Road trip (9)

(James' POV)

A week had passed since we received the letter, Lilla sent one back to let her parents know that we would be visiting them that day. We had our things packed and I was getting some dog toys in my backpack when she came in our room.

"W-wait, why are you...?", she pointed at the toys. "We're not taking the dogs with us".

I laughed, "come on, Lilly".

"I'm serious, they can't be in that neighborhood and you know how my dad feels about them", she started breathing heavily and I could tell she was about to cry. I knew I should've hugged her and told her it was okay but I couldn't understand what she thought we were supposed to do with them.

"We'll be out of the city for a week! They need food, water, someone to take them outside and take care of them, what were you thinking?", I raised my voice out of frustration, I didn't know what to do.

She started sobbing, "I'm sorry, I didn't think about that".

"Of course you didn't, because you've never had to be responsible and take care of anything more than your perfect hair and nails", I regretted those words as soon as they left my mouth.

"I-I'm sorry", she left the room, tears rolling down her cheeks.

I took a deep breath and followed her. "Lilla, I'm sorry", I sat on the couch and hugged her. I was scared of what I would wear to impress her parents, what I would say if they found out I was transgender, what I would have to act like around them; right now I had one more problem to think about: what were we going to do with Moon and Star? "We need to figure this out or you can go on your own, they can't be alone for a week".

Lilla looked at me, "don't make me go alone, I don't think I can take it".

I started thinking about our options, there probably were people we could pay to to take care of them but it wasn't safe to let a stranger get in our house and we needed someone to get there as soon as possible, we were supposed to leave soon. I got my phone and started looking for a friend or anyone that would be willing to help us. "Cece, of course!".

She looked confused, "who's Cece?".

"Celine, the girl from the shelter. She could help us", I replied and started typing.

"Ohh... She texted me a few times wanting to know how the dogs were doing, I think she's still attached to them, it could work".

I nodded and got a fast reply from the girl. "She can! She says she could come once a day to feed them and check on them".

"Okay, that's good". Lilla hugged me and I kissed her cheek.

We waited for Celine to get there so we could give her the keys and show her the house; Moon and Star were excited to see her too and I was relieved to know that they would be okay. We got ready to go and said goodbye to Cece and the dogs, then we got in the car and started driving to Rogerdale.

"Hey, love? I'm sorry for freaking out. I shouldn't have said that to you", I looked down.

She nodded, "it's okay".

"It wasn't okay, can you forgive me?", I asked, nervously playing with my fingers.

"I forgive you, daddy". She took my hand, her eyes still on the road while driving.

I smiled, still feeling bad for what I said. Half an hour passed and all we could see were trees, trees and more trees; it wasn't too entertaining but we knew we needed to enjoy it while it lasted, the city was going to be loud and stressful. Lilla had been quiet for a while and I looked at her, trying to figure out what she could be thinking about, her long lashes looked beautiful in the sunlight and I noticed she was chewing on her lips, which made them turn bright red, matching the strawberry print light teal dress she was wearing that day, falling just above her knees. "Are you nervous too?", I asked.

"A little bit... I haven't been in my old house for more than a year", she let out a quiet sigh.

I gently rubbed her back, "it'll be okay, daddy's with you".

She smiled, "I'm a bit tired, do you think we could stop for a few minutes?".

"We can, we should eat something too since we're not going to get there until dinner time", I looked for my backpack while she found a place to stop.

"It's pretty over there, we can sit under that tree", she said and we got off the car, I brought the sandwiches I had made that morning for our trip and two water bottles. We sat under the tree and appreciated the view for a few minutes, the cold breeze making the flowers dance. We closed our eyes and enjoyed the silence. "I wish we could stay here", her eyes on me.

"Me too... but no matter where we are, as long as we're together, we're going to be okay". We smiled and I gave her a sandwich, getting one for me after kissing her forehead. We let the silence invade our minds and help us stay calm; when we felt ready, we went back to the car and kept driving. A couple hours passed before we started to see some buildings, something made the city feel familiar to me but I couldn't tell what it was...