by Destiny Webb
“Could I maybe get your number? I had a really good time to—” He cut me off, closing the gap between us. I saw it coming, unlike the kiss I shared with Sean. I wasn’t taken by surprise, except maybe by the fact that I really liked it. His lips were cool from driving in the night air. His hair was frazzled as I weaved my fingers in. I wanted to stay that way, in this cool, calculated bliss.
Behind us, I heard muffled laughter and I broke away unwillingly. Sean had some springy plant in his hand, and I prayed that it wasn’t poison ivy. I looked apologetically up at Lance.
“I’m sorry. I really should take care of him.”
He put his number into my phone and gave me one last quick kiss before getting on his quad and driving away. I stared after him in a trance.
Chapter Eleven
I was brought back to reality by the sound of Sean getting sick.
“Ugh….” I groaned. It was a good thing that I wasn’t squeamish. Deep down, I had known he would start getting sick. He couldn’t have waited until I was gone? Really, I did not want to deal with this. I loathed the whole bunch of them for leaving me to deal with him.
Getting him into the house would be the best thing for him if he was getting sick. If we got caught, though, it would mean all of us getting in trouble. I knew it could potentially be very dangerous, but I had to try. I thought of the threat Brian had made. There was no doubt that he had meant it. On the other hand, he’d gotten us in trouble plenty of times before.
I would just have to take my chances.
“Sean?” I leaned over him.
“Yeah, Sammy?” He looked up at me with a sheepish grimace on his face.
“You think we can play a game?”
“I don’t know Sammy…I’m not feeling too good.”
“Don’t worry, it’s an easy game. It’s called ‘Be Quiet and Don’t Wake the Parent.’ Think you can play? All you have to do is not make any noise.”
“Yeah, okay. I’ll try.”
“Okay. Good. I need you to stand up.”
He stood up and I tried to help him walk. Our destination: the downstairs bathroom near the back of the house. I got him through the door quietly enough. Once we got the door shut though, I tripped under his weight and we fell into the couch. He groaned loudly before laughing hysterically.
“Sean, remember. We need to be quiet,” I whispered. He put his hand over his mouth, stifling his laughter, and tried to walk with me. We stumbled our way to the back of the cabin. To my dismay, we didn’t go very quietly, but eventually, we got into the bathroom. As much as I wanted to, I knew that I couldn’t leave him there. So, as he got sick again, I settled down to rough it out with him.
“You know what Sammy?” Sean was stretched across the bathroom floor, using my lap as a pillow. I carelessly combed my fingers through his hair.
“What Sean?” I sighed. Every statement he had made in the last hour or so had started with that question.
“Remember when I used to come over to the house when we were little and you would make me play house with you?”
“Yes….” I hesitated, wondering where this was going.
“I may have put up a fight, but, to be honest, I actually really had a lot of fun.”
I tried not to laugh as I looked down at him. His eyes were closed and his face was pale. The fact that he was starting to share secrets was exciting and terrifying all at the same time.
“Really? Why?” I failed miserably to hide the laughter in my voice, but he didn’t notice.
“Well, I always got to be the dad and you were the mom.”
We both grew silent, sort of. My silence was a reaction to his getting sick again. His statement made me silently gleeful. For what reason, I didn’t know, but it made my emotions soar. He lay his head back down, and we shared a few quiet moments. I really, really wanted to go to bed. Stupid Brian.
“Sammy?”
“Yes Sean?”
“You know what I’m thinking?”
“No, I don’t,” I said, a little too sharply. I bet you’re gonna tell me though, I thought.
“You are really, really pretty,” he paused. “I could just kiss you right now, just like that one time in the shed.”
“Yeah…what about Tasha?” I asked very hesitantly, avoiding him bringing up the shed.
“Tasha’s a bitch. Everyone thinks I don’t know that she cheats on me, but I do.”
“That’s….” I struggled to find the right word. I couldn’t. So instead, I just went with sarcasm. “Lovely.”
