The Peregrine Passage

Chapter Thirteen: Adam

I have never been more pissed off in my life. Those fucking coordinates ruining the fucking moment. Was it the coordinates, though? Or was it her changing her mind? Was it something I did? Fuck.

My right-hand grips the steering wheel and I push my hair back with my left, sighing in exasperation. It's only 5:30 in the evening, but it's pitch dark outside. Snow is coming down hard and I'm having a difficult time seeing the road. I heard on the news this morning that snow storm was coming through this weekend, but it looks like it might get here early. I'm supposed to pick Hazel up to check out the coordinates, but first, I have to make a quick detour.

I know Hazel well enough not to show up at her door empty-handed, so I run by the diner to get two hot chocolates in paper to-go cups. By the time I pull up in front of her building, she's already standing out front, her hands in her pockets and shaking from the cold.

"What are you doing? It's freezing out!" I say as I roll my window down.

"You said 5:30, it's 5:50 now!" Shit, I guess my hot chocolate run went a little longer than planned.

"I thought you'd wait inside like a normal person! Get inside the truck!" We both have to yell above the deafening winds.

"Don't tell me what to do! Is that supposed to be an apology?"

"I got you hot chocolate!"

She's in the passenger seat now and takes the cup eagerly.

"Thanks, asshole."

"You're welcome." I smile before continuing.

"So, do you know how to find coordinates?"

"Just plug them into your phone GPS." My brow furrows.

"What, Sullivan, have you never used a GPS before?" She laughs.

"...Well..."

"You're joking, right?"

"What? There are four streets in this town, I never needed to!"

"Every day I learn something about you that surprises me." She looks me dead in the eyes as she says this, and I avert my gaze to the snow. Since the almost-kiss rejection, I don't feel like pushing it, or her. She pulls up a GPS on her phone and sits it on the dash.

"How good do you think my vision is, Hazel? No way can I look at that while trying to drive." She sighs and shakes her head.

"Fair enough, I'll just tell you where to go."

Three wrong turns and forty-five minutes later, we find ourselves well across town lines and somewhere on the coast. She tells me that we've arrived, but when I look at her, confused.

"This can't be it, we're in the middle of nowhere." She must not hear me, or she chooses to ignore me, because her nose is pressed against the window and she's staring intently outside.

"I got it! Pull down this road." I do as I'm instructed, still confused.

"What do you see, Hazel?"

"It's a lighthouse. There should be a parking lot on your left, do you see it?" She's squinting as much as I am. Eventually, I see the turn and pull into the lot. There are no other cars here that I can see, so I don't worry about parking in between the lines. I turn off the ignition and we step out of the truck.

It's still snowing, only now we can hear the ocean roar alongside the wind. The smell of salt pierces the frigid air. A loose curl falls out of Hazel's braid and blows across her face. I tuck it back behind her ear before quickly pulling my hand back. I clear my throat and look down at her.