“What do you mean?”He glanced over at me, frowning slightly in confusion.
I waved my hand to encompass everything.Life.The universe.“Fate, I guess.That things happen when they should happen.”
“Fuck no.”He grabbed my hand and squeezed it.“If that were true, then this is a fucked-up universe that I want no part in.How dare it keep you away from me.”He lifted my hand, kissed the back of it, then let it rest once more between us on the center console of my car.
His words made my face warm and I glanced out the window, trying to hide it.That didn’t distract me from what he whispered next though.
“And what fucked-up universe would do that to my brother?”
His words broke my heart.I wanted to ask him so many questions, but I already knew he wasn’t ready to talk about it.And a small part of me was afraid.Afraid of being rejected, of being reminded that there was still stuff that was off-limits—things I’d never get to know because it wasn’t my business.
I had to respect that.Even if it burned.
So I stayed quiet, pretending I hadn’t heard him.He gave my hand a gentle squeeze—a silent thank you—before turning down a road nestled between empty corn fields.My headlights cut through the darkness, illuminating nothing but the open emptiness around us.
“I thought Halloween was over?”I asked, suddenly feeling a bit chilled.
Toby chuckled.“I’m waiting for The Creeper to come out and attack us.”
“Don’t say that.”I smacked Toby’s arm.“That movie really freaked me out.”
He laughed, his head tilting back slightly.“Good.”
I huffed and forced him to let go of my hand so I could cross my arms over my chest.
“Really, I’m sorry.Now give me back your hand.”
He held his out for me to grab.I glared at him before finally relenting and letting him hold my hand again.
“It never feels right if I can’t hold your hand,” he said, winking at me.
I snorted and went back to staring out at the darkness.It was hard not to let it pull me in.It lulled me into a quiet space and that was dangerous for me.Thoughts always snuck in on me during those moments.
“Karaoke?”Toby asked.
“What?”I blinked, trying to figure out if I’d missed something he said.
Toby let my hand go and fiddled with the radio until soft music filled the car.Once he had my hand again, he began singing, his low timbre settling my nerves.He smiled and winked at me.
Once the chorus came, I joined in and we sang together as he continued to drive through all that darkness.But with Toby by my side, it couldn’t touch me.Couldn’t suck me in.
We got really into belting out the songs, practically singing at the top of our lungs.By the time Toby pulled into a parking lot, we were both laughing, leaning into each other as we caught our breath.
Some singers really had lungs on them, ones that made me jealous.I could never hold a note as long as some of the professionals could.
“Where are we?”I asked, finally able to talk again as my stomach ached from the laughter.
“A light show,” Toby said as he turned off the car.“Have you ever been to one?”
“Not that I can remember,” I replied, distracted by the reindeer in the parking lot.There was a fence of candy canes and inside them were three reindeer.It was pretty cool.
“Oh, you’re going to love this,” Toby said.
We got out of the car.Toby came around and looped our arms together before he led me toward the barn-like structure in front of us.It spanned the large parking lot with the doors in the middle.Even in the dark, I could tell that it had a fresh coat of red and white paint, making it look like a new, fancy barn.
“We go in here to get our tickets and they let us out back, where we walk through all the pretty light shows.I’ve been wanting to take you here,” Toby said, his excitement starting to feed into his energy.He was practically vibrating next to me.
Toby paid for our tickets and then the moment we walked through the door, I gasped.We came out right on a wide path.Others around us were talking softly, some taking pictures, others enjoying the view.There were some children, but not too many.
