“In the hall closet.”
I heard him get up and walk away. I looked back at Ty, and my heart sank yet again. In a few hours, he would be awake. In a few hours, I was going to have to explain to my little brother what if felt like to have to grow up way before he was supposed to. I tried rehearsing what I was going to say, trying to imagine if he would even understand. But in the end, I was no further than where I started.
Otter came back, his arms full of bedding. He made me get up and spread the blanket next to the couch. He threw down the pillows, and I collapsed onto the ground, feeling my body shutting down. I laid on my back staring up at the ceiling, still able to see the Kid’s fingers as his hand dangled off the side of the couch. Otter stood where he had before, seeming unsure what to do.
“Are you gonna lay down or stand watch all night?” I asked, suddenly amused.
He appeared to hesitate for a moment, then lay next to me, a few feet away from me. We lay silent.
Then, “Otter?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
“For what?”
“You know, for what you said. For being here.”
“Sure, Bear.” His hand brushed mine.
I was almost asleep when, “Bear?”
“Yeah?”
“Happy birthday.”
Then I was gone, a smile starting to form on my face.
I DREAMT that night. I dreamt a lot. But the one that sticks out the most was where I was following someone I didn’t know. I tried to catch up with him but every time I was close enough to grasp a piece of his clothing, he drifted away on an ocean current.
I WOKE near dawn. For a moment, I didn’t know where I was. I opened my eyes and saw the bottom of a couch. My face was almost resting against it. I felt pressure from my back and remembered where I was. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to will it all away. Then the thing pressing against my back moved slightly, and I knew it was Otter. I heard him snoring softly, his wide back settled against mine. His body was pushing me into the couch where Ty still lay asleep. The dust from space near the floor tickled my nose. I shoved gently away from it, and turned over and huddled up next to Otter. He was warm. He was there. I fell back asleep.
I WOKE sometime later to a tapping on my forehead. I scowled, not wanting to open my eyes, the pillow I was lying on feeling too good to want to move. I squinted up, annoyed, and saw the Kid staring down at me from the coach, his eyes dancing.
“Hey, Bear,” he said.
“Hey, yourself,” I groaned, closing my eyes again.
“Why you sleeping on Otter?” he whispered, clearly amused.
I opened my eyes in a hurry. I turned my head slightly to the left and saw that the pillow I was laying on was Otter’s shoulder. His right arm was under my neck and wrapped around me on the other side, fingers splayed across my chest. One of my legs lay spread over his. He was still asleep. What the hell? I thought. I slowly extricated myself from him, never taking my eyes from his face. My heart was beating loudly in my ears, and I felt my skin buzzing. What the hell?
“Did we have a sleepover?” the Kid asked.
“Uh, yeah,” I said. Otter mumbled something in his sleep and turned over on his side, away from me.
“I’m hungry,” Ty said, stretching. “Do you think Anna still has Lucky Charms?”
“I don’t know, Kid. Let’s go look.” I picked him up from the couch and carried him toward the kitchen.
He pulled on my ear. “What?” I asked, suddenly way too awake.
“Don’t you want to wake up Otter so he can have some Lucky Charms with us?”
“Otters don’t eat Lucky Charms.”
He looked at me quizzically. “But Bears do, right?”