Charlie Gillespie Love Story

Chapter 29 - Besties Energy

My toes dug into the sand, burying away from the warmth of the fire in front of me. Owen was off pissing, yet again. I swear that man has the bladder of a child. Along our hike yesterday and today, we had to stop every half an hour for him. 

Still, I couldn't help but smile at the memories - such a nice reprieve from the loneliness that I've been carrying around.

But I can feel the weight lifting. I take a deep breath, a warm breeze wrapping around me and in my lungs as I sigh it out again. The orange hues of the fire we're intoxicating for my eyes like I was unable to look away and simultaneously didn't want to.

The light was being drowned by the ocean, the sun long gone past the horizon, the sky only getting darker as my eyes adjusted from the fire. There was no one else on the beach with us - a rare occasion for such a popular hike, but something I appreciated more than I thought I would. 

I timed my breathing to the gentle crashing of the waves, conscious of my still wet hair making the back of my top damp, the only remnant of the swim I took when we arrived at our campsite. 

As Owen suggested, my phone sat on my bedside table at home. He had his phone in case of emergencies, but he's kept it on silent and in his bag, making an effort to keep this trip as much of a cleanse for me as possible. 

I got up from the log I sat on and made my way over to the pile of wood piece Owen and I had collected when the sun was still up. My mind drifted back and filtered through the memories of the last few days as I stoked the fire, adding another log. 

The hiking hasn't been too bad, although we packed a lot in our bags, giving the luxury of clothes, sleeping bags, the tent and of course food. Owen insisted on nothing but pancakes for breakfast, which meant a pan, a gas stove as well as the pancake mix. Still, it's not like I could complain - Owen's pack was heavier than mine, and the pancakes were comforting first thing in the morning. 

Night one we'd spent on top of a hill - Owen and I had stargazed for a while, before promptly passing out thanks to the uphill hike. But today was all downhill, ending where I sat now - the beach. We hadn't gone swimming as the sun began to set, worried about sharks.

Well rather, I had to warn Owen about them. He was waist-deep, so I told him that sharks liked to feed at dusk and dawn, and they often attacked in only a few feet of water. He came running to the beach, tripping over himself a few times in true Owen-fashion. 

"I swear, there are so many dangerous animals here. Last night there was the mosquitos and spiders, yesterday was the snakes, today the sharks. Can't a guy catch a break?" he let out a deep breath, huffing from the run he'd just made from the water. 

And here we were, full from the dinner we'd cooked and warmed by the fire I'd made. And utterly at peace in this small corner of the world. I heard a breach crack behind me and whipped my head to find Owen emerging from the treeline.

"Took your time." I mused, wiggling an eyebrow and he shrugged, smiling as he said, 

"Yeah, well. I ended up needing to dig a hole." I rolled my eyes at him, letting them fix on the fire again. I saw Owen in my periphery settle down on the sand, his back against the log I was sitting on. How his legs we're not dying from the heat, I didn't know.

We sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes - I glanced over just once to see him lost in thought, my own wondering back to Charlie and all that had happened over the past few weeks. I let out a sigh, and as if Owen knew where my thoughts had gone, he softly said, "What are you gonna do?" 

We were heading home tomorrow, which meant I'd have to decide. "I'm honestly not sure. I mean... I love him. He's seen a side of me that I haven't shown to anyone in a long time, and he still loved me anyway. It... It meant something to me. To have that support system.