Free Barbie World (Baby Doll Series) by Heidi Acosta

now to bring me back to that feeling
    I listen to the soothing sound of his breathing; my own matching his while our hearts beat in sync. I revel in the stolen moment. Nuzzling my nose into his shirt, I take a deep breath, breathing in the sweet smell of cut grass mixed with the sharp smell of his soap. He is warm against me with his arm draped over me and his hand holding onto my elbow. I don’t know when I stopped crying or when we both fell asleep, but Dylan’s truck is still running and the sun now shines through the windows, warming my face. I hadn’t been ready to go back to Dylan’s house and he’d understood, letting me cry and not saying a word or expecting any in from me.
    The vibration from Dylan’s phone in his pocket jerks me from my memories. He stirs and I sit up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Dylan moans and reaches in his pocket, answering his phone.
    “Hello,” he says groggily into the phone before he bolts up, wide awake “Mom… Yes, ma’am… Mom… No, ma’am… I am okay… Yes, she is okay, too… Her old house… Mom, I am sorry. We feel asleep… No… Mom… In my truck… I am sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you… Yeah…Okay, we will be home in ten… Mom… Okay… I love you, too.” He ends the call and stuffs the phone back into his pocket. “She is really mad.” He looks at me with his eyes puffy from sleep.
    My stomach does a flip. I blush and look away before I try to kiss him into being fully awake. We stop at the only coffee shop in town to order caramel coffees with whip cream and chocolate drizzle. A few giant chocolate chip cookies finish our order. Yummy. We both need the caffeine and sugar fix before we have to face the wrath of Mrs. Knight.
    We drive in silence, sipping on our coffee and nibbling on the cookies. I hold my coffee in my hands, letting the heat from the cup burn them slightly. “Thank you for everything,” I say, glancing at him. His hair is messier than usual and his eyes still hold an adorable sleepy look.
    “What are friends for?” He grins. Yeah, friends. I blush, remembering the way I straddled him and the desire for him to touch me is back. Just friends, I remind myself. What happened last night can never happen again.
    Mrs. Knight meets us on the front porch, arms flailing about, yelling before we even take the first step onto the porch.
    “Mom, I said I am sorry. We didn’t mean to. It was just Barbie was upset and—”
    She turns to me. Her face softening as she pulls me into a hug. “I knew something was up when Dylan was practically barricading me from entering your room last night.” She holds onto me.
    I glance up at Dylan who is very interested in a rock under his toe. “I am sorry.” I squeeze my eyes shut.
    “I should have listened to my gut and not my heart.” She shoots Dylan a look. What was that for? She holds me out at arm’s length and her soft, brown eyes examine mine. “Why did you leave? You could have told me that you needed to go back to that house,” she says “that” like it is a dirty word.
    “I am sorry,” I repeat lamely.
    “Barbie, promise me you will never do anything like that again. I have to be able to trust that you are safe.”
    I nod my head. It feels heavy on my neck. “I got the closure I needed,” I lie. Closure is the farthest thing I got. If anything, I have more unanswered questions and loose ends that need to be tied up.
    She pulls me to her again. “It is okay. I understand that you needed that. I am getting you a cell phone. You need a cell phone,” she says. “Come on, I will make you guys some breakfast.” She pulls me into the house and I pray that Dylan will not notice my legs shaking as I struggle to walk.
    Mrs. Knight lets us both off with warnings and a heavy dose of guilt that sits funny with me. Trust. It is never something I needed to earn. It was never something I had. I still don’t. However, Mrs. Knight wrapped it up in a nice little package and gave it to me. It