Don't Forget Me

Chapter 3

Ten minutes later my Volvo bounces down the overgrown dirt roads that run along the farthest edge of the Manobal farm, where the hundreds of acres of sprawling fields start to give way to the thick, green forest. You can tell no one ever really comes back here other than me, because the weeds crawl so far over the road that they skim the sides of my car, a constant reminder to me that we're safe here.

I pull off into a small nook, where Mother Nature finally got used to my visits and stopped growing. The moment I step out of my car into the fresh air and hear the rushing of the crick in the distance, I feel lighter.

The sound gets louder as I weave my way through the massive trees, gnarled branches and vines twisting together above my head. I walk for a hundred yards, until the forest opens up to a grassy bank. The wildflowers we planted are finally starting to sprout up, all long leafy blades and green buds waiting for their moment to bloom.

And there, sitting among them... is Lisa.

The moment I see her, the muscles running up the back of my neck finally relax, through no conscious act of my own, and the layer of anxiety that usually sits underneath every one of my thoughts seems to completely melt away.

I notice a thin purple bra strap hanging out of her white tank top as I walk around a cluster of white birch trees with thin bark peeling away like old paint. I crouch down behind her and slip it up onto her shoulder, my thumb dipping into the hollow of her collarbone.

With one touch, finally, I can breathe again.

I kiss her neck.

Her soft jaw.

Her cheek.

And finally, I trace my lips up to her ear.

"I love you, too," I whisper, the words I've desperately wanted to say back to her since our phone call last night, the ones that have been circling through every thought since.

The corner of her mouth pulls up into a smirk as she turns her head toward me, her lips finding mine.

"Shouldn't you be crafting nonfat caramel macchiatos?" she teases into my smile. I wrap my arms around her, twisting her tiny ponytail around in my fingers.

"Shouldn't you be baling hay?" I prod, slipping into our usual routine.

"We don't even grow hay, genius. And for your information, I'm supposed to be pulling fence," she replies, but when I lean back I see that she's serious this time.

"Wait, really?" I ask, the muscles in my body tensing up again. "Lisa, I thought you were off today!"

She shakes her head. "Rosie, it's fine. Relax. I didn't want to wait, so I got something worked out with Albert. He's gonna do it today," she says.

"What do you mean? What'd you tell him?" I ask, picturing nineteen-yearold Amish Albert blurting our secrets as we speak.

"I just asked him to switch shifts. It's really not a big deal. Trust me." She laughs to try to lighten the mood as she reaches out for my arm, but I push her hand away.

"You promised me you wouldn't do something like this. It's too risky. What if he followed you? What if he figures it out or says something to someone? Or God, Lisa, what if your mom finds out? What if she sees him doing your work? She... she'd..." I fall back onto my butt, my hands dropping between us.

"Rosie, stop. Please." She scoops my shaking hands up in hers, firm, solid. "I just really wanted to see you today, okay? I'm sorry. I won't do it ever again. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry," she says, kissing my hands between each sorry. She places them up over her shoulders and I lock my fingers behind her neck.