Running On Empty

Chapter 9~ Jaylin

"Do you understand?" My dad placed his hand on my shoulder for the first time in a long time.

I nodded obediently. "I need to pack now." I turned my back to him.

"Silya is a good person. Try not to let her get the wrong idea about the time you spend with her." I heard my bed creak as the weight of my dad suddenly disappeared.

"What do you mean?

"You'll see, my son."

My dad's shoes clicked on the floor all the way out of the door. How looked at me for a very long time. There seemed to be some sort of sadness in his eyes. It's as if he looked at me with pity. His grey eyes were clouded with mystery.

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Silya looked as if she hadn't got any sleep the next day. There were bags under her eyes and her hair was a tied up into a bird's nest. She had on blue jeans that looked a little too baggy for her and a light blue shirt with a plain white shirt. It was not exactly the kind of thing I saw any girl dressed like. She was the only girl I had met in the first place. She had a backpack and a couple of other things too. I guess, she didn't feel the need to pack very much at all. Yep, I was pretty embarrassed when Madeline had asked me if fifteen pairs of boxers were enough for the camping trip in front of Silya

Silya walked away, trying not to smile. I felt the ground suddenly fade and the world seemed really light and sparkly. What was this?

Silya and I had to spend eight hours together, shut off in a separate trailer that my dad had ordered to be prepared beforehand. He had overdone himself with his orders obviously. It was like he knew what all my favorite things were. My servants were together, driving the trailer. This was my chance to be alone with her. This was everything I had anticipated for all of last night. She was the reason for my eyes being open and my nerves shooting off fireworks throughout my whole body. She was the reason for my lips curling up into an upside-down "n" and letting that shape of my mouth stay glued to my face the rest of the night.

She was being oddly quiet though and she tried to keep as much space between us all the time. What was the problem? Was there something that I did to her? I was in my wheelchair and she was looking everywhere except at me. Her brown eyes were mezmerizing and sparkling. Her mouth was slightly open in awe and her black hair glistened in the sunlight that made its way in through the thin, glass windows of the trailer.

"Silya, do you like it here?" I felt the urge to wheel myself next to her, that way I could feel her presence even more.

She nodded slightly and gave out a peaceful sigh. It looked to me like it had been her fist time on a trailer. It had been my first time for sure. She walked away from the window and sat down on the couch.

"This is a first time for me, Jaylin. It's the first camping trip I've ever been on and the first time I have gotten the chance to ride on a trailer. I'm just taking it all in. I love the sight of it, the feeling of the air inside it and the smells that come out of the foods here."

Crap, she did it again to me.

"So, let's continue with our lessons. Despite the fact that we are going on a camping trip, I still have so much more for you to learn about."

"Why are you doing all of this, Silya?" those words accidently slipped out of my mouth.

"I don't think there has to be a reason. I want to do it because it would be fun. Aren't we friends? This is what friends do with each other." She had said it in the purest way that I had ever imagine possible. Right then and there, I could've hugged her. She did it to me again. I could hear the pounding of my heart as if it were going to jump out of my chest. It felt so light and fluttery.

"Have you ever watched a movie before?" She held out a small rectangular object that said Ratatouille on it.

"What's a movie?" I asked my head tilted to the side. She got up from the couch and wheeled me over next to her. She held out her hand and looked away from me. There had been a slight smile to her face though. I grabbed on to it tightly. Her hands were small like the first time our hands touched that night. Her hands were also very warm. I felt the warmth run through me and once again my body started to feel very light. My legs started to shake as I got up. I was only balancing with her hand and part of my left leg. She let me put my arm around her shoulder as she we walked a tiny ways to the couch. She had set me down gently and walked over to sit down next to me, there was still quite a distance between the two of us though.

Ratatouille was about a rat that loved to cook and makes a friend that is a human that works part time at a restaurant called Gustavo's at first until he becomes a hit by cooking a soup with the help of a rat hiding under his hat. I learned a few things about cooking and something that involved two people liking each other. We didn't talk much throughout the movie, but that was okay. I think her presence was simply enough to make me happy though. Silya was pretty sleepy and I could see her trying to stay awake. It was kind of funny to see her body slouching the couch and then it would jerk back up suddenly as soon as she realized that she was getting sleepy. She ended up falling asleep about 20 minutes into the movie. I grabbed the remote control that she had once told me about and pressed the power button. Then I got myself back into the wheelchair and wheeled myself around the trailer, hoping that I could find something warm to put over her. There was a stack of blanket that had been placed on the center of a table. There was a note that was placed on the side next to the stack:

Keep Warm Jaylin and Silya

We hope that you have fun on this trip

-Madeline and Garrett

I grabbed two big blankets and placed it on my lap while I wheeled over to the sleeping Silya. I threw the blanket over her and it landed over her slowly and perfectly. She was breathing lightly and peacefully. Her slender body was curled up into a little ball. There was a soft knock on the door and Madeline appeared in front of the door.

"Master Jaylin, did you see our note?"

"Yes, I did, thank you Madeline. Silya fell asleep so I put a blanket over her."

"Go on the couch with her. She needs a pillow." There seemed to be a mischievous smile that appeared on my maid's face then. She was up to something for sure.

"Okay, help me out of my wheelchair then." Madeline gave such a warm smile to me, it was one that was so rare that it made me want to pinch myself to see if this was a dream. Madeline had helped me get off my chair and into the couch.

"I'll be going now, Master. Take good care of Silya, she's a good person."

I know it, she really is." Those words were the most honest thing that I had ever said.

"I'll be back to check on you soon, get some rest You're going to need it."

Madeline had closed the door silently and Silya and I were alone again.

I looked over at Silya and felt myself smile again. Could smiling too much ever be deadly? Silya moved herself a little and groaned quietly. She must have been dreaming about something. What were her dreams like? Did she usually always sleep like this, curled up in a ball? When I sat by her, we were the closest than we had ever been to each other. I felt my face start to burn up, my heart was beating so fast! This couldn't have been a dream. She wasn't here with me sleeping so soundly next to me. Her black hair was all messy, but I instantly felt the softness that it had as I hesitantly placed my hand on her hand. She wouldn't hear me say this. These words were my secret to her.

"Thank you Silya. Thank you for all that you have done for me so far. The first time I met you, I never knew how much you would help me. Meeting you...it has taught me so many things. Words can't simply be enough to tell you how I'm feeling. I don't think I could ever show you enough how much I am grateful to you. I hope that we can be great friends, because you're the first one I have ever had. Thank you Silya."

The noise of the movie slowly faded out in the background. I soon realized that my eyes were closing on themselves too. It was the most peaceful sleep I had in years and I wouldn't trade it for a million dollars.