Part 2

Things get cleared up and Williams is influenced to make a turn on his life thanks to the girl of his dreams.

My phone was ringing, the sound quickly waking me. I fished the device from my pocket and saw the number. I didn't recognize it, but the area code matched where I lived. I tapped the green "answer call" warning and put it to my ear. 

"Hello?" I asked the person. 

"Hi Will, it's Miranda. I know you said you were going to call me...but - I just wanted to ask you a question and found your number through the company directory," said the voice of Miranda. I sat up now. I was both concerned and excited. Why would she go through the effort of finding out how to contact me...and what question could she possibly have? 

"Oh hi Miranda. Sure, what'd you want to ask?" I said sleepily. 

"Oh I'm sorry Will, were you sleeping? I can call back tomorrow if you're sleeping," Mandy said apologetically. I thought about it for a moment. I did want to get back to Nichole, but she would understand if I took a few moments to return. She was usually quite patient with me. 

"No, no don't worry about it. What'd you want to ask?" I urged her.  

"Okay, thanks Will. I just wanted to ask...do you think it'd be okay for me to come over? I know we said that we'd do our date tomorrow, but I'm feeling a little uncomfortable. I just had a big argument with my father and - I...just need somebody to talk to," Miranda said. I was taken a little aback. Why would she call me? Sure I let her talk it out with me at the Christmas party, but that was a fleeting moment and I just happened to be a willing listener. I'm sure anybody who was decent would've lent an ear to a crying woman who had just gotten through being sexually assaulted. 

"I - sure...that'd be fine. Do you need directions?" I asked her. 

"Maybe just your address so I can put it into my GPS. I'm terrible with directions," she admitted.  

"It's 9963 27th Ave NW," I told her. There was brief moment of silence. I could hear her almost speak several times before speaking fluidly again. 

"I'm so sorry to bother you...I - I should just let this blow over. I'm just feeling emotional. Maybe I should call one of my friends from work. I'm sorry Will it's just you were such a good listener and -" she began to ramble. 

"Don't worry about it Miranda. You should come over if you need someone to talk to. I'm not doing anything and I'm more than willing to listen," I reassured her. 

"Okay...thank you so much Will. I'll be there in few minutes. I'll bring something for dinner - anything you prefer?" she asked me. 

"Anything is okay with me, I haven't eaten since lunch," I said to her. 

"Alright, be there in a few. Thanks again Will...this really means so much to me," Mandy said sincerely. I nodded despite her not being able to see, force of habit I suppose. 

"No problem Miranda. I'll be here," I said to her and hung up. I brushed a hand through my hair. Well if she was picking up something to eat before figuring out her way here with her GPS, I supposed that was enough time to talk to Nicci. I felt a pang of guilt as Nicci had just been consoling me. She had done so on so many occasions since my mom died. I readjusted myself and closed my eyes once again.

Again I was in my living room, the same spot I had actually just laid my head down at. Nicci was now sitting on the coffee table, gazing at me with an odd look on her face. 

"Why haven't you talked to me about her?" she asked with disappointment. 

"Who?" I replied stupidly. 

"The girl who's going to come over...the real one," Nicci said as if she was scolding me. 

"Nicci, she's just coming over to talk. She needs somebody to listen to her and I guess she doesn't have a lot of people who would do that for her," I assured her. 

"Come on Will don't omit things. I heard about the date. Why don't we talk about this? We've always been open about things. Why are you starting to try to hide things from me?" Nicci said calmly, but assertively. 

"She's just a friend right now Nicci. Like you said, I need to do better for myself. I need to make friends. I need to interact with other people besides you. I have to overcome my mother's death and keep going with my life...it's what she would've wanted," I said with strength in my voice. It was something I hadn't felt in a while. 

"I want you to be strong - you know that. I know that I might just be your creation, but I won't lie and say it feels that way. I want the best for you, but I'd hope that you don't forget me and that I always have a place here in your mind. I want to continue living and I hope I can continue helping you," Nicci pleaded. 

"Nicci you're saying this like I'm planning to get rid of you. I haven't even gone on a first date with Miranda. I can't know how it's even going to go," I assured her. 

"I know...but I was thinking just in case...about how I can continue to exist here. I really do want to keep living. I mean I honestly want so much to be real and in your world with you, but then I realized - what if our world, the one only you and I share, could be better than the real world? What if sometimes we shared the real world, but more so appreciated our own world," she proposed. I was intrigued to her meaning. 

