Highway Part 22

Highway Chapter 15(continued)

I supervised Veronica as she started the fire, watching her eyes light up with joy when she saw the burning flames. She was acting a bit strange, pacing back and forth, until she came to rest on the hill. Wondering what was the matter, I wondered up to the hill, stopping next to her.

“You coming?” I asked, hoping I would be able to understand.

“Not right now,” she said, forced, “I’m not very tired.”

It was a lie, and a bad one too. She wasn’t expecting me to ask, and was obviously uncomfortable with the real answer. I looked at her with the shadows under her eyes, fidgeting in small jerky movements. Then it dawned on me.

She was scared to go to sleep. She would never admit she was scared to anyone, and it made perfect sense considering her behavior. To be honest, I wouldn’t want to sleep either. Her nightmares were horrifying and unnerving, if last night had been any indication. Delivering my own not so wonderful lie, I told her I wasn’t either.

I resolved to stay with her as long as she needed me to, even if that meant all night. It was highly probable she would just pretend to go to bed, but I was still going to calm her and help her as long as I could without pressing her. I finally felt like she was close to me now, if only a little. She had admitted she had a bad dream, and even that was a feat for her. She had grown up in such an environment that she had to be tough, where nothing could bother her or she wouldn’t be mentally sound. Every little insignificant weakness was material for exploitation, and so she just stopped having those. That she was showing me one at all was already a testament to her trust. If I played my cards right and continued to show her the truth about the world, she would have a happy soul before awakening. I told her about my friend Julian, because I knew she loved stories.

“Like I said, he is a drifter, but he isn’t out on the road a lot. He is a quirky guy to put it nicely, but deep down he is very caring. You just have to get used to his ways of showing affection. One time, I visited him for his birthday and he tugged me around town, shouting that I was his best friend.”

She laughed, having a hard time envisioning me being pulled across town.

I said, “When I first met him, it was before I awakened. I was feeling sorry for myself for some reason that I can’t remember, and he grew fed up. He thought it a good idea to throw me into the river. He said that the water would cool off my head.”

I remember how mad I was when that happened. I almost tried to beat him up. I would’ve if I thought I could have taken him. Veronica told me a story from her younger years.

“This girl, Ariana I think,” she said, “she was making fun of me for my hair when I was sitting in the sandbox, near the trees. This little lizard came along, stopping in the sandbox. She freaked out when she saw it. Apparently she wasn’t too fond of lizards, and they scared her. I picked him up, because I wasn’t scared of him, and I told her he wasn’t so bad. Just as she came close, he hissed at her, doing that little side flaring thing lizards do when they're scared. She backed into a tree, where a family of them were chilling. And one of them landed right on her nose. She flailed, and ran away when he fell off. It was like the lizards were on my side.”

I was happy that at least some things in her childhood weren’t all bad.

She faked a yawn, saying she was tired. I knew it to be untrue, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. She would either stay awake all night or try and fall asleep in a few hours. I would try to monitor her throughout the night, and attempt to make sure that if she had nightmares I would be there to wake her and calm her down. I wanted to let her know that I was here, but I wasn’t sure if I could say anything without her backing away from sudden concern and care.

I called to her, and said,  “I just wanted to say that you can tell me pretty much anything. It’s your choice, of course, but know that I’m always here. Okay?”

She paused, as if unsure what to say.

“You’re so weird,” she told me, but then her voice softened, “But thanks, I guess. I understand.”

I was relieved that I had chosen correctly. Only someone who had seen her thought processes could understand when she was being gruff and when she was being protective.

We scrunched down into our sleeping bags for the night. I waited, and as I had expected, she wasn’t falling asleep. She was turned away, so I couldn’t see her face, but she shuffled far too often to be sleeping. Her breaths were not even, her body not relaxed, and she squirmed in discomfort. I fell asleep, but awoke several times, checking on her quickly. She wasn’t sleeping any of the times I looked at her, but she wasn’t thrashing around like yesterday.

As the night turned transformed into morning, I awoke with the sun. Sighing quietly, I could tell Veronica had gotten very little to no sleep last night. Her position was uncomfortable, and she was hunched over like she was miserable.

