Page 335 of Nobody's Girl

He gets back into his truck and waves goodbye to us. “Come on, Alyssa. Let’s walk up to the house,” I say as I take her hand and lead her up the dirt road.

She puts her head on my shoulder as we walk back up to the house in the darkness. “You handled that situation really well, Eden.”

“Kicking ass and taking names isn’t always the best thing to do,” I say, then laugh a little.

“I guess I was a little bit ready to go to war with these people,” she admits.

“You have to learn to take some time to completely assess the situation before you make a conclusion about how to handle it,” I say.

“You’re so mature. I’m lucky to have you,” she says.

I stop, taking her hand and touching my lips to it. “I’m the lucky one, Mrs. Fontaine,” I say as I take her arms and wrap them around my neck, then place my hands on her waist. “I love you so much, Alyssa. I feel closer to you every day. You have no idea what you mean to me.”

She smiles up at me. “I have some idea. You mean everything to me, Eden. I couldn’t love anyone more than I love you.”

I continue to lead her up the road to the house. “I can’t wait for Laura to be back,” she says.

“You know that Kyle is going to ask her to marry him some day, right?” I ask.

“No, I don’t know that,” she says. “And with my connection to him, I’d be the first to know if he even had that thought for a micro-second.”

“Will it bother you if he does?” I ask.

“It’s a bit soon for them to take that step. Look how badly they can fight. It might not be the right thing for them to do, at least not right now,” she says.

“You do know you care more for Kyle than you do Laura, right?” I ask.

A long sigh comes from her. “No, that’s not really true. Laura is just as important to me as he is. Though if she knew about our little dream-life, I doubt she’d be too thrilled with me. I know Kyle and I both know our lives are better on this path, rather than that one.”

“I know, but you two fall asleep and have a different life. Who’s to say when it’ll stop happening,” I say.

“Do you think it’ll continue, even though we both think our lives are better this way?” she asks.

“I don’t know, Alyssa,” I tell her as we approach the house. “I do know it’ll be hard for Laura to handle. It was difficult for me at first.”

She drops her head. “Maybe you shouldn’t touch me at night if it bothers you, as it’s something I can’t help,” she says as I open the door.

I laugh a little. “I can’t not touch you when we sleep. That’s impossible. I’m fine with it now anyway. At least Laura doesn’t have to be a witness to your dream lives. You should limit your discussions about what all went on in the dreams, though. At least with her.”

She nods. “I’m sorry, Eden.”

I lift her chin up and say, “I can take it. I can take whatever comes with being with you. I know Kyle can take whatever comes with being with you too. Laura is lacking the connection, so watch what you say to her. I’m not saying to lie, but I am saying not to be so upfront with this thing.”

“Okay,” she says. “I would control it if I could. You know that, right?”

I smile at her. “I know that, Alyssa. I wish there was something I could do too. I guess this is just another thing we have to go through. We’ve been given special gifts. Some really crazy things go along with that, apparently.”

The door opens to reveal Kyle carrying Laura into the house. “Is she okay?” I ask.

Laura’s head is lying against Kyle’s chest. She’s pale and looks very weak. “No, she isn’t all right. She almost fell as she walked out to me,” he tells us.

“I’ll call and get a doctor over here,” I say as I take out my cell.

“Lie her down on the sofa. I’ll get her some water,” Alyssa tells him. She takes the water to Laura, sitting next to her. “Laura, what’s wrong?”

“I’ve been really sick, Al. I can’t keep anything down. I feel really tired and weak,” she tells her.

Alyssa takes the straw she put into the bottle of water and puts it up to Laura’s lips. She takes a sip of it. “Kyle, bring down a blanket,” Alyssa directs him and he dashes off.