Running Out of Time

Chapter Nineteen

We spent the rest of the day at the cave behind the waterfall, talking and laughing together. This time, we made the unspoken agreement to pretend that nothing else existed. It was kind of cold, so we huddled towards the back of the small cave, illuminating the place with a dusty lantern we'd dug out from the deep recesses of our AirBNB.

When the sun set, we slipped out from there and jogged all the way back, for it was growing cold rapidly. That night, it snowed a little, although it was mostly melted by the next morning. I awoke to Lia's warm body next to mine, cradling me in her arms, and I smiled. I could've gone on like this forever. I never wanted it to end.

But like all good things, our days in Medford, Oregon once again drew to a close. On the morning of the third day, I stood outside my car and Lia stood outside hers and we stared at each other for a while.

"I'll see you soon, I hope." I asked.

"Yeah." She smiled. She began to open her car door.

"Will I be seeing you again?"

She paused, then laughed at me as if it were a silly question. "I promise." She finally said. I let out a whoosh of air from my lungs.

"Okay." I grinned. "Okay."

"Okay." She said with an amused expression. "Bye."

"I'll text you when I get back." I told her.

She paused, her hand on the door. She twisted in her car seat to look at me. "So will I."

Then the door shut, she backed out of the driveway, and left.

***

I lay on my stomach in bed, propped up with my elbows, texting Lia. We were having a light-hearted argument about sports players. She listed a couple of people she thought as hot, and I shot down every single one. She made a little sarcastic quip, and I laughed aloud.

Suddenly, I heard a click and a flash, and I looked to my left, surprised.

"Oh, hey, Sophia. I didn't hear you come in."

"Of course you didn't." She snorted, lowering her camera. "I've been watching you make lovey-dovey faces at your phone for at least ten minutes."

My cheeks heated. "Sorry."

She smiled. "It's no problem. Besides, I think I just got a great photo."

She showed it to me, and I was surprised by the blatant happiness and the light to my face as I was laughing. Was it the angle? "Wow. You're a great photographer."

"Nah." She turned her camera off. "You're just great at being happy."

There was something wistful about her smile as she sat down on my dorm bed, and I suddenly became unsure of what to say to her.

"So. How did the trip go?"

I shrugged. "Good." I smiled.

"Come on, you've got to give me more details!" Sophia protested. "I'm living vicariously through your love life. Give me some images."

My smile grew sad. "You should go out and date some more, then, if love is what you're looking for."

She looked away from me, suddenly awkward. "Yeah, I guess."

My lips twitched with a lame attempt to form a smile, and I stared down at my bedspread.

"Well, I'm going to go. I've got an early class, so I'm going to head to bed."

"Bye."

"Bye."

***

Lia told me she had surprise news for me on our third trip, which was organized to be extra-long, during winter break. My parents hadn't expected me to come home due to my "working extra hard" for "killer classes", which wasn't exactly a lie—some of my classes were extremely difficult, but I wasn't exactly spending the break studying.