"How would we do that?" I asked her. 

"I'm learning something you tried to. I've been practicing how to control things," she told me. She turned to the switched off TV behind her and pointed to it. It flickered on as she pointed and my attention was focused intensely on it until I felt a cold chill blow through. It chilled my skin until goose bumps formed and caused a slight shiver in my bones. Quickly I took a look around and found we were now in the middle of a boundless sea of white snow. Little flakes gently fell through the air. They began to gather here and there on her cherry-blonde hair. Her purple dress made a stark contrast to the ivory all around us now. Nicci turned toward me fully with a pleased smile on her face and proceeded to wave her hands over her dress. The color of the garment changed with a wave of matching white. Now she truly looked like a snow queen of whatever winter land she brought us to. 

My eyes widened with surprise at her power. I had always tried to learn the skill of lucid dreaming, even made it my only hobby for a time. I never made it. I always had failed. Now Nicci stood before me, demonstrating she had the power to change things in this place all according to her own will. I was brought to question myself and to question her existence. I had believed her real in her own way, but just so recently she had been the one to question her life and to question my role in it. Now something changed. She was showing that she might've even shifted completely in so little time. She was trying to prove to me she was indeed real, and with her ability to control my dream world...I was inclined to believe her, at least to some extent. 

"I doubted myself before, but I thought about our time together. I thought about how you felt about me and how I felt about you. You were right. I am real. I was wrong to question it. Sure I exist only here, but I do feel alive. I have my own secrets and you have yours. I look into your thoughts, but you know...I wanted to say - I was thinking of maybe not doing that anymore. Perhaps...maybe even if you were to let it be - I could journey to the real world through you," Nicci proposed. My brows furrowed in confusion. 

"What do you mean?" I asked her. Her words seemed almost chilling...matching the surroundings she brought us to. 

"Perhaps on some occasions you could switch places with me. You stick around here and I take the helm," Nicci suggested softly. There was almost a silent begging in its tone. 

"Nicci, be honest and clear with me - what are you saying?" I said to her with concern. 

"Perhaps we can't find a way for us to both be in the real world at the same time just yet, but maybe you could let me have a turn every now and again. Instead of me staying here in your head, maybe if you were comfortable with it...you could stay here and I could be in the real world," she spoke up, but still sounding very timid about it. She really wanted this, but she didn't want to impose. I gave it some thought and was still quite confused at how what she was saying would be possible. She was a part of my subconscious, a resident of my dreams...though now she was showing that she could exert some control of it. It was as if she was diverging off, becoming a separate entity than the rest of my subconscious. It was right then I felt myself turn to ice in the dream. A cold chill filled my veins and I felt my skin turn to jagged frost. 

"William?!" Nicci hollered with concern.

I woke up immediately. I had left the window open. It seemed I had woken at just the right time too, as I heard a car pull up into the drive way. That was likely Miranda. I took in a deep breath. I had to get myself mentally into gear. I was greatly concerned about Nicci. I cared about her, I loved her, but what she was showing herself to be - I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared. I heard three knocks at the front door. 

"Hello?" I said, despite knowing who was there. 

"It's Miranda - sorry I took so long," she said from outside. I slapped myself a few times to get myself to look a little less like I just woke up. I flipped on the TV at a low volume to further craft the illusion that I had been awake. I quickly jogged over to the door and opened it up, directing her in. 

"Hi, Miranda. How was your drive?" I asked her. She stepped in and glanced about before slipping off her shoes and placing the pizza in her hands on the counter. 

"It was fine, the guy making the pizza forgot so it was cold. I had him make another one. I'm sorry to interrupt your evening - I know we were going to go out tomorrow...I just needed someone to talk to and -" she began explain herself again. I waved my hand and shook my head. 

"Don't worry about it Miranda. I understand. I'm willing to listen, it's really no problem," I told her as sincerely as I could. The thoughts about Nicci currently clouded my thoughts but I was trying my damndest to put that on the backburner for now. 

"Thank you William...you're a great person," she said with a warm smile. I smiled back and shrugged. I was getting the feeling I had when she had surprised me earlier. There was a warmth in my stomach that overcame the coldness that Nicci had given to me with the display of her power. 

