Page 52 of Home With You

"I'm not wrong. I know what I felt."

I swallow. "It's not what I want. Now let go of the bag or I'm not taking it."

He slowly releases the strap and I sling the backpack over my shoulder and run off, down the block, then across to the other street, until I'm back in the alley.

I shouldn't have done it. I shouldn't have let him kiss me. Because now I want something I can't have. Something I want more than anything else.

"Who is it?" I hear Gladys call out, panic in her voice.

"It's me," I say, hurrying to unzip the tent. "Sorry I scared you. I thought you were asleep."

Turning on the lantern, I see her sitting up. Her white hair's a mess from sleeping on it and she has her blanket wrapped around her. She loves that blanket Miles gave her. I love mine too. And we both love the tent. But I still feel like I shouldn't have taken it, or the other stuff. It just makes me more involved with him, which I shouldn't be.

"I couldn't sleep," Gladys says. "I was worried. You didn't come home." She grabs my arm, pulling me down to her. "Where were you?"

"I was with Miles, remember?"

"Miles," she repeats to herself. She's confused. I can tell by the way her eyes are moving side to side. Her confusion worries me, and what worries me even more is that it's unpredictable. One day she'll be perfectly fine and remember even the smallest detail about something, but then another day she can't even remember my name.

"Miles," I say. "The guy who gave us the tent. Dark hair. Tall. Remember?"

She slowly nods. "Yes, I remember. Your boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend. He's just a guy I met at the coffee shop."

She cups her hands around mine and looks at me, smiling. "How was your date, dear?"

"It wasn't a date. We just had dinner down the street."

"But it's so late. Did you go somewhere else?"

"We went to his apartment. He gave me this backpack because mine was falling apart." I take it off my shoulder and show it to her.

"It's very nice," she says, running her hands over the fabric.

"Yeah, and he put some snacks inside." I unzip it. "Do you want anything?"

"No, dear. I'm not hungry." She smiles. "You look so happy."

"Happy? I'm not happy. I mean, I'm not sad but I'm not—never mind. I'll just put this away for later." I toss the backpack behind me. "I should get to sleep." I turn my back to her and lie down.

"That boy really likes you," I hear her say.

If I let her, she'll keep talking about this, and it's not something I want to talk about.

"Goodnight, Gladys."

"Goodnight, dear," she says in a soft sleepy voice. Moments later, I hear her snoring.

I wish I could fall asleep that fast. I usually can, but not tonight. Not with my mind still on Miles. Why did he have to kiss me? Now that's all I'll be able to think about. Miles and that amazing, incredible kiss. The type of kiss I'm sure I'll never experience again.

12

Miles

"Did you update the file?" Lisa asks, standing by my desk.

I turn to her. "Which file? You gave me several."

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