Make The Season Bright Bunk'd

The Gift

"Do you want me to go with you?"

Ravi and Lou were parked outside the Martinez residence. They were still inside the vehicle. Priya and Sam's cars were parked in the driveway. Lights were on in the living room and a backroom according to the windows at the front of the house. Their Christmas decorations were lit up for the night.

From the passenger seat, Ravi stared at the front door for a moment. "Um." He turned to face Lou. He studied her face. Her kind eyes made him feel warm and cared for. The right corner of her mouth was tugged upward slightly like there was a smile waiting to happen and meant for him. Color had returned to her cheeks from the heat blasting in the car. He leaned forward, closing the chasm of space between them, and said, "Thank you so much for being here. You'll never know how much this meant to me."

Her heart screamed and pleaded with her to kiss him; her brain argued that it was Ravi Ross and that she had never wanted to kiss Ravi Ross before; and her conscious berated her for even considering kissing him when he was in such an emotionally vulnerable state. She didn't know how to handle her internal conflict, so she turned away from him and slammed the car horn.

Ravi covered his ears and jumped back on instinct. "What in the world?"

He glanced out the window and saw Priya standing on the porch in a t-shirt and thin pants. She wrapped her arms around herself as she braced the cold. In the time it took for him roll down the window, she was standing at the passenger's side door.

"Hello," Ravi said, dumbstruck.

"Hello," Priya said. She had already begun to shiver, but she didn't take her eyes of his. "Would you like to come inside?"

Ravi shook his head and said, "I don't know."

She swallowed down the lump in her throat and nodded. "Okay." She pushed some hair behind her ear and said, "Do you want to talk?"

He nodded yes.

A cold wind blew by and moisture gathered under Priya's nostrils. She tucked her arms closer to herself and said, "Then I will stand right here." She smiled as her eyes roamed every inch of his face and she committed it to memory. "I do so happily."

"Why'd you leave me?" Ravi asked, teary eyed.

"I was scared," Priya whispered.

"Did I ruin your life?" he asked in a pained tone.

She narrowed her brows and reached her icy hand into the car to cup his face into her hand. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she said sternly, "You gave me a life. You saved me from a destiny of loneliness and hopelessness. Everything that I am, Ravi...it's all because of you."

She skipped backward as Ravi flung open the car door. She gasped as he threw himself into her arms. She held him tight, crying and peppering the top of his head in kisses.

*******

Lou woke up to Surya and Remi bouncing on the guest bed. After she arrived last night, she brushed her teeth in the guest bathroom and crashed. Confessing everything to Ravi-- that she was failing her classes, lying to the people she cared about most, and dealing with the consequences of a bad almost boyfriend--gave her some peace. Knowing that someone besides her knew what was going on freed her for the best sleep she had gotten in months.

"Mornin' pumpkins," Lou yawned. She stretched before slouching against the headboard. "I feel like I've been asleep for days."

"Only half a day. It's two o'clock," Sam said from the doorframe. He waved his children toward him. "I told you two to see if Lou was awake, not start a bouncy war."