Lay Me Down

Take Them Off Part 15

Sisko lay at the foot of the stairs. He lifted his head from his paws and wagged his tail at the sight of them. Then he whimpered, stood up, and ran around the corner.

"I don't think your dog likes me either," Kylee said.

Price didn't answer.

Lisa stood beside the front door, wearing shorts and flip-flops, jabbering away at the man Kylee assumed was their father. He stood in slacks and a t-shirt, checking his phone. He looked up when they came down the stairs.

"There you are," he said, his eyes focusing on Price's face. "I thought maybe you'd changed your mind."

"Nah, just getting stuff together."

Kylee followed close behind Price, a bit self-conscious in his blue shorts and white shirt. But neither Lisa nor their father looked at her.

"Is Lisa coming?" Price asked, giving his sister a gentle shove.

"You wish!" she retorted, shoving him back. Her waist-length brown hair fell in disorganized chaos down her back. "No! Dad's taking me to Jumping Land."

"Well, at least something's going my way today," he said.

She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Into the car if we're getting out of here." His dad slid the cell phone into his pocket and pushed the button to open the garage door. "Call me when you catch the bus home, and I'll meet you at the station."

"Great. Thanks."

Lisa climbed into the back of the BMW, nonstop chatter the whole time.

"Can you sit in the back next to Lisa?" Price whispered to Kylee, leaning close to her.

She furrowed her brows together. Lisa? The girl who pretended she didn't exist? "What? She doesn't even—"

"Thanks." He opened the back door and gave her a sheepish grin as he tossed his bag on the floor. "Don't bother with the seatbelt. It's broken."

Lisa scurried over from the other side and plopped herself in the middle. "I'm already in, Price!" she yelled.

"Just putting my bag in, sheesh, Lisa."

Kylee shot him a glare and ducked into the car. Great. She got to imagine what it was like to be invisible for the next ten minutes. Why hadn't Price sat back here with her?

He closed the door before she asked him. The engine started with a purr, and his dad backed the car out of the garage. Kylee ran her hand over the chic orange leather seats, stopping at the modern black trim and pinching it between her fingers.

Lisa didn't waste a moment turning on the small rectangular screen between the two front seats.

Kylee gasped. "There's a TV in the car?"

Price started laughing. His dad stopped talking mid-sentence.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

Price shook his head. "No, it's nothing. I just thought of something. That's all."

She leaned back and smiled to herself. At least she knew Price was listening.

His dad pulled them into the bus station, still talking. Price got out and opened her door before she touched the handle.

"What are you doing?" Lisa asked, frowning at him. His dad swiveled in the front seat to look at him.

"Just getting my bag." He returned her look and grabbed his bag from the floor next to Kylee.