But it was all Genesis who decided where she wanted to sleep.
I once fell asleep on the couch, and she woke me in the middle of the night, telling me to get up and come to bed with her.
Then, one other night, I told her that we should try sleeping separately, which ended in her first ever crying and screaming fit.
It took a while to calm her down, and I wondered if it was my mistake that I had let her sleep with me all this time, but then I thought back to the days she had no one close, and all I wanted for her was to feel protected and loved.
We got into bed, and after I pulled the covers over our bodies, she moved closer and wrapped her arm around my waist, and put her leg over my legs.
I placed my hand on her back and closed my eyes.
“Tomorrow’s a new day,” I promised. “Sleep tight. I love you.”
“I love you too,” she whispered, not realizing what those words would once mean to us.
Twelve years later
The day Otis came home with a bright smile on his face and keys to his new RV in his hand, was one of the most exciting ones in my life.
He was still working at the same company, but after coming home one day, he suggested to take a year off and go on a road trip.
Of course, I was into the idea of seeing new places and driving around all the time, but that wasn’t happening in his old car.
That’s why he started to look online for a RV we could use.
One with a bed and small bathroom in it, so we wouldn’t have to stop every time we needed to go to the bathroom. Or sleep.
He bought one early this year, and up until last week, the start of summer break, he was working on it daily to make it as homey as possible.
He did a great job with it, and I was excited to spend one full year with him, exploring and learning new things.
We were leaving tomorrow morning, and our first destination was Ottawa.
Not too far away.
I graduated, but college wasn’t on my radar.
Not yet.
I had enough of sitting behind a desk and listening to teachers talk all day without ever actually getting their point across.
My friend invited me to go spend the summer with them in Miami.
I had never been anywhere else other than Roberval.
This was the place I grew up in, and leaving was never on my mind.
Especially not without Otis.
Our bond had always been strong, even if it didn’t seem that way at first.
I was three years old when I first went to live with him, and he often told me stories about me and how I behaved.
I was dull.
Boring.
Didn’t talk much.
But I had always loved Otis, and he was always right there by my side to raise me to the woman I have become.
I was eight when I first told him that I would marry him one day, not understanding the concept of marriage or how relationships worked.
But no matter who he was to me, and no matter how twisted and warped it was, I couldn’t stop loving him.
It was natural.
I heard the front door open, and as I turned around, I saw Otis walk in with a bag of groceries in his hands.
“That was quick,” I said with a smile, walking over to him. “What did you get?”
I grabbed the bag from his hands and looked inside.
“Some snacks and sodas. We can buy food on the go, so nothing goes bad while we’re on the road.”
He ran his hand through his dark hair, and after taking off his shoes, he smiled at me.
“Tomorrow we’ll finally leave town. Are you excited?”
He knew I was, and this new adventure of ours would bring us even closer together.
There was just one bed in the RV.
We had to share because there was no other option.
“Very. I can’t wait!”
I walked back to the kitchen and placed the bag on the table.
“You can leave everything in there. We can store it into the cupboards in the RV tomorrow,” he told me.
“Okay. I packed the rest of our things after you left. I wasn’t sure you wanted to take every item with you, but I figured with all the space we have left underneath the bed, there won’t be any problem.”
We didn’t have much anyway.
“Sounds good.” He placed a hand on my lower back and kissed my temple. “Let’s watch one last movie before there’s no more tv for a while.”
I leaned into him and nodded.
Although I had grown a lot through puberty, Otis was almost two heads taller than me.
Luckily, the bed we’d sleep in was long enough for him, but with me next to him, there wasn’t much space left.
We got to the couch and sat down, and after the tv was on and a movie had been chosen, I cuddled up to him with my arm around his waist and my leg over his.
There was nothing wrong with us cuddling and him holding me.
This was normal to us.
This was what I knew, what I grew up with.
But lately, there was this strange voice in my head telling me to see him not as the person who raised me, but as a person I had a crush on.
Although it was legal, most people still wouldn’t agree with this.
That’s why I kept my feelings for him to myself.
At school, girls often talked about their crushes and boyfriends, and all I ever did was sit through those conversations, quietly listening and never saying a word.
Otis was my one.
I knew it since I was eight.
His hand rubbed my back, and I gripped his shirt tightly, taking in his woodsy scent.
Otis was a handsome man, and at thirty-nine, he wasn’t married with kids like most men his age were.
I knew about his bachelor years before I came along.
He was a player.
A guy who loved taking women home and showing them a good time, only to then send them home in the morning without ever giving them a second thought.
I was glad those days were over, but I also wondered why he never felt the need to go out and date.
We were home every night, spent time together after school and work, and were never apart for more than twelve hours.
“Otis?” I turned to look up at him, and his eyes moved down to meet mine.
“Yes, Genesis?”
Him saying my name made me smile.
It was the name he chose for me, and I remember not really knowing what to think of it.
But sure enough, I started to like it, and I thought it fit me and my strange looks.
My friends at school often picked on me, but it never turned into full-on bullying, which I was happy about.
But then, kids in Roberval weren’t as crazy as the ones in bigger cities.
Most of them were nice, and the ones who didn’t wanna be your friend just got out of your way.
That simple.
“If I ever move out, will you find yourself a girlfriend or a wife?”
His brows furrowed. “Why would I want that?”
“To not be alone,” I replied with a shrug.
He studied my face, then brushed back my hair.
“Are you saying you wanna move out once we’re back from our road trip?” he asked quietly, wrapping a strand of hair around his long fingers.
“No, that’s not what I want. But I mean…what if? What if I wasn’t here?”
“Then I’d probably still be the same Otis as I am now.” He paused and cupped my cheek gently.
“You changed me, Genesis. The moment you came into my life I knew I had to change something about myself. And I’m glad I did.”