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“Duh,” I said aloud. “You have your phone. Call him.”
But shortly after hitting his contact, I heard his phone—from inside the cabin.
“Stupid boy.” The scolding words were soft and obviously did no good, as said stupid boy wasn’t around to hear them.
I checked the time, starting to get worried. Where did he go?
Maybe something happened to him.
Maybe he slipped and fell down a cliff.
Maybe he—
No. I shook my head, warding off thoughts.
For all my desires to be away from home and have quiet, it wasn’t doing me much good. Not when the anxiety had managed to creep back into my life.
I’d been doing so damn good with the anxious thoughts and patterns, and here I was, starting to spiral all over again.
Well, I couldn’t just sit here any longer.
Standing abruptly, I pushed the rocker back through the threshold and shut the door, ready to take off into the woods.
There was a small path that started off the trek, and I knew that eventually it would die off. I’d worry about the “what next” when I got to it.
Leaves and twigs crunched under my shoes as I made my way down the path. Above, the spring birds were singing, and the wind whistled through the trees. Although there was the occasional patch of snow that shade trees blocked from the sun, the recent fifties had brought a springtime feel to the woods.
A small breeze guided me further down the path and, for the first time since driving up and seeing Ryan, a sense of peace washed through me.
Suddenly, I knew exactly where Ryan had gone.
Once upon a time, we had a thinking spot out here.
Ryan had only been to the cabin with my dad and me a handful of times, but during one of our last trips—right after my high school graduation—we found a small creek in a clearing that hadn’t been much larger than twelve feet across.
Sure that that was where I’d find my friend, I turned left at the end of the path.
Now, the walk wasn’t as clear, and there were more roots and downed trees to step over, but if I listened closely, I could hear the gentle trickle of water.
A few more feet and a right turn later, and I could see him through the trees, sitting on a boulder.
Not bothering to be quiet—or loud, for that matter—I stepped through the tree line. “I was worried about you.”
He looked over his shoulder, clearly not surprised to see me. Honestly, he looked like he’d been expecting me...and I had no idea why I thought that.
Or why my heart sped up at the prospect.
“Do you remember when we first found this spot?” He turned back toward the creek, and I moved closer, taking a seat on the boulder next to him after he moved over enough to give me room.
“Interestingly enough, I was just remembering. I’d actually forgotten about this spot.”
“It’s my favorite spot up here.”
We sat in silence for a moment before he continued. “It was right before your nineteenth birthday.”
“It was after my high school graduation,” I opposed, because we didn’t come for my birthday, but because I’d graduated with a B average.
I didn’t look at him, but knew that if I did, I’d find the left side of his mouth kicked up in a crooked grin.
