among the fallen leaves

Chapter Four

The next two weeks went by in a blur for Hunter and Aurelia. Between school, looking for places to visit while at the seaside house, and packing up clothes, the two barely had any time to spend with each other. Occasionally, at night, they would end up sitting in the forest together, usually silent, and just taking in the comfort of each other's presence. The night before the families took their trip across the country, Aurelia had been sitting in her room painting her nails a dark shade of green—to match the evergreens, she had thought—when she heard a call of her name. Hunter, she could recognize his voice anywhere, I wonder what he's still doing up, she thought while she was walking slowly towards her window.

"Aurelia!" The boy had whisper-yelled for the fourth time by the time she reached the window. All she could do was smile down at him, remembering when they had tried playing Rapunzel when they were only mere children, and Hunter had broken his arm trying to climb up the side of her house using the old vines. He spoke again, voice a little louder, a smile growing on his face, "let down your hair," she shook her head, laughing quietly, "or I'll climb up the vines again," he walked closer to the wall of the house, pulling on a short vine and made a face as it snapped in half.

"I don't think you would really make that mistake again." She smiled at him, "I'll be down in a second, just wait there." Aurelia laughed, throwing a sweater on over her long-sleeve nightgown that didn't quite reach her toes. As she walked quietly down the stairs, she wondered what her father would think; he'd probably think we were sneaking off to be together and actually lock me in my room.

As Aurelia quietly made her way into the chilly November air, she saw the boy she called her best friend standing where she had left him under her window. He looked up as he heard her shoeless feet crunching leaves underneath her, "Aurelia Rayne, I thought I told you to stop walking around the grass barefoot in the middle of the night, you're going to freeze!" He ran over to the laughing girl, wrapping his warm, flannel-clad arms around her body. She loved the warmth he gave off. He's like a furnace, she always thought.

"Since when do I ever listen to you, Hunter?" He laughed at this, only holding her tighter.

"That is a bold point."

"What possessed you to come out here in the cold?" The girl asked.

"I just wanted to see you before it's six in the morning and you're in a grumpy mood on the train." He winked at her, causing Aurelia to shake her head in disbelief.

"For your information, I am very much so a morning person." The two spent a good hour arguing this in the garden, again, just simply enjoying being in each other's company. By the time the sun rose over the large evergreens, they knew they had to get inside to prepare for their journey.

Aurelia walked quietly into her room, changing into a long-sleeved dress and boots, making sure everything was ready for the trip. She was always prepared for anything, the girl knowing that life—and weather—is unpredictable at times.

Once they had gotten to the train, Hunter found himself sat next to Aurelia, his sister next to her in a window seat so she could watch the trees going by. The mothers sat behind them, talking mindlessly about the best ways to get to the house once they were off of the train. The ride would take about four days with minimal stops, so Hunter knew he had a lot of time to spend talking to his favorite person. He could never really get enough of her; he knew he loved her, but he couldn't figure out why he was always so okay with never leaving her side. Aurelia tapped his arm lightly and when he turned to face her, he noticed her eyes a little glossed over; the worry flooded his chest immediately. He knew she didn't like to leave home much—he couldn't blame her, she had created her space, lived in it, loved it with everything she had—so he almost immediately knew it was a sense of fear of leaving the place she loved.