staring at him.
"What?"
"I just missed you a lot," I said, and turned to look out the windshield. I heard him whisper "I missed you too," before turning into our neighborhood and pulling into my driveway. He put the car in park and turned off the engine, but he didn't get out so neither did I.
"Kaitlyn, I kinda have some bad news..." Dalton started off. The tone of his voice worried me, he had been uncharacteristically quiet on the way here, but I had just assumed he was tired like me. A million different horrors started playing through my mind, few of them realistic, but my sleep deprivation wasn't helping. I started to ask what had happened but Dalton had climbed out of the truck and was now walking over to the passenger door. He opened it with a very solemn expression, and I turned toward him.
"I'm afraid," he started as he put his hands on my waist, "that you won't be able to see your grandma and grandpa again."
"Why?" I looked at him, tears starting to form in my eyes as I imagined terrible things happening to them in my absence.
"Because," he paused. "I'm kidnapping you and I'm gonna keep you forever!" he screamed happily as he threw me over his shoulders in a fireman's carry. He ran to my front door, while I just screamed and laughed. Dalton was searching for his keys when the light in my neighbor's house suddenly turned on. My neighbor, Mrs. Henry, is an incredibly grumpy old lady. She absolutely hates me, but she loves Dalton, typical.
"Dalton! Hurry up!!" I whisper yelled, "Mrs. Henry just woke up!" He had found the key and was putting it in the lock as I was finishing my sentence. We heard the click of Mrs. Henry's door as we stumbled through my own. Shutting the door to quickly, I cringed at the loud bang, knowing I was in for a lecture from her tomorrow about 'keeping the whole damn neighborhood up till all hours of the night with my ruckus'.
Dalton tried to set me down gently, but fell on top of me instead. I tried to tell him to get off of me, but was laughing to hard and my words came out garbled. Understanding the message anyway, he rolled off of me. He raced up the stairs toward my room with me following closely behind. Rushing into my room ended up being a bad idea though. Dalton had hidden behind my door, and succeeded in scaring the crap out of me.
"You should have seen your face Kaitlyn!" he exclaimed, bent over in laughter. Apparently I make a fantastic facial expression when I'm scared, because this wasn't the first time he'd told me this. "Haha," I said, trying for sarcasm, but failing miserably since I was so tired, "I'm glad I amuse you." I continued, giving him a forced smile as I made my way over to my dresser. I grabbed some pajamas, and walked into my bathroom to change. When I came out Dalton was lying on my bed with his arms and legs spread out. When I sat down he got up and started to walk toward the door muttering a goodnight.
"You're not gonna stay?" I asked, hoping that he would stay. My dad wasn't there and I really didn't want to be by myself.
"I was hoping you'd ask," he smirked, and grabbed some of the clothes that he kept here. I just smiled at him and got under the covers while he changed.
Dalton ended up sleeping with me a lot, in a completely platonic way of course. When we were little my dad used to let us have sleepovers, but he stopped allowing it when we were about ten. He claimed that we were 'to old for that now'. But a couple of years ago, Dalton realized that he could climb up the tree by the side of our house, walk across the garage roof, and get in through my window. He uses it mainly as an exit route now. Since my Dad is rarely home at night Dalton can usually just come in through the back door.
I turned the lamp on my nightstand off, and just as I closed my eyes I heard the bathroom door click, followed by the other side of the bed dipping.
"I'm so glad you finally got a bigger bed," Dalton mumbled sleepily and threw his arm around me, which just made me laugh as I snuggled into his chest. Right before I had left for New York I had bought a queen sized bed and had gotten rid of my twin. A twin bed is fine when you're 9, but since we're both 17 now it was getting a little bit difficult. Mostly for Dalton because he was always falling off of the bed.
"I'm really glad you're back Kaitlyn," Dalton mumbled into my hair.
"Me too, I missed being with my best friend," I replied, and with that Dalton kissed my forehead, and we fell asleep.
