Chapter 4

The next morning, I woke up tucked into my bed. I thought that was strange, at least, I did until I remembered what had happened last night. The memory of Calvin knocking on my door was etched into my memory.

I looked around the room and saw it was empty. My laptop, which I thought I had in my bed last night, was placed on my desk on the other side of the room. I didn't remember how it got there.

Was it all just a dream? Did I make the whole Calvin coming alive up in my head as I slept? Yes, I must've. It makes more sense and makes me sound less crazy. My dad must have come in after he came home to check on me. He was the one who tucked me in and placed my laptop on my desk.

I sat up in bed and I ran my hands over my face to wake myself up. It didn't work as well as I hoped it did. Slowly, I kicked my feet over the bed and placed them on the floor, but the floor wasn't as furry as I remembered it to be. I looked down and nearly screamed.

There was a leg poking out from underneath a blanket. I scrambled back into my bed and banged my back off the wall. Calvin wasn't a dream and I had a dead guy on the floor underneath a Hello Kitty blanket. I heard a groan come from down below, and a second later Calvin's head popped up over my bed.

"Did you step on me?" Calvin asked in a daze. My heart was pounding, and my breaths were hitched. He noticed this, and he stood and placed the back of his hand on my forehead. "Are you feeling ill?"

I blinked and shook my head. "No, it's just...I thought last night was a dream."

"Yes, I understand as well," he started to say. "It's strange, being here now. Everything scares me. Like that strange food you gave me and that thing you call a shower."

I nod in agreement. I believed him when he said everything scared him. It worries me though if it's too much for him to handle.

"Are you hungry?" I asked him as I change the subject.

Calvin looked down and placed his hand on his stomach. "Yes" he says.

I nod before pushing myself off the bed. It was eleven, and my father was at work, so I knew no one would be down stairs. Calvin followed behind me as I led the way down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Do you like eggs?" I asked as I opened the fridge.

"Yes.I'll go get us some. Is the coop in the back of the house?" he asked as he pointed to the back door.

I chuckled before pulling out a carton of eggs out of the fridge. "I have them here."

"Then I'll go and milk the cow, then," he offered but I shook my head no.

"Go have a seat" I tell him as I motioned him to the dining room. "I'll be in there in a few minutes."

I watch Calvin disappear into the next room. He walked around the house carefully, like if at any moment something will pop out. As I started cooking, I noticed that it had stopped raining. I looked closer at the window and everything looked dry and not flooded. That was strange. Normally everything should still be soaked. It was like it didn't happen.

I pushed that thought to the back of my mind and continued to cook. Eggs didn't take that long to make and a few minutes later I was walking into the dining room with eggs and chocolate milk.

"What's that?" Calvin asked as he eyed the brown liquid I placed in front of him.

"Chocolate milk," I tell him as I sit. "Drink it."

"You have so many strange foods," he comments as he lifted the cup to his mouth and took a sip.

"A lot has changed over the years," I chuckle lightly. "Wait until I give you sour candy. You'll like those."

"So, what do you have planned for the day?" Calvin asked as he swallowed a piece of egg.

"Well,I was going to do some homework, but that can wait till later," I shrug.

"You go to school?" Calvin asked in surprise.

I narrow my eye at him in confusion. It took me a minute realize he didn't know many things have changed. He had so much to learn.

"Yep.I'm a sophomore in high school," I tell him. "Also, all girls go to school, can vote, and basically anything we want to do."

"Really?"he asked with curiosity.

"Yep.Anything a man can to, so can a woman," I tell him. "That's why were the superior gender."

"That's good then," he says with a smile. "I was getting sick of men anyway."

I crack a smile. "Was that a joke?" I asked, and he nodded. "You're learning."

"Good then," he agreed.

"So, you want to go into town?" I asked. "We can start off easy today like go to the store and get you some clothes."

"Clothes? What's wrong with what I'm wearing now?" he asked as he looked down at his clothes.

"Well, for starters you slept in that," I pointed out. "Also, I don't have a lot of men's clothes for you and you are not the same size as my dad."

"Alright," he says as he finished up his eggs. "When shall we leave?"

"Soon," I tell him.

__________________________________________________________


It didn't take as long as I thought it would have to get ready. After we had finished breakfast, I took Calvin to the bathroom so he could do his business and brush his teeth. I gave him a spare toothbrush and told him to meet me in my room when he was done. I went back and quickly changed before he came up.

I slipped on a pair of black skinny jeans, an off-white sweater, and a pair of brown boots. After I brushed my hair, there was a knock on the door and then it opened. Calvin walked in and looked me up and down.

"You look nice," he tells me.

"Thanks," I say with a smile. "Come on, your turn." I motioned for him to come towards me. When he did I handed him a black and red flannel. "Try this on. It should fit. I think I have a pair of pants your size in here somewhere."

