54. Bailey
54
Bailey
Thursday
T he night before, Ethan and Chase had stayed in their room, and I’d tossed and turned all night. Though they were sharing the queen-size bed in there, my parents had said they would put two beds in there soon. They didn’t complain. I knew they were grateful for the place to stay. I could tell in the way they jumped to their feet anytime my dad said he had work to be done. Or when they would do the dishes and tidy up after dinner before my mother could shoo them away and tell them to focus on their homework.
In return, my parents liked having them. I knew they had wanted a big family, and their hearts were broken when they learned I would be their only child. Having the guys at the dinner table every night made things brighter, fuller. Dad was always asking how football was, what we thought the outcome for the away game would be.
The two games we had this weekend were being played at the same location. Because of their distance, we were arriving at a hotel on Friday, playing a game Friday night, and then staying at the hotel before playing a game Saturday afternoon.
Dad was disappointed he wouldn’t be able to go, but my mother would be there for the first game, though she had to come back home for Saturday.
As the only girl on the team, I wasn’t allowed to room with any of the guys, but Coach talked to the cheer coach, and I was rooming with Beth and a couple of other girls on the cheer team.
The night wore on, and I couldn’t stop thinking about the trip. While staying in a hotel, maybe I wouldn’t have to listen to the phantom shed for at least one night. Or those barks.
I sat up in my bed, glancing at the clock and grumbling as I saw it was only three a.m. The barking continued. Marley had tried so hard…she was always there for me, and now she was in a shallow grave, her last moments nothing but a lie. Hit by a car? My girl, hit by a car? No. She was much smarter than that. She was everything, and in the end, I pretended she had been nothing. I spent nights and days pretending I couldn’t hear her ghost haunting me. Pretending she never even existed. I was the cause of her death; there was no doubt about it.
Giving up on sleep, I climbed out of bed and quietly opened my door to the empty hallway. It was dark still, but the moon was nearly full, lighting up the hall. I walked over to the guest room and deliberated for half a second before quietly pushing the door open. I slipped inside and closed the door behind me, not wanting one of my parents to come out and see me in the hall.
The drapes were blowing as cool air came in through the open window. It was freezing outside, but they also had the ceiling fan going on low. I smiled at the two of them. Ethan had a sheet that he’d half kicked off. Chase was wrapped up like a burrito in the comforter. Between them was a pile of pillows that Ethan was spooning.
I took my phone out. The light from the moon and the night vision mode was enough to snap a couple pictures without using the flash. How had Ethan slipped into my bed so easily? Would I scare them if I snuck onto the edge? It was cold in here; I might have to go back to my room for a blanket.
“Come on,” Ethan whispered. He opened his eyes, looking wide awake now, and reached out a hand to me.
“Were you even asleep?” I asked in a hushed tone, not wanting to wake Chase.
“I woke the moment you touched the doorknob. Old habits and all.” I took his hand and crawled over him, wiggling until the pillows were pushed out of the way, and I was now the one he was spooning. I liked sleeping like this. Ethan was so comfy to snuggle. “You better keep those pictures to yourself,” he whispered in my ear, sending a chill down my arm and legs.
“To my grave,” I promised, shivering slightly.
He reached over me and grabbed Chase’s blanket, pulling on it and unraveling it. “What the hell, dude,” Chase grumbled. “No funny—” Chase’s eyes landed on me, and he froze. “Oh.” He stretched and then untangled himself from the blanket before spreading it over me and wiggling closer to me. “Ethan likes to sleep in the arctic,” he said, closing his eyes. Chase’s hands found mine under the blanket.
“I overheat easy,” Ethan said.
Outside, the dog barks were louder than in my room. I flinched and Ethan sat up.
“If it’s too cold, I can close the window.” Before I could make a sound, he was already up, crossing the room.
“It’s not that,” I said. He closed the window, anyway, and the barks quieted. I frowned. If they were in my head, why would they get louder or quieter depending on whether the window was open?
“What is it?” Chase asked.
“The barking,” I mumbled, half to myself.
Chase slipped his arm under my head and turned onto his back, so I was now lying on his chest. “It’s just the neighbor’s dog. He barks every night.”
“Mine,” Ethan grumbled as he slipped back behind me, putting his hand on my hip but not taking me away from Chase.
“You hear it too?” I sat up.
“The dog?” Chase asked.
“It’s worse than the in-town dogs,” Ethan said.
“Wait, wait, wait. The barking. The dog barking. You hear that?”
Chase smiled. “Yes, Bailey. He wakes us up most of the time, but I’m starting to get used to him.”
“It’s not the neighbor’s,” I said.
“B, could you stop talking in riddles and tell us what is on your mind, so we can go back to sleep?” Ethan begged. Begged! Ethan. He must be really tired.
I settled back down on Chase’s chest. “It’s nothing… I just…thought it was in my head.”
They were silent for a long time until Chase started skimming his hand up and down my back. I moved closer to him, sliding my leg onto his hip, when I felt his hard length twitching. Was I supposed to—? Should I?
Chase hooked my leg with his arm and hiked it up higher on his belly, using his other arm to pull me closer. “Go to sleep, Bailey,” he whispered, pressing his lips to my forehead.
Ethan shuffled closer, his hand finding my hip again, the heat from his chest warming my back.
Sleep came easily for me.