Into the Light

96

That first time, on my couch, when she had undressed for me, but then disappeared. I remembered seeing her reappear fully clothed. I didn't have to worry about her disappearing on me now. I would make this special for her, even if it wasn't an ideal situation. I hadn't really tried to be romantic for anyone in a while. Hadn't really come across anyone that meant enough to try for. My mind flashed back to highschool and how I had arranged candles in the shape of a giant heart, so that I could stand inside of it and ask a girl to prom. Cheesy, but it worked. I was a romantic at heart, even if I didn't always show it. "Okay, she's packing a bag now," Sam said, still holding the phone to his ear. I nodded in acknowledgment. "Anna, do you want her to pack yours too?" Sam asked, glancing back at her. "Oh, um, I guess," she stammered out. "If she doesn't mind. I can do it myself though, so it's not a big deal." "She said that's fine, if you want too, but you don't have too," Sam repeated into the phone. "She's got you," he said, glancing back at Anna again. I watched her nod and bite her bottom lip. I really liked it when she did that. "I'll explain the rest when I get there," Sam said into the phone. "Okay. Love you too." He hung up and slid his phone back into his pocket. "How much longer before we're home?" Anna asked. "Uh," I hadn't set the map because I knew my way by now. "Not sure. Maybe a half hour." She nodded and looked out the window, deep in thought. I wondered if she were nervous. Hell, I didn't know if she planned on doing the deed tonight, or if she wanted to wait. We hadn't discussed that aspect of it at all. It didn't matter. I would let her tell me. I would plan for it, but would only set the scene when she was ready. It took me a while to realize that I was nervous. By the time we pulled up into the driveway of our home, my stomach had a whole flock of butterflies fighting to get out. I almost felt nauseous. I climbed out of the car and opened the door for Anna. I held my hand out to her, with a small smile on my face. When she placed her palm in mine, I felt that electric current spark between us. "Hey guys, we were wondering where you had gone off too," Corey said, opening the front door, when we reached it. "Just had to go see someone. Do some research for a video," Sam responded. I would be glad when we didn't have to keep lying to our friends all the time. Then, a thought hit me with so much force, I gasped and coughed to try and hide it. "Whoa, what are you smoking on, brother?" Corey asked, with a short laugh. "Not enough tonight," I joked. We filed inside the house, and stopped inside the entryway. "Hey, we're not gonna be home tonight. Someone is coming early in the morning to fumigate, so we're gonna just go get a couple of rooms. Is anyone else here?" I asked. The thought that had hit me was that they would be here, if the Darkness decided to show up. No one could be here, if that happened. "Yeah, Jake and Tara. Devyn and Xepher are on there way too, along with a couple of my friends. Oh, and Tara's friend Addy. You remember her, right?" he responded. I nodded, but otherwise ignored the name. "It would probably be better if you guys found somewhere else to hang out at tonight. Maybe for the next few days. To give the place time to air out," Sam replied. Corey looked a little suspicious but didn't say anything. "Okay. I'm sure we can find somewhere else to be. Is everything okay?" "Everything is fine, brother," I said, clapping him on the shoulder. "Just giving you a heads up. How soon can you guys be out? Just so I can tell the fumigation people. I think they want to go ahead and set up the tents and stuff tonight, or something." "I'll go let everyone know now," he replied, still suspicious. "Are you sure that everything is okay?" "Yeah, we promise, man," Sam replied. "We're gonna go pack a bag and head on out though. You guys should do the same. If you need us, you know how to reach us." "Okay then," Corey said, quietly. I could feel his eyes boring into us as we climbed the stairs to our rooms. Sam went straight to his room, while I pulled Anna inside mine. "I still have most of my stuff packed from the Sacramento trip," she said, looking around the room. "There's your bag." She pointed to the corner of the couch, where I had dropped it. I picked it up and dumped it over, to get rid of what was in it. "I don't see anything of yours in here," I replied. "Wasn't Kat going to pack yours though?" "Oh yeah," she mused. "Should I go check in with her? She's probably in Sam's room, right?" I nodded and walked over to my closet to grab some clothes. "Yeah, she had dinner with her dad earlier tonight but, after she talked to Sam, I'm sure she came here, if she wasn't already here. You can check in with her in a minute though. Give Sam a chance to explain everything." "Oh, okay," she replied. I grabbed a couple of nice outfits, because you never know when you might need them, then moved to my dresser for the comfy clothes. I stuffed a couple pairs of joggers into the bag, then grabbed a cut off and a couple of t-shirts. After I made went to my bathroom to grab my razor and other things that I would need, I zipped the bag up and met her gaze. She was just standing there, quietly watching me. I moved across the room to where she was and pulled her into my arms. "You okay?" I asked. She nodded but didn't speak. "We don't have to do this, Anna. It doesn't have to be tonight, or even tomorrow," I said, stroking her hair down her back. She looked up at me and I saw the resolve in her eyes. "I'm not second guessing myself, Colby. I want this. I'm just nervous," she replied. I smiled just a little, then leaned down to kiss her. "I am too," I whispered in her ear. Her eyes got wide, but there was a knock on the door before she could respond. I opened it to see Sam and Kat standing there.