I walked past Calvin to the other side of my room. About a month ago, I found a nice pair of jeans at Goodwill. They were in my size so I bought them, only to realize when I got home they were men's pants and they were baggy in the wrong places. I was too lazy to take them back, but it's a good thing I didn't.

"Um, Rose?" Calvin called out from behind me. I turned and couldn't help but laugh.He had the shirt on correct, but he messed up the buttons and it looked hilarious. "What did I do wrong?"

I walked over to him and undid the buttons in a swift motion. They were made of metal, so it was easier than doing that with sewn on buttons. "You were close if that helps."

I start buttoning up his shirt for him, but halfway through I noticed something on his chest. There was a red circle that looked like a scar. I moved the shirt slightly and saw another one,and another one.

"How did you get these scars?" I asked as I touched his chest as I examined them. All three marks appeared to be the same size and width apart.

Calvin reached down and pulled my hand off him. "I'll tell you another time." I nod. It must have been something awful and he wasn't ready to talk about it.

I clear my throat and hand him the pants. "Put these on. I'll go find you some shoes to wear." I turned and started to walk out.

"Rose," Calvin called out to me. I turned and looked at him. "Thank you for helping me. You didn't have to, but you did. You're a good person."

"Um...any time," I said as I opened the door and went down the stairs.

I walked into my dad's room and started to look around for shoes for Calvin. My dad didn't own much when it came to clothing. He spent most of the money on keeping the house and other things. As I was snooping through the closet I found a pair of unused flip flops that would have to work for now. When I went back to the kitchen, my bedroom door was still shut. I took that moment to run to the bathroom to do my 'stuff' and when I came back Calvin was staring out the kitchen window.

"Do the pants fit?" I asked as I came up behind him.

Calvin turned toward me and nodded. "Yes. I hope you don't mind, but I found a comb and I used it."

I looked at his hair. It was no longer messy, instead it was neat. He was in need of a trim, but I'll deal with that later.

"Bend your head down a little," I say as I grab a gray beanie off the counter that I wore the other day. Calvin did as I asked, and I placed the hat on his head. He stood straight up, and I nodded in approval. I handed him the flip flops."These were all I could find. We'll stop and get you shoes first."

"Alright," he says as he puts the shoes on. They were too big, and whenever he walked they clapped back against his heel. "I'm ready."

I had already grabbed some of the money I had saved from doing previous odd jobs. Like, mowing lawns and babysitting, plus Aunt Terry gave me one hundred dollars yesterday for my birthday so I had more than enough to get Calvin what he needed.

We walked outside, and Calvin's hand immediately shielded his eyes. He hasn't seen sunlight in nearly two centuries. It was hurting him.

"Hold on a sec," I tell him as I began to rummage through my purse and I pulled out a pair of sunglasses and handed them to him. "Put these on."

He takes them, his eyes barely open, and slipped them on. After a few seconds he looked up in awe.

"Wow,"he said as he looked around. "These things are amazing," he stated as he tapped the sunglasses. I laughed. At first, I thought he meant what was around us, but the only thing near us were trees and he has seen those before.

"I suppose so," I smile. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," he says as he started to rush straight ahead. Calvin was practically running, and I had a hard time keeping up with him. He was tall, so his strides were longer. As we neared the end of the road, Calvin showed no signs of slowing, even though the road ahead had cars zooming across.

"STOP," I yell when he was about to step onto the busy road. His one foot was on the asphalt and a car was closing in on him. A car horn blared, and Calvin stopped and froze. He had no idea what to do.

I ran as fast as I could and grabbed him by the back of his shirt and yanked him back. We both fall backwards as the car zoomed past us. Calvin landed on top of me and pushed all the air out of my lungs.

"You okay?" I wheezed.

Calvin was shaking, and his fists were clenched to my shirt. He was scared. This was something I was worried about. He was having a hard time processing what had just happened. I reach my arms around and hugged him. Comforting people wasn't something I was familiar with, so I was winging it at this point.

"It's okay. You're okay. Everything is fine," I whisper over and over to him for a few minutes. After a while he stopped shaking and he looked up at me. "Are you hurt?"

He shook his head as he started to move off me. "No. What about you? I didn't mean to fall on you."

"I'm good," I grunted as I sat up. I felt a pain in my lower stomach, but I chose to ignore it. "Next time, do us both a favor. Look both ways before you cross the street."

He nodded quickly. "Yes, I will." Calvin was up on his feet within a second while I was still on the ground catching my breath. As I started to stand, Calvin reached down and offered me his hand. I took it and he pulled me up to my feet. When I was on my feet, I let go of his hands and brushed dirt off of me. "You are going to keep me safe, right?"

"Yeah," I reassured him. He smiled and grabbed my hand, causing me to blush a little.

"I'm not going to let go because you seem like you know what you are doing," he stated with a serious tone.

"Alright then," I nodded as I cleared my throat. "To the shoe store."

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