Paradise

Chapter 19 - Under the Light of A Thousand Stars

The next day, at around one in the afternoon, Logan and I decided to eat breakfast at iHop before our next destination which we were both still unclear about.

I took a sip of my orange juice as Logan simultaneously took a sip from his coffee. "Okay, so where to next, boss lady?" Logan asked.

"I'm telling you, I have my heart set on Mount Shasta. I've never been there and it sounds interesting."

"As much fun as that sounds, I still think we should head to Sacramento. Plus, Shasta has got to be at least 500 miles away. Sacramento is closer." Logan said as he raised an eyebrow.

"Imagine how beautiful Shasta must be at this time of year! What is there to do in Sacramento anyways?" I said feeling a little irritated.

"Excuse me, Avery Lancaster, I've just always wanted to go visit our fine state capital. No reason behind it really, I've just never been."

"I still say Shasta." I said stubbornly.

"I say we flip a coin for it." He said as he dug his hand into his pocket.

"You're crazy! Let's just go to Shasta."

"Heads we go to boring, old Shasta and tails we go to Sacramento. Got it?"

"I really really don't like you right now." I said as I began to rub my temples.

"You love me, Lancaster. Now shush, I'm trying to concentrate on making the odds land in my favor." He said as he tossed the coin in the air. It rolled all the across the restaurant and into the kitchen.

Logan looked at me with disappointed eyes, "... I bet it landed on tails."

"I hope you packed warm clothes because Shasta must be freezing during this time of year." I teased.

"Don't worry, Sacramento doesn't get too cold in December." He threw back.

I felt my purse vibrate against my thigh. It was my phone. I still hadn't told Logan that my family basically threatened me to come back home and right then wasn't exactly the right moment to tell him either. I cautiously pulled my phone out of my bag and the dimly lit screen showed a reminder I had set in my calendar months ago. Tonight was the night I was supposed to go out with Bethany and Jennifer to an Ed Sheeran concert in San Francisco. We had bought the tickets months ago and we all got permission from our parents to drive out there and spend a couple of days in San Francisco. It was supposed to be an amazing weekend with them.

"Holy crap." I said as I was still staring at my phone.

"What's going on?" Logan asked with his mouth full of hash browns.

"It's a reminder I set back in March. Me and my friends were supposed to go see Ed Sheeran tonight in San Francisco." I said with a hint of regret in my voice.

"What time was the concert at?" Logan blurted.

"What?"

"The concert. What time was it supposed to start?"

"At eight. Why?" I asked feeling lost. Why did he want to know? Why did it matter?

"It's 1:15 right now. I think San Fran is less than 400 miles away. If we leave right now and maybe stop for gas and to eat at the most 3 times then we should make it. Let's go. Challenge accepted." He said as he took one last bite from his toast before he stood up.

"Wait, what? You're serious? No we don't have to go. What happened to Sacramento?"

"Don't you love Ed Sheeran? It would totally suck if you missed that concert. Come on, we can make it with time to spare." He placed some bills on the table leaving a tip.