It was evening when I made it there. I pulled into the driveway of the Tillman ranch, down the winding road, and finally stopped in front of the familiar home.
I got my things, opened the car door, and stepped out. I was hit by a freezing gust of wind. Jeez, I forgot how cold it was. I walked up the steps of the porch, snow crunching below my feet, and knocked on the door. The door opened and a tall man stood before me. Roy Tillman.
"Come on in." He says. So I do.
"You'll be staying with Gator, upstairs." He nods to the stairwell.
"Okay." I say, walking over to the stairwell and walking up the stairs.
I walk down the hall to Gator's bedroom and knock, the door swinging open.
"Miss me, Gator?" I ask, with a small smile.
"Birdie? Holy shit!" He says, getting up to hug me.
He embraces me and spins me around. Jeez, he's even cuter than I remember. He's 27 now. Wow. I've known him almost 10 years.
"What the hell are you doing here?" He asks.
"Your dad didn't tell you?" I ask.
His smile drops slightly.
"You know my dad, he doesn't tell me shit." He says.
I giggle a little.
"I'm here to help you with whatever mission you're on now." I tell him.
"Oh, seriously?" He asks.
"Yeah, uh he said you needed help and now that I'm looking at your decor.... I can see why." I say.
"Oh those that's uh that's not um" he starts to say.
"Not yours? Belong to a friend?" I ask.
He sighs.
"Man, this place really needs a makeover." I say.
"Honestly, I probably haven't decorated it since I was in highschool." He says with a chuckle.
"Oh also uh I'm staying in here I guess, so should I sleep on the floor?" I ask.
"Oh no, I can if you want." He says, quickly.
"No, no, it's your room and I'll only be here a few days." I say.
"We could share." He says. "Unless.." he starts to say.
"Uh no, no, yeah that's okay we could do that yeah." I say.
"Okay. Cool. Great. Yeah. So uh, how've you been?" He asks me, sitting down on the bed.
"Fine, not really much going on, I've been working a boring 9-5 at this Diner." I say, sitting next to him.
"What about you?" I ask.
"Nothing's really changed honestly, still working for my dad." He tells me.
"You got a girlfriend yet?" I ask him.
"Oh me? Nah no not yet." He says, chuckling.
"Really? You're such a charmer though." I say, sarcastically.
He laughs a bit.
"You got a boyfriend?" He asks.
"Hell no, I wish." I say, laughing a little too.
We sit in an awkward silence for a second before I say "what happened to your arm?"
"This guy, like 500 years old broke it. Long story." He says.
"What the hell?" I ask.
"Shitbird." He mutters.
"You know what? I don't even want to know." I say.
"So, what are we doing?" I ask him.
"Well, tomorrow me and the gang are getting Nadine." He says.
"Wait, what?" I ask.
"We're getting masks from the Halloween store, matching ones, so we can identify each other." He says.
"Wait like, Nadine, Nadine?" I ask.
"Yeah." He says.
"Gator." I say.
"What?" He asks, avoiding my eyes.
I give him a look.
"What am I supposed to do, huh? I don't have a choice here, Kennedy." He says.
"Yes you do, Tillman." I say.
He sighs.
"Whatever, it's late. I'm going to bed." He says.
"Fine. Night." I say.
I go into the bathroom, change into a T-shirt and shorts and get into the bed.
Gator washes the gel out of his hair, changes into a T-shirt and boxers and lies down, facing the other direction from me.
We sit there in silence for a while, listening to each other breathe.
"I've missed you a lot, Birdie." He says.
"I've missed you a lot too, Gator." I say.
Those are the last words we say before falling asleep.