"I don't know about that...but I try to be," I said humbly. I strolled back over to the couch and took a seat, Miranda followed just after with the pizza. 

"Nice place you have, it's very...organized," Miranda complimented...I think. 

"Thanks I...uhh...try to keep it prim and proper mostly," I said with a nervous laugh. 

"Oh I only say that because my place is such a mess. I'm more of an organized mess kind of person. It looks like World War III and a tornado both happened to my apartment at once - but I do know where everything is somehow," she explained. A moment of silence passed before she decided to pop open the pizza box and take a slice out. She didn't bother to ask for a plate, paper before she went for her first bite. Likewise I went at my first slice as she did. 

"Thanks for dinner. I was probably going to have ramen and diet coke as usual," I joked. 

"Oh so that's how you keep that figure of yours," Miranda teased. I cocked a brow, looking over myself. I wasn't exactly fat, but I wasn't athletic or had very much in the way of muscular definition. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" I said playfully. 

"Nothing rude, just that - well...that's hardly the diet of a body builder," Miranda continued. I shrugged. 

"It's the diet of somebody who makes lousy checks at J.L. Nicks. With all the tablets, computers, and so on that I sell to companies and schools - you'd think I'd be worth a little more," I replied. 

"I know what you mean...although my work is difficult in the area of helping the people figure out the products that you've sold them. Usually starts and ends with many of them turning the device off and on...that or plugging the damn thing in for a recharge," she said with a laugh. I laughed with her and we both took another slice. I felt the small talk was enough to get things warmed up to the more serious topic she came here for. 

"So what happened with your dad?" I questioned her straight out. 

"It's kind of embarrassing...it was about my ex-boyfriend and I - I don't want to be talking about this with you right before we were going to go out for a date, but it's -" Miranda began to fumble with her words again. 

"You can talk to me Mandy - it's okay. Like I said, I want to listen," I reassured her. 

"I know - I know...sorry. I just don't want to be asking too much before we've even got the first date on the books. I don't want to scare you away," she admitted. 

"Honestly it'd take a lot for me to be scared of you," I joked. She smiled. 

"Jerk. Alright, I'll just go ahead. My ex-boyfriend was sort of arranged for me. He was the son of my one of my dad's good friends. My dad...well...he's not - he's involved in business with some not-so-reputable people. They're the kind of people that get their hands into less than legal activity. They're not gangsters...not mafia or anything like that. They're more of the white-collar variety of illegal activity. More insider trading and stuff like that than being straight-up thugs - though I guess what they do makes them thugs in their own right," Miranda explained. 

"Right," I responded simply. 

"So we were talking about what's going on. I...I mentioned about going out with you and he argued with me about going to see my ex-boyfriend again to patch things up. I said no and he began to yell at me that not everything was about my feelings and that sometimes a family member has to make bigger decisions for the better of the family. He said I was thinking like an individual instead of a daughter with a sister, brother, and a mom and dad. I yelled back at him saying he was yelling at me for what in actually he himself is doing. I said in not so kind words that his wants and desires as an individual did not equal out to desires and wants of the family. I argued loudly with him that he was directing the family the way he wants it to be in order to fit the dream he always wanted and I told him that it will never be as perfect as it is in his little world," Miranda spilled out. 

"That doesn't sound overly harsh, but I can understand if he wasn't comfortable with that. What did he say next?" I asked her. I was brought to think very much about Nicci. 

"He told me that if that's how I felt then I shouldn't talk to him anymore and that my words were like acid - which is funny because he's always asking me to tell him how I feel. I tell him now and he shuts me down and tells me not to talk to him. He never said that when I was speaking praises of him, but the one time I argue against him or disagree I immediately become some individualist against the family," Miranda said, a strange anger and bitter frustration in her tone I hadn't seen much of in her before besides the one time she had spoken to me about what Phil had done. I wondered briefly if there was more to her tale of being angry that she had not yet spoken of. 

"Did he give you any chance to talk more or did he cut you off there?" I asked next. 

"No he hung up after that. Then he called back and left a nasty message on my voicemail. He said how useless I was and how bad of an influence I was on my brother and sister. This is all after I left him a voice mail about wanting to continue our conversation in a way without either of us being angry. In the message he sent back...he used many things I've told him about myself in confidence as ammunition against me. It's the exact reason why I have been so hesitant to speak to him because he so easily takes times I've confided in him to use against me when he gets mad," she continued on.  

