Finding The Father

Chapter Fourteen "Just a Dream"

We fell asleep on a bus bench I had seen that couple sitting on the night before. While walking around, we ultimately got lost and since I was so tired, Nick decided we should just camp out for the night. He also figured it would give Owen enough time to calm down.

I woke up as the sun was rising, my back aching from the solid wood. Nick was laying on the pavement right in front of the bench, his hand gasped in mine. We slept like that all night; our hands intertwined together. It made me feel safe, so I never complained.

People walked by us; some people glanced at us and others never acknowledged our existence. I sat up with my eyes squinted at the blazing sun. Sweat dripped down my forehead and my body felt sticky with all the dirt and muck I've picked up in the last few days. I've never wanted a shower so bad in my whole life. I felt like a walking disease.

Nick's arm laid over his eyes, his back on the pavement. His chest rose and fell in a slow rhythm. He looked peaceful--completely different from last night. Instead of his chest puffed out and his jaw tight, his muscles were relaxed and his face was soft. I ran my fingers down his jawline and he stirred in his sleep. His arm moved away from his eyes and rested on his forehead. His eyes peeled open and they flashed with recognition; he smiled.

"Good morning." His raspy voice croaked. My heart fluttered.

I smiled and ran my thumb over his soft cheek. "Good morning."

He watched me in silence as I admired every feature of his face. I hadn't noticed before, but he had the smallest reminiscence of freckles on the bridge of his nose and along his cheek bones.

"What time is it?" He asked after a moment.

I looked back up at the sun. It was sitting just above the horizon. "Around six in the morning or so. Could be seven already."

"I haven't woken up this early since grade school." I looked back down at him and smiled. "How are you feeling?"

I inhaled a sharp breath and licked away the dryness of my lips. "I'm okay." Nick nodded, his eyes wandering over my face.

"We should try to get back to the strip and find Abby and Owen. They said they'd wait there for us to get back."

"They're probably worried sick." I told him and then paused. "Well, Abby probably is."

"Owen still loves you, Dylan. He was just hungry and stressed. People say some shitty things when they're hungry." I giggled at this and he smiled. "I love your laugh."

Our eyes stared at each other in a comfortable silence for a while before I said: "We should start walking."

"You're right." Nick pushed himself up off the pavement and dusted off the back of his shirt.

I followed, stretching my back and legs from the cramped position on the bench. The sun blazed on the back of my neck and I moved all my hair to one side of my neck to belittle the heat on my body. Nick took my hand again and we started to walk down the sidewalk aimlessly, not sure where we were going to end up.

After asking a few passing people and getting a response from only one, we were able to make it back to the strip in what felt like half an hour. I guess I wandered pretty far last night. It was a lot less busy, but there was still a whole crowd of people walking around. Most of the bright flashing lights were turned off except for a few open signs.

We walked down to the restaurant from last night--the lights were turned off inside and the sign was flipped to say WE ARE CLOSED. The bodies of Owen and Abby were lying on the pavement in front of the windows, sleeping soundly. Owen was faced down and Abby was on her side, her face towards the restaurant.