Carry You Home.

For the first few days being back in California, Josh and McKinley hid out in his 'tree house'. Josh seemed to be determined to have sex on every square inch of the house despite of his roommate, Andre's protests. But eventually they stopped, settling into a homey rhythm that included taking up when the sun was high in the sky, McKinley finding something to feed them, sometimes Andre would join them but he spent most of his time working on an organization he co-founded with Avan and their mutual friend Heather. They'd spend the rest of their day talking while alternating between lounging in the living room and the large amount of outdoor living space.

They finally went out the day of McKinley's nineteenth birthday. Despite her protesting, Josh had an entire day planned for them, starting with breakfast in bed and ending with a night tour of Alcatraz. She was perfectly happy snuggling up on the couch again, but she could tell that Josh had been itching to get out, as much as he says he likes doing nothing, he likes being productive way more.

So after McKinley picked at the waffles Josh had made her in bed, she joined him in the shower, secretly wishing she was still in bed, buried underneath the mounds of covers that she had piled onto his bed over the last couple of days.

Regardless of what the weather app on McKinley' phone said, she layered her outfit, tank, cropped sweater, cardigan, knit leggings. Warm and toasty.

"You didn't like the waffles?" Josh asked McKinley when he noticed that the tray was still sitting in the middle of the bed, the food on it looked like it had barely been touched.

"No, I did. I'm just not that hungry," she explained.

"Are you feeling okay. You've been saying that you're cold. Maybe you're catching something," Josh felt McKinley's cheeks as well as her forehead as McKinley shrugged her shoulders. "Want to stay home? We don't have to do anything, if you don't want to."

"No," McKinley said quickly. "You planned this whole day; I don't want to ruin it."

McKinley gave Josh a reassuring smile and a quick peck on the corner of his mouth before pulling out the front door and towards his motorcycle. Josh hadn't taken her out on it and she was excited to be on the back of it, front pressed against Josh's back while the air whipped at her clothing.

Josh planned things that he knew McKinley wanted to do, the simple things like visiting La Brea Tar Pits, checking out the Hollywood Sign and the Walk of Fame, eating lunch on Olvera Street then making the five hour drive all the way to Alcatraz.

McKinley slept most of the drive, walking around drained most of her energy, faking that she felt alright drained the rest of it.

"Let’s just go back to the hotel, you're obviously not feeling well," Josh says as the ferry arrives to take us to the island.

McKinley shakes her head. "We drove all this way, we're going on that damn tour."

The tour was spooky at night and McKinley clung tight to Josh's side, using him as support in case her legs gave out. At one point she thought she could hear birds chirping near the infamous Birdman's cell, but she dismissed it quickly, blaming it on her nerves.

McKinley fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, she didn't bother changing into pajamas, and she simply took off her shoes, threw her purse onto the table near the window and slipped underneath the covers, feeling Josh place kisses along her forehead and her cheeks.

*

"McKinley, Baby, wake up," Josh jostled McKinley lightly to wake her up.

"What?" McKinley asked sleepily, rolling over to cuddle against Josh's chest.

"Are you okay? You're burning up and it sounded like you were having trouble breathing.

McKinley sat up in bed, pushing her bangs, damp with sweat, off her forehead. She could feel the tank top underneath her sweater and cardigan was soaked, but she remained cold. "I must have had a bad dream," she shrugged out of her layer of clothing. "I think I'm going to take a bath, go back to sleep."

"Can I join you?" Josh wiggled his eye brows as he jumped off the bed to follow McKinley into the bathroom.

McKinley nestled her back up against Josh's chest as they sat in the giant tub surrounded by steaming water and bubbles. Her legs stretched out as Josh's were bent, allowing McKinley to rest her small hands on top of his knees. Josh ran his wet fingertips along her slim, white arms, his placed random kisses on the top of her head every now and then.

Josh continued to ask McKinley if she was okay, and she'd reassure him that she was, blaming her sudden illness on the new atmosphere. But that was a load of bullshit. McKinley knew what was wrong, the signs had been there for a while, the symptoms were just hitting all at once now. She knew that this would happen, she'd find something, or someone, that would make her happy and it would get torn away from her with ease. It wasn't fair, but then again neither was life.