I didn't see Leo the week leading up to the 4th of July fireworks, since his dad was visiting. Leo had let me know that his parents were divorced, and even though his father still lived in California, he made sure to fly down to see him. I accidentally ran into them though when they were on a last Walmart run together, blushing since I got shy around strangers.
"Hey Dad, this is McKenna," Leo proudly introduced right there in the cereal aisle.
"Hey, Leo's told me so much about you," his dad winked, causing me to want to die.
"Oh. He has," I asked
"Yeah, he told me about all the times you hung out, and how much he missed you this week. I told him we could invite you to come along, but he wasn't sure if you would feel comfortable doing that. He said you're a bit shy."
"Oh, well I am shy, but it would've been fun to do something. I just didn't think you would want me to intrude on your quality time."
"Nonsense. We've hung out nonstop this whole week. We could've had a day where you joined in. Would you want to go with us now? We were going to go hiking before it got dark."
"Um, okay, but I'll have to tell my parents, since I'm with them right now," I awkwardly explained, hurrying over to get their permission.
Minutes later I was hurrying back over to Leo and his father, the three of us getting in the rented vehicle, since his mom needed her own for work. Leo ended up sitting with me in the backseat, smiling over at me as the wind blew through our hair from the rolled down windows.
"I'm glad you decided to come with us. What have you been doing this past week," he asked a little loud, since the air drowned out our voices.
"I hung out with Penelope a few times. We went to the mall and had a sleepover. We actually might do that again this upcoming week, since it was so fun."
"Would you care if Tobey and I went with you guys to the mall next time?"
"No, that would be fun," I warmly smiled, just admiring his ocean eyes since they were stuck on mine.
"Just to let you know, the hiking shouldn't be that bad. We're just going to a place that's mostly forest, and you don't have to go up hill much. It's really nice there though, and they have this huge lake. There's also a waterfall on the trail somewhere," he explained as I nodded along to his words.
"I think I've been there before, since it sounds familiar," I confessed.
"You might've been. It's a pretty popular place around here, maybe not like a tourist thing, but locally it's popular."
"Yeah, it's been around a long time. My dad used to go there with his siblings and parents."
"Yeah, I figured. I think they've had to close it before to make sure it's still safe. You know make sure the trails don't get too overgrown and difficult to follow, stuff like that." He rubbed the side of his nose before looking out his window.
"My great grandma was buried in the cemetery close to this place. When I was a little kid I thought it was so special that she was beneath a small tree."
"You want to go there first? To pay respects to her?"
"Oh, we don't have to. I was just sharing about it," I slightly laughed, starting to feel a little awkward.
"No, it's alright. Dad, can you pull off at that small cemetery real quick?"
His dad nodded through the rearview mirror at us before pulling up to the small area of land. It was mostly the same families that were buried there, since it wasn't very big. I led Leo right over to where my great grandmother's grave was, us just standing there in silence at first as his dad waited in the truck.
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Delayed Reaction || Leonardo DiCaprio
Fanfiction"You were the best thing that I ever had to let go."