“I mean, I am a good looking guy that any girl would be lucky to have. Why should I stay with her? I should be with someone like you. I like you. I always have liked you. It’s just that that damn Tasha complicates things. You are one gorgeous girl and I am one handsome guy. We would be great together.”
He leaned forward and got sick again. So much for being handsome. Idiot. I rolled my eyes.
I wish he would change the subject. I prayed that he would change the conversation.
Instead my phone vibrated, saving me from this horrendous conversation.
Where the hell are you, and what did you do with him?
It was from Brian. That must mean that he is home. Thank goodness. Sean would finally be out of my hair. I could finally get some sleep.
The downstairs bathroom. I couldn’t carry him upstairs.
I looked down at Sean. His eyes were closed and his breathing was even. He was out cold. He looked so much like a child in this sleeping form. I felt tenderness in my heart and I smiled to myself. Even if he was drunk enough to not remember this in the morning, I would remember. I didn’t know whether it would hurt me or help me in the long run, but I felt like I had a secret weapon on my side now. I just needed to figure out how to use it.
The door flew open and Brian stood in the doorway.
“What the hell, Sam?” he whispered.
“I can’t carry him up those stairs. Are you insane? I barely got him in here without any commotion. If everyone hadn’t just dumped him on me then we wouldn’t be in this situation!” I quickly retorted, my temper flaring. Whatever happened to gratitude?
“Help me get him upstairs,” he demanded.
We got Sean up, his weight completely supported by the two of us. He didn’t even stir as we picked him up. Brian was doing most of the work, so I wasn’t that upset. I knew I would be able to go to sleep soon. I could already tell I was going to have a hangover. I was really looking forward to crawling into bed, pulling the sheets over my head, and sleeping. I’d deal with the rest of it when I woke up tomorrow.
We tugged Sean up the stairs quietly enough and avoided hitting the squeaky floorboard. When we got to the door of their bedroom, I pushed open the door and let Brian take it from there. He put Sean on a bed then quickly grabbed my arm as I was walking away. He pulled me into the room.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“What? I’m going to bed. I did my civic duty for the night.” What was his problem?
“You’re not gonna get him like this, by being his best friend. You gotta put yourself out there, but don’t be a tramp about it.”
Seriously?
“Don’t give me that look. What I mean is that you have to show that you are not just a friend, but a female who is attractively available. We already know you have his eye. Now keep a hold of it. That little display with that boy this evening…very nice.”
Okay…Sean wasn’t the only one to get drunk this evening. As I turned away from Brian and walked down to my room, I cringed slightly at the way he talked about Lance. I knew it wasn’t right to lead him on. On the other hand, I did like him. Would it be enough though?
When I opened the door to my room, Cassie’s light on her nightstand was still on. She looked up at me from the magazine she was reading.
“Rough night?” she sneered at me. I was sure that I looked like I had had a rough night. My hair was probably looking psycho and my makeup was probably ruined. Seriously though
, what was her problem with me? I had never done anything horrible to her. Why was she being such a bitch to me?
“Your brother had worse,” I remarked, making my way to my bed.
Her sneer turned into a full on glare and I wondered if I shouldn’t have said anything. Uncaringly, I shrugged to myself. Quickly, I changed and crawled into bed. I pulled my phone off my nightstand and sent one last text before I went to bed.
Thanks for everything tonight. I really had a great time!! =] -Samantha
Chapter Twelve
I didn’t wake up until about eleven o’clock. Everything was quiet, peaceful. I stretched as I got out of bed and made my way into the shower. The water was soothing and it released the tension in my muscles as it glided over my skin.
When I got out of the shower, I sprayed my damp, towel-dried hair with some hairspray, put on a light layer of makeup, and pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. When I opened the door to head downstairs to get some breakfast, I could hear distant yelling from somewhere in the house. It sounded like my mom and Charles were fighting about work or something again.
