Hearts At Sea

Chapter 11: June 15th, 10:25 am

'Cause I don't want you like a best friend 

("Dress")

- - -

Walking from the port to Lyle Hill, Google Maps says it'll take twenty minutes. It's been thirty.

We've just passed Lyle Park, so our hopes are getting higher, knowing we're close to our destination. Everyone (including myself) keeps complaining about how we should rent some bikes or something because "we still have to walk up the damn hill". Carter, on the other hand, is loving this. He's been smiling to himself this whole walk, guiding me along. It's so hard to keep up with his long strides, though. At some point, he dropped his arm to grab my hand instead, dragging me behind him.

This is the second time we've held hands in twenty-four hours and the feeling isn't any different. The second our fingers touch, they turn into mini sparklers. When our palms meet, those sparklers turn into firecrackers, spreading up toward my wrist and then even further up my arm. This method of walking is counterproductive because the reaction under my skin is shocking me so I'm even slower than I was before.

Finally, finally, we reach the hill. We trek up a slight incline to get to the top. Then it's just us, the sky, the water, and the city of Greenock.

"Wow," I breathe. Even though a city stretches beneath us, it's still so green. Green trees, green grass, green everything. Who knows, maybe residents even painted their roofs green to match the scenery because there is so much green.

A little tip of the city reaches into the water ahead of us. "The body of water is called the Firth of Clyde," Darla informs us, reading the information bulletin. "The hills behind it are the Argyll Hills." This view is far more stunning than anything I could find in California — not even on the coast. I suppose this is why I love to travel; I can see and experience all the things I can't at home.

"Yeah, yeah, so pretty and everything. Can we go to the castle now?" Emmy swings from the giant anchor mounted near the bulletin Mrs. Davidson is reading off of.

"Get off of there, Emily," Matthew scolds. "And we'll see the castle eventually. We just have to visit everything around here first."

"Ugh fine," she groans as she hops down.

"Emmy, c'mere," I summoned her. "Look at this view. Look at all the green. Isn't it beautiful?" I try to share the mystified feeling I'm feeling, but she's not into it.

She crosses her little arms over her chest and sulks. "Sure, yeah, I guess."

Okay so we'll have to try a different tactic. "How many houses with green roofs do you see?"

Her eyes light up. "One, two, three, four, five, six..." I slink away, leaving her counting by herself. I'm sure there will be a lot more counting today and if I can avoid hearing the numbers one through ten a million times, I'll keep my sanity.

"Did you just trick my sister?"

I spin around, coming way too close to Carter for comfort. Woah. I take a step back, trapping myself against the railing behind me. "Uh, y-yes?"

He chuckles. "Smart thinking. Once Em's annoyed, everyone's annoyed and then it becomes a moody shitshow." Oh my god how is he not affected by the mere two feet between us? Is his skin tingling too? "Good to distract her before it gets too bad."

"Yeah," I mumble.

What are the symptoms of a heart attack?

Ugh, Sasha, chill out. It's just Carter. Your best friend. There is nothing else going on here.