I found it quite easy to detach myself emotionally from her story and try and look at the big picture. It was a skill that came easy to me, even before I lost my mother. It didn't mean I was no longer empathetic or understanding, but merely that I felt I was able to not let the emotions corrupt my logic or vice versa. I was able to look at the fine details of the picture painted, but also able to take a few steps back and look at how they all came together. 

"He sounds like he has a lot of his own issues, issues that probably have nothing to do with you. I don't mean to pry, but you seem like you're willing to share...what is your dad's past like?" I asked her. Still though, it felt strange playing the neutral-feeling therapist to someone. I had no experience in such things and I knew from my times of introspection that I had plenty of my own mental issues. I was just trying my best to somehow be supportive yet pragmatic at the same time. Often I found others to be too much involved with one or the other. I couldn't say if I ever managed to find the balance of being supportive and pragmatic in situations like this, but it's what I try and shoot for when I am trusted to listen to someone's problems. 

"Well I dunno...I guess his dad treated him like s**t for what little he knew of the guy. His dad was killed too...got shot down by a cop while he was resisting arrest. I never got to meet my grandpa. As for my grandma, she was always nice but never did much with her life so they lived mostly in the ghetto. She was the only family my dad had. I guess it was because of her that my dad didn't turn out completely like his dad," she answered. I nodded. Miranda was so open, so willing to let me listen to some of what sounded like the deeper secrets of her life. This wasn't the kind of stuff one just shared with strangers - yet I mainly knew her from a Christmas party, office small talk, and whatever time we spent together right now. Why was she so comfortable to share with me?  

"I'm sure it's not just his mother that turned him away from being a deadbeat like his father. I'd put a good bet on it that you are one of the people that helped him stay away from becoming what his dad had become. His life, no matter how or if he shows it, is better because you are in it," I assured her seriously. She glanced away as I tried to comfort her. 

"You're so kind Will. I'm sorry about this. You barely know me and here I am telling you much more than you probably wanted to hear on a Friday night," she said to me. It almost made me feel guilty to see how grateful she was to have me listen to her. She reached out to touch my hand and I felt myself jolt. It was like a knee jerk reaction. I slightly gasped, but quickly regained my composure. Luckily she didn't much notice my response to her touch. I had been with many girls, but I had dropped out of the market after my mother was taken from me. I didn't spend the time even thinking about dating or romance until halfway into my time with Nicci. 

"What's your dream?" I asked her, putting my other hand on hers. Her brow rose a little. 

"What do you mean?" Miranda questioned. I thought again of Nicci and then of the idea of Miranda's father and his dream of a perfect family. 

"What's something you dream of having or accomplishing? It can be anything - maybe something that isn't possible even," I clarified. Her expression of surprise didn't change. 

"Oh well...I don't know - kind of put me on the spot here," Miranda said unsurely. I shrugged my shoulders. 

"Take as long as you need, I'm curious," I told her truthfully. She shrugged in response. 

"Well okay then...just a minute," Mandy said and held up her index finger and I nodded, waiting in the momentary silence. 

"I guess now that I think about it...it's not a whole lot different than what my dad's dream. I want to have a family. I want a loving partner and financial grounds for me and my partner to stand on so we can have children," she said with an almost giddy looking smile on her face. I nodded quietly and glanced over to a picture of my mom that I had near to the television. She was lighter skinned than myself. Her eyes were lighter too. She had flowing brown hair and bright green eyes. My eyes and hair were more like my dad's, dark black hair and plain brown eyes. My skin wasn't as dark as my dad's but it definitely told that I was of mixed descent. The last name Valdez all but confirmed it for most people. 

"What about you?" she asked me as we had briefly sat in silence. She glanced over to where I had been staring. 

"I want my mom back," I said melancholically. I hadn't even realized I had spoken out loud until I saw Miranda's reaction. 

"I'm..." she began, not knowing what to say. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so grim - I...it's still difficult for me right now when I think about it. I don't mean to -" I began to apologize. She came closer to me and wrapped her arms around me.  