Sean and I both stepped out of our rooms at the same time. I saw him rubbing his forehead before he looked up at me. I smiled at him. He smiled back and waited for me to reach him.
“Thanks for last night Sammy,” he said when I reached him, “I really appreciate it.”
“You remember?”
“Only bits and pieces.” He looked down. “Your brother filled me in on the rest.”
The look on his face made me laugh. It was slightly mortified and confused as he looked up at me. I just shook my head at him.
“You hungry?” I asked. He nodded at me and we made our way down to the kitchen.
Once in the kitchen, I told him to sit down and I would fix breakfast. Turned out, there wasn’t much to do. Leftovers from that morning were wrapped up and sitting on the counter. I took out the pancakes and stuck them in the microwave. While they cooked, I glanced up from underneath my hair at Sean. He was rubbing his forehead again. I got some aspirin out of the cupboard and filled two glasses of water.
I walked over to the table and sat the glasses and aspirin down. I tapped Sean’s shoulder and he lifted his head off the table, then thanked me as he tossed them back. As the rest of our breakfast heated up, I took mine. When it was finished, I put the fruit on the plates and took them to the table. We sat and ate in silence for a little while.
Sean glanced up at me sheepishly from his plate. “So….” Sean cleared his throat, breaking the silence. “Uh…what happened last night?”
“I thought Brian already told you what happened.” I looked down, avoiding his gaze. I felt heat rush to my face and prayed that he wouldn’t notice.
“Yeah, well, he only knows what he was there for. Besides that, he’s completely useless.”
“Isn’t he always?” I joked lightly.
“You’re not that good at distracting me, Sam,” he chuckled.
I sighed and thought of a way to water down last night’s events.
“Uh, well, we just, uh, hung out really.” My hesitation was obvious and Sean could tell.
“That’s exactly why I woke up with a killer hangover this morning. You can do better than that, Sammy.” When he looked up at me, it felt like he could see right through me. There was a smile in his warm hazel eyes, and I felt my heart go into overdrive as I stared back into them. “I’m waiting.”
“Oh, well, we ended up spending most of the night in the downstairs bathroom.” I grimaced up at him. I had to admit, he took it well. He kept a cool facade.
“What dirty little secrets did I spout out?” he joked, smiling at me. When I didn’t return the smile, his face grew worried.
“Was I spilling secrets?”
“No….” Despite my resolve to keep last night’s events from him, my “no” sounded more like a question than a statement.
“Shit, what did I say?”
“Nothing….”
“I can tell by that look on your face. Tell me, Samantha.”
“How about this? If you can guess right, I’ll tell you,” I smirked at him.
“Now, that I remember.”
“Bologna sauce, you were hammered already,” I said, deflating the situation.
“You’re not gonna tell me, are you?” he sighed.
“Nope.” He rolled his eyes at me, and I picked up our now empty plates and washed them in the sink. Quietly, he came and stood by me, picking up a towel and drying the plates.
“So, do you have any plans today?”
“Nope, none at all. Depressing, huh?”
“Just a little,” he teased, bumping my hip.
“Don’t be mean,” I chided, bumping him back.
“I’ll try,” he grinned.
We heard some more screaming from upstairs.
“You want to get out of here?”
“Where?” I asked him.
“I was thinking about going on a hike up near the creek, maybe up to the waterfall. Are you interested?”
I thought about it for a minute, considering the things that were said last night and the repercussions that could result in going with him. It was just to the lake. How much trouble could we get into?
“Yeah, sure, why not? Just let me grab some shoes.”
I got my shoes and we headed out the door. It was a beautiful day outside. The sun was shining, the sky was blue. The air was refreshing and cleared my head up a little bit. While we walked, we were silent, both of us soaking in the fresh outdoors. For about a half hour, the only sound was the crunching of leaves and branches.
“God, I haven’t been up here in ages.” I broke the silence. Sean looked at me, slightly startled.
