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Chapter 11
Am I a punk for not telling my parents I'm leaving to their faces? Absolutely. Am I still going to do it anyway? Yup.
I throw a few more things into the bag on my bed and zip it shut. I look around my bedroom, trying to make sure I'm not forgetting anything, and my eyes land on a notebook. Flipping to an open page, I begin to write a note for my mother and father, but my hand stills as I remember the last note they got from a daughter in this house. I'm not that heartless. I decide to text them instead.
Closing my door behind me as I leave my bedroom, I stop in Callie's doorway. I look over her perfectly made bed and everything right where she left it on the dresser, hating that I feel I not only need a break from my parents, but from passing this room each day. From...her. I leave the house and send a text to my parents that I'm going away for the weekend before powering it off and beginning the drive to Elijah's. He's waiting on the front steps for me when I pull up, that smile that I like to think is just for me on his face.
"Hey," I say as I get out of the car.
"Hi."
How can one word make me feel so warm inside? He pulls me towards him once I'm close enough and brings his lips to mine. And all is right. This moment that I feel like I've waited for all week, it's everything. When his perfect lips meet mine and the rest of the world bleeds away. He pulls back far too soon, lips going to my forehead before leaving me altogether.
"We should leave now if we wanna avoid traffic," he mentions.
I nod, going to my backseat to get my bag. He takes it from me and puts it beside his own in his backseat before opening my door. He closes it, and I can't help but fidget in my seat, excited beyond words for wherever we're going. To get away. To be with him.
"It'll take us about four hours to get there," he tells me.
"Then lucky for you, I am a great travelling companion. I cannot fall asleep in a car, so I won't leave you hanging."
"Can't fall asleep?" He arches a brow.
"All the bumping and turning. Head flopping from one side to the other. I can’t do it. Once we drove for eight hours to go visit our grandparents. I was awake the whole time, glaring at a snoring Callie."
"Eight hours. I can't imagine. I used to fall asleep just riding back to campus with Ben. The car is supposed to lull you to sleep, when you're the passenger anyway. Isn't that why they put crying babies in cars and take them for a ride?"
"I wouldn't know the first thing about babies, but cars most certainly do not lull me. So you'll get to listen to my beautiful voice the whole way there."
"I could never get tired of it."
I smile over at him. "You say that now..."
He just laughs and shakes his head.
Wherever we're going, the trip there is beautiful. I've never been anywhere towards this direction before, where small mountains form in the distance, and there's acres and acres of grass, no houses for miles. It feels so...free. We're passing a sign, welcoming us to a town I've never heard of when Elijah tells me to roll my window down. Confused as to why, I do and then it's only a few minutes before it hits me.
The sea. The smell of salt in the air. The scent of what I love most.
I inhale deeply before looking over at Elijah and finding him staring at me.
"You brought me to the beach?" I ask, voice a little hoarse.
"I did. Now keep in mind, I only saw pictures, so if it isn't as nice as the one you went to before..."
I cut him off by practically leaping over the armrest and kissing his cheek. The car swerves a little, and he chuckles.
"It'll be perfect," I say. "Simply because you even thought of bringing me here. Thank you, Elijah."
The more we drive, the stronger the scent gets until I'm about ready to jump out of a moving car to find exactly where the beach is. Then we reach it. On one side of the street are a bunch of restaurants and stores selling swimming equipment. And on the other side is the beach. Sand stretches out before me. A few people walk along it, and I can't wait until I'm one of them. Another minute and we reach a small hotel, one level and painted with bright colors. Elijah pulls into the parking lot, and then he's getting out and opening my door.
I inhale again once I stand from my seat. Elijah chuckles as he gets our bags from the back.
"I think my scent might have some competition," he teases.
"If I could bottle up the smell of the ocean, I would pay a million dollars for it."
"I'll look into that. Sounds like a good Valentine's Day present."