"It's okay," she said warmly. I let out a relieved breath. I hadn't known her that well, but I wanted to get to know her much better after our time tonight. She was the help I needed. Nichole was something of a fantasy to keep me somewhat functional, but like Nicci herself said, or at least was implying - she wasn't real. I needed something tangible, something achievable in real life. If I could bring Nicci to the real world perhaps I would try to go further with her, because without her I would've been lost completely. She'll always be in that world though...trapped inside my mind, almost like a prison. 

"Thank you," I said and returned Miranda's embrace. A few quiet moments passed and she let go. 

"You know, you were kind enough to listen to me when you didn't have to - and you did that for me on more than one occasion. If you need someone to talk to...I'm more than willing," Mandy told me with sincerity. I knew she meant it. I could see in her eyes a comforting warmth, like a fireplace on Christmas. 

"She...called in the night. She called to say she loved me and that she was proud of me. It was the last words I had from her. I tried to respond, but the line cut out right after. I wanted to tell her I loved her too, but she didn't get to hear me tell her. She had just been going out and her car was struck by a drunk driver and the pair of them crashed into a tank truck. The cars...they were little more than charred metal and melted flesh left of them by the time I got there. I tried to talk to my sister about it but she was too busy...even at mom's funeral she was too busy to talk. I had nobody...I've felt so...alone," I said, speaking as truthfully to Miranda as she had spoke to me. 

"I'm so sorry William...if I'd known I would've -" Mandy said with pity and held my hand with both of hers. The thought triggered the memory, the memory of a dream. I wasn't alone, not completely. It was in my deepest loneliness that Nicci came to me in my dreams. She made me laugh and we had fun. Our conversations were lighter natured although she let me talk about what happened if I felt the need to. We went to all sorts of places - saw the simplistic beauty of the lake park and hiked across forests and jungles. We drove fast down an empty two-lane desert highway and journeyed to see the magnificent rocks and structures that reminded me much of the time I had went to the Grand Canyon with my mom and sister. 

"You don't need to be sorry...you had no way of knowing. It was a difficult loss for me...I don't know how coherent I would've been anyway. In the state I was in, even my subconscious needed time to process when I was feeling," I said, thinking of Nicci's cherry blonde hair whipping along as we had sped down the desert highway with the top down. It wasn't real life, but it sure as hell felt like a real, enjoyable memory. Thinking about it more and more I began to realize how much Nicci had done for me where people in the real world had been absent or otherwise couldn't have helped me. 

"Still...I wish I could've been there for you," Miranda said sadly. Yet now I realized too that I wasn't alone in either the real world or the one inside my head. The feeling though that washed over me was an odd mixture of guilt and happiness. Nicci somehow still felt real to me despite me knowing she was just a dream character. She seemed more than that. She had thoughts, feelings, and more. We've had deep and shallow conversations and there's been plenty of times she disagreed with me and had her own views on the world she unfortunately couldn't ever be a part of. 

"You're here now," I said to her gratefully. I was glad to have Miranda here though, as much as Nicci seemed to fill my thoughts. I pushed those thoughts aside and glanced over her quietly.  

"Well damn...I want another slice of pizza after all that," I joked and grabbed another slice, it no longer being as hot as it was. I hoped this would lighten the mood a little. A small smile formed and I registered an appreciative laugh. It seemed to me she agreed with the change in mood. 

"You know some more pizza doesn't sound so bad," she said with a bigger smile and grabbed another piece. I thumbed over my shoulder and nodded my head towards the same direction. 

"I've got beers too if you want," I declared. A nod quickly came by. 

"Oh definitely," Mandy answered. 

A few hours passed and we watched a couple of movies, agreeing to one "man flick" and one "chick flick". With the mood lightened it was easier for us to have simpler conversations filled more with laughter and less of pity and moody introspection. It was something I really needed, something I hadn't had in the real world in some time. Eventually though Miranda grew tired and decided to head back to her house. She said it was a nice first date that had gone differently and earlier than planned. That being said, as a first date she didn't want to take it too far and sleep over. I agreed, though it mattered not to me - if she had wanted a place to sleep I would've had it for her. I guess sleeping in someone's house overnight as an adult was basically synonymous with sex for some reason, a thing that I still had found strange. 

I myself found myself quite tired now. I had gotten myself tucked into bed, a feeling of great relief as I had gotten myself covered with blankets to warm myself up from the cold of the night and the light sounding patter of rain to play as a gentle ambience. I closed my eyes and not too much later I was asleep. 

