He sat next to her, appearing surprisingly chipper. The map was on his lap, folded in just the right way so their path was sitting faceup, and he had a can of Red Bull in his hand. So far on the trip, he had yet to yawn or sleep or even complain of being tired.
“Great,” Harper said, but that was at least partially a lie. She was fading, and the highway seemed to stretch on in an eternal blackness that made her eyelids heavy.
“You sure?” Daniel asked. “Because I can take the wheel. You’ve been driving this entire time, and it wouldn’t hurt to trade off.”
She shook her head. “I’m fine.”
There was no real reason not to let Daniel drive, except that it made her feel a bit more in control of the situation. She wasn’t, really. Gemma had run off and turned into a monster, and there was nothing Harper could do about it.
But she could drive the car. She could keep them moving in the direction of her sister, and that was the best she could do right now.
“Let me know if you do get too tired,” Daniel said. “I’ll be happy to take over.”
“I’m fine,” Harper repeated.
There were hardly any cars on the road. It was a completely open stretch of highway, devoid of streetlights or houses. The car window was down, and Harper could smell the nearby ocean.
The moonlight shone down on them, and the yellow lines in the middle of the road began to blur.
“Whoa!” Daniel said loudly. The car suddenly jerked to the side, and Harper’s eyes flew open. His hand was on the steering wheel, guiding it so they didn’t drive off the road.
“What’s going on?” Alex asked, sounding panicked in the backseat. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, Harper’s just pulling over now,” Daniel said, his hand still on the wheel.
“I’m fine,” Harper repeated, now wide awake after nearly crashing the car.
“Nope, you’re falling asleep at the wheel,” Daniel said. “Pull over.” He wasn’t demanding, exactly, but there was a forcefulness to his tone, and Harper was too tired to argue with him. Besides, he was right.
“Who will check the map?” Harper asked as she parked the car on the side of the road. “I don’t want to get lost again.”
“Alex can handle it,” Daniel said. “He’s had a nap, and I have an extra can of Red Bull he can drink.”
“What’s going on?” Alex asked, still groggy and confused.
Daniel had opened the passenger door to get out, but he turned back to Alex. “Hop out. You’re up. It’s your turn as navigator. Harper’s gonna sleep in the backseat for a while.”
Reluctantly, Harper got out of the driver’s seat, and before she slid in the back, she warned Alex that if he got them lost again, she would literally kill him. She sprawled out in the backseat, expecting sleep to come slowly, but she was out within minutes.
Up front, Daniel and Alex started talking, and Harper would drift in and out of sleep, catching bits of their conversation. Most of it was mundane, and there was a bit where Daniel was apparently attempting to explain some kind of sporting event to Alex, and then Harper was asleep again.
She woke up again, and would’ve fallen right back to sleep like she had before, but then she heard her name, and she opened her eyes.
“Harper’s just that way,” Alex was saying. “You can’t take it personally.”
“I’m not,” Daniel said, but he sounded a bit defensive. “Well. I don’t know. I try not to.”
“She’s just a control freak,” Alex said. “And I mean that in the nicest way possible.”
“Is she sleeping?” Daniel asked.
Alex turned to look in the backseat, and Harper closed her eyes quickly before he could see that she was awake. If they were talking about her, she wanted to hear what they had to say.
“Yeah, she’s out,” Alex said. “I kinda can’t believe she’s sleeping. The last week must’ve been really hard on her.”
“It definitely has,” Daniel agreed. “Every time I see her, she just seems so exhausted and sad.”
“Hopefully, when Gemma comes home she’ll feel better,” Alex said.
“Yeah, I hope so.”
The boys lapsed into a silence, and Harper decided to try to sleep again. If they weren’t saying anything interesting, it would be better for her to get some rest. She wanted to be wide awake when they found Gemma.
“How long have you known Harper?” Daniel asked, and the sound of her name perked her up again.
“Um, I don’t know exactly,” Alex answered. “I think, like, ten years or so. Why?”
“I don’t know,” Daniel replied quickly. “No reason. I was just curious.”
“Oh,” Alex said. “How long have you known her?”
“A few months,” Daniel said, then fell silent for a minute before asking, “So … you and Harper have been friends that whole time?”
“Pretty much,” Alex said. “We haven’t been talking as much since I started dating Gemma.”
“How come, do you think?” Daniel asked. “Is Harper sorta jealous?”
“Nah, I don’t think so,” Alex said. “Harper isn’t a very jealous person. I think she’s just kinda weirded out because Gemma’s her kid sister and me and Harper have been friends for so long.”