I got up and stretched, gathering supplies. I “woke” her up, and she got ready. She was trudging along, slower than usual. I wasn’t sure the poor girl could be any more tired. I wondered if I could get her to drink some coffee when we got to town. I wasn’t a person who drank coffee a lot, but with sleepless nights it was a go-to in the morning. She wasn’t going to be happy to walk for the next two hours to get to town. She walked next to me, but behind a little bit. She seemed to stagger along, and I wondered if she was just going to drop to the ground. When she didn’t notice I had taken a turn, she almost smacked right into a cliff wall, only stopping because I called her name.

Okay, I thought to myself. There was no way this is going to work. I wanted to get to town to meet up with Julian and get some supplies, but Veronica really needed sleep, or at least to not be on her feet anymore. One of us was going to get hurt by accident, most likely her. Clearing my throat, I stopped. She looked up at me with weary and drained eyes, and I felt my resolve grow.

“Come here, Veronica.”

She did, giving me a sleepy suspicious look.

“I’m going to carry you to town, okay? You need to be off of your feet.”

She looked at me, stupefied, still half asleep.  Then the look was replaced with one more incredulous and surprised.

“What the hell are you talking about, Matt? You are not carrying me anywhere. I’m perfectly fine.”

She declared with defiance, forcing herself to be a little bit more awake.

“Veronica, you are too sleep deprived for this right now. When we get to town you can have some coffee or sleep in the hotel. But as of this moment, I am not going to let you walk. You are not fine.” I tried, hoping to reason with her.

This girl was so adamant about anything and everything, this conversation included. She was more stubborn than a mule. She told me she was completely fine, snapping at me with a glare. Here was another point in time where I had to be careful. I wasn’t one of the scolding adults she had come to know, and I knew the stigma would be hard to break.

“You almost just ran into the wall! There is nothing about you that’s fine.” I said, the more authoritive tone in place. Before she could interrupt angrily, I bent down so I was face to face with her.

“Please, Veronica” I continued gently, “just let me carry you. Feel sorry for this old coot. I worry too much, but please humor me.”

Her jaw worked, trying to form words. With her arms crossed and an indignant sigh, she looked away.

“Fine, you crazy weirdo. Do whatever you want, but don’t expect me to be happy about it. You’re impossible, you know that?”

I smiled at her, and shrugged innocently. Rolling her eyes, she came up behind me. I crouched, making my arms into loops for her to step into.

“Hold on first, I wouldn’t want you to fall backwards,” I warned.

“No, really?” she said, voice full of sarcasm.

She held onto my neck with one arm while she stepped into mine. Making sure she was ready, I hoisted her up in a piggy back ride. She made a small noise when she lifted off of the ground, but remained still.

“Just so you know, I’m only doing this because I feel bad for you. You are getting pretty old.”

I made a noise that indicated I was hurt.

“Hey now,” I said, “ I’m only 25!”

She snickered, commenting I was almost thirty. I pretended to be offended, but I knew she was only joking, trying to take on a subject that wasn’t our position. I carried her along the road, listening to her absentminded chatter. She was surprisingly light. I didn’t expect her to be heavy, but she was tall, and she had strong muscles considering she hadn’t been out doing a lot of physical activity.

She yawned, and I could feel her grip lessen somewhat. She was tired, and now that she wasn’t engaging in activity, she was feeling the effects of her insomnia. She jolted every now and then, waking from momentary lapses in consciousness. Without seeming to notice she was doing it, she nestled her head into my shoulder. Soon she was mostly limp, slumbering peacefully. I smiled as she murmured something in her sleep about bunnies and octopi.

The two hours it took to get to town were hardly enough time to sleep, but it was amazing how a nap would leave you more refreshed. As she dreamed what seemed to be harmless dreams, I walked on. I didn’t mind carrying her, even with the sun beating down, because she was as light as she was.

In a few hours, we reached the town borders. Veronica, still dozing on my shoulder, stirred because we had stopped. The rhythmic movement of my walking had in part lulled her to sleep, like when parents take their children for rides in the car before bed.

“Veronica,” I called softly, “Veronica, we’re here.”

She raised her head, taking an arm away from my neck to rub her eyes.

“Wha?” she said, still stuck in her dreams, “Oh. Okay.”

I let her down carefully.

“That’s what you get for making me listen to you. I hope I drooled on you.”She said playfully.

I informed her that she had not, fortunately. She stretched leisurely, and yawned. She seemed much better, despite still looking exhausted. A power nap was exactly what she had needed. We strolled through town, Veronica with a new spring in her step.