 

I was amongst the clouds. The clouds themselves felt like memory foam under my feet. I was almost certain this wasn't how clouds worked, but regardless I kept on. This was a dream after all. What point was there to argue logic? A bright light glimmered in the sky a little bit above and when I came to glance I saw Nicci. She was adorned with majestic wings and a vibrant ring of gold above the top of her head, a halo. 

"Feeling a bit divine are you?" I joked at her. 

"I was thinking about dreams. I was listening to your talk with Miranda...sorry," she said to me. I shrugged. I wasn't sure why she thought I would really have a problem with her listening. 

"What were you thinking, my angel?" I said, half-joke and half-endearment. She flew down and touched her feet onto the cloud I was standing on. 

"I was thinking about what my dreams are. It strange to think that though. I'm part of a dream myself, but yet I found myself thinking of my own aspirations. What is my dream? What do I want?" she questioned. 

"What does a dream, dream?" I asked her. She smiled at my question and once again I felt like something indeed divine was smiling at me. 

"I thought for a second that it was purely to be real, but then I knew that it wasn't as simple or as selfish as that. I wanted to be real for you. I want you to be happy...that's my dream. I want you to get over your mother's accident. I want you to forgive yourself for something you had no control over. I want you to be with Miranda because she seems so right for you. It was difficult to acknowledge and realize this but...I came to be when you were on hard times and you were alone. You and I both know truly where I come from," she said to me. Once again I found Nichole was pulling at my heartstrings. I knew she wasn't lying, but it felt so...humbling to hear how her desires were simply for me to be happy. I reflected on the time we had spent together and the recent actual confession of love, a confession that continued to show through in her words even now. I couldn't find myself believing she wasn't indeed an actually sentient entity separate from my own creation. There's no way I'd be so kind to myself. 

"I really wish I could bring you into the real world Nicci," I said to her with some guilt. 

"It's okay William. You have someone in the real world, one who's even better than me: Miranda," she said to me. It was strange to hear. The girl of my dreams was telling me that another girl was better than her. I sighed. I didn't know Miranda extremely well, but from the times she's been around me I was always happier when she was there.  

"What about you though? I care about you. I love you Nicci. What will you do?" I asked her with concern. She smiled, again in a way I almost couldn't look at as it only made my guilt stronger. She had done so much for me. What could I do for her in return? 

"The world that I live in, your mind - like we've said before, it's a much nicer place to be in when you're happy. I can change the surroundings all I want, but you control the weather...the mood. What you need to do for me in return is to love yourself, because in that way you'll be loving me as well," she said. It was then something strange happened. She was lucid in many ways. She was lucid in that she was brightly shining within with a light that almost made everything appear clearer. She was lucid in that I understood her desires and her creation. It was then I realized that the dream was in my control. I too was lucid dreaming now. 

I gave myself a pair of wings like Nicci's and flew high up, Nicci following just after me. I hollered in anxious excitement. We both laughed as we rushed through the cold wind of the skies until finally I caught up with her. It was then I decided to change our surroundings and I shifted everything to become a majestic castle. There I was as a knight and Nicci was now a crowned princess. She smiled. 

"This seems familiar," she said, unsure of herself. 

"I can't believe it. We can control the dream together," I said joyously.  

"And if need be I can change too," Nichole told me. She waved a hand in front of her face and suddenly her face was Miranda's. 

"What? Why would I want you to change?" I replied simply. 

"I don't know. Could just be for fun. You try it," she suggested. I shrugged and tried to visualize my face being like that of Clint Eastwood. 

"There are two kinds of people in this world. Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig," I said, changing my voice to also match. The Miranda-faced Nicci laughed at the quote. She was a big fan of Clint Eastwood movies so I figured The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly was good enough to pick a line from. We both changed our faces back to how they normally would be. 

"I think this can be good. I can live like this," Nicci said to me. 

"Me too...now that we can both lucid dream - this will be lots of fun," I agreed. 

"Just make sure when you wake up and go on that second date with Miranda that you don't botch it up. I can tell she's a winner," Nichole encouraged me. I nodded with a smile. 

"I'll try not to," I said with a laugh.

Author's Note

If you see any grammar/spelling problems be sure to let me know. Hope you enjoy your time reading!