“Yeah, it’s been a while for me too. The last time I came up here was that time we came up for that family picnic.”
“Oh, my goodness! What a disaster that was.”
“Seriously,” he agreed. “Your mom was freaking out about your dad’s mistress being there.”
“Oh, gee. And she started flirting with that random dude hiking through.” We both laughed at the memory. As we were walking up some rocks, I felt myself losing my footing and I came crashing down on them. Sean stopped and turned when he heard me grunt, my face against the rocks.
“You never fail do you?” Sean asked, chuckling lightly. He walked over to me and bent down beside me. I glanced up at him from the rocks.
“I do my best,” I said, pushing off the rocks and wiping myself off. I looked down at my jeans to see a stain on them. I sighed and looked up at Sean. “Just when I try to stay clean, I always end up ruining something.”
“You remember that year at that picnic, when you were wearing that white dress and—”
“I fell asleep under the picnic table!” I laughed fully. “Oh, my god, she was so angry! I thought she was going to kill me.”
“They had to call in those rangers because no one could find you.”
“And when they found me, she was more upset about my ruined dress than the fact that I was under the picnic table. Oh man, I had forgotten all about that.” I sighed from laughing so much. We continued to walk, and walk, and walk. As we walked, I wondered why anyone would possibly put a picnic grounds all the way up there. And why on earth would anyone go out of their way to go that far just for a picnic?
We made our way through the break in the trees and I got my answer. It was one of the most gorgeous places I had ever seen.
***
It seemed surreal, like a chapter taken straight out of a fairy tale. Everything was beautiful. Like everywhere else in the area, everything was green, a luscious, full, deep green. There were flowers everywhere, purples and yellows, oranges and blues. A waterfall spilled into some kind of deep blue lagoon that was on the far side of the area.
A couple of old logs like the ones down by the lake that were used for benches were near the edge of the water. Wooden picnic tables were placed sporadically through the wild grass. It was a
stolen gem hidden amongst the trees and wildlife, our own personal hiding place, protecting us from the complexities of our lives and letting us breathe in peace.
Sean and I spent the day lazing about in the grass sharing childhood anecdotes, stories of our lives when everything was a little simpler; when there was no convoluted love, no cheating girlfriends, no animosity. We were all just kids with a fondness for each other, a bond that was so strong, a friendship that would never be broken. When did it all change? And how did we make it all stop?
We were floating around on our backs in the water at the bottom of the waterfall, when Sean broke my thought process.
“Sam. Sam? Sammy!” Sean startled me and I lost my balance, sliding under the surface of the water, swallowing what felt like gallons of water.
“What? What?” I stuttered as I popped my head out from underneath the water. I started coughing hysterically…choking is more like it. I flailed as I tried to keep my head up to get a full breath of air in. Sean grabbed me by the sides and held me above the water. I grabbed on to his shoulders as I tried to stop coughing. Clearing my throat, I took a couple of deep breaths and looked up at him.
“Did you say something?” I asked.
“Uhhh…no.” He hesitated.
“Come out with it.”
“I, uh, I had asked you who your first crush was,” he mumbled. Instantly, I was aware of the space between us…the almost nonexistent space between us. I looked down at us, so close together, holding each other. Looking back at him slowly, I tried to gauge how he would react. He prodded me with his eyes, waiting for my answer.
“Well, who was it?” he softly asked again.
“It was you Sean. It was always you,” I whispered softly.
The silence was deafening.
I looked into his eyes, his light hazel eyes, and he stared back into mine. Leaning down to him slowly, I tilted my head a fraction of an inch, looking down at his lips and back up at him. He lowered me down a little towards him, stretching his head up ever so slightly. Gently, I dropped my lips, touching his. He met mine with eagerness. I closed my eyes for a brief second.
Before I realized what we were doing, I felt him jerk away from my lips, and his hands left my sides, pushing back away from me. I felt the emptiness as I watched him swim back to shore.