The 8 Days Of Dakota Grinn (boyxboy)

Day Four

**Warning, this chapter uses strong, adult themes that still stay in the range of PG-13. Caution may be advised.

Four hours of sleep. I only got four fudging hours of sleep. Most people can survive that, but when a loon like Loonie pulls you from sleep by blasting her "screamo" music right by your ear, you're going to be a bit grouchy too.

I roll my eyes at the memory and finish up my quick shower. Holy sh*t. I take a lot of showers, don't I? I guess I've grown to like the sickly-sweet scent of Loonie's floral shampoo. It makes me smell like an old lady. Not the ones at nursing homes that make you want to plug your nose and puke at the same time; the old grandma ones that bake you cookies and smell purely of old furniture and mothballs.

Oh god. I think Loonie's weirdness is rubbing off on me.

I shake the wetness out of my hair like a dog. I then check for wrinkles on my face in the mirror.

Sh*t. Maybe I'm turning into an old person too!

"Dakota! Get yo' pale arse out here right now. We gotta go now, yeah?." Loonie cheers from behind my bathroom door.

Speak of the devil. "Coming," I mumble while brushing my pearly whites. My clothes are pulled on quickly and I walk out of the bathroom, almost running into my short foster mom.

"Oh darling, you look so dashing." Loonie picks at my shirt with a satisfied smile. I squint my eyes at her suspiciously. What's she planning?

I back away a little, keeping the touching to a minimum. I haven't forgotten her confusing Number. I haven't forgotten Luca either. He's going to die today, which will put a huge damper on mine and Loonie's "fun-tivities".

"Where are we going?" I ask, munching on a breakfast bar that Loonie gave me. She silently locks up her mouth and throws away the key. I sigh and follow her over exaggerating hand motions down the stairs.

Nabbing a piece of chocolate off of the kitchen counter, I stroll out the back door after Loons. I bet she's going to dump me at the orphanage; it wouldn't be the first time that's happened.

I press onto the bruise on my covered arm, relishing the sting and devour my piece of nummy chocolate. Getting in her van, my thoughts turn to Luca. I hate myself for touching him, for scaring him and Andy, for pretty much sealing his fate. Maybe the people I touch aren't supposed to die when I see, but the fact that I touched them took away their chances of living longer.

This thought makes my head spin and I close my eyes, resting back on the headrest. Shut up, I tell myself. Just shut the f*ck up.

After a few minutes, I open my eyes and watch the passing forest. I wonder how pretty this place would be in the winter; leafy trees bare, coniferous trees deep green and covered in the white sheen of snow. I sure am going to miss Minnesota.

Loonie breaks the silence by saying, "I know you don't like really interacting with people, so I rented out this lot for a few hours. But being the cheap f*cker I am, I got one one of my friends from work to chip in a smidgen. She insists on meeting you so she's going to meet us there. But she moved from Germany not to long ago and is still a little rough on her English."