Wish You Were Here

Chapters 6-9

Chapter 6

We walked on, not knowing where we were going or when we were going to get there. As the night came, we stopped in a relatively clear space and built a fire. This time the boys actually listened to me and ate a lot less than they had the previous night. I sat huddled by the fire, watching them eat, not daring to take any more food than I needed to survive. Because that's how life was now--what it takes to survive. It turns out that two guys and a girl can really go through a lot of food--unless you ration it out before hand like I suggested. We have begun to fill our water tubs up with water from streams we happen to cross, so by now we have the same amount of water we started out with. Ethan crashed under his backpack (one of them) and Ian was cleaning up from dinner.

"You okay?"

I hadn't even realized that he was talking to me.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Under the circumstances....I guess I'm just worried. Worried about my family, my sister, us....I just have a lot on my mind."

"Here, come with me."

I followed him. He told me to close my eyes, and he grabbed my hand and led me to wherever he was taking us. When he finally said,"Okay, open," what I saw took my breath away. It was a beautiful waterfall, completely surrounded by the oncoming sunset. There were little rocks down by the pool, and the water was so clean that you could see the fish swimming in it. Ian never let go of my hand, and I didn't really want him to. He was like a rock in my tough situation, someone I could lean on. I was afraid that if he let go, I would go tumbling down the hill and into the water.

He led my down by the water and to a little rock formation that looked strangely like a bench. We sat down, and I leaned up against him. I guess he thought it was too romantic, because sooner than I could say, "Thank you," he pulled me into the water. I laughed and splashed him playfully. Obviously this was a bad move because that started an all out water war. He soon surrendered, saying that no one could beat my magnificent water-splashing abilities. He gave me his shirt (it was getting pretty cold) and I couldn't help but notice his muscles. I hadn't realized how close we were until he pushed my hair behind my ear.

"Can I kiss you?" Ian whispered softly.

I nodded, my heart pounding, and he tilted my head up and kissed me. His lips were soft against mine, and all I could think was that this was the best moment of my whole life. I instinctively put my arms around his neck and he put his arms around my waist. After what seemed like hours of this, we gently parted and, with his hand entwined in mine, we headed back to the camp.

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"Where were you guys?" Ethan exclaimed.

He saw the looks on our faces as we scooted away from each other. I could tell he was angry from the deep darkness of his eyes. But Ethan's anger was far from my mind--I was too busy reliving my first kiss ever, unless you counted that one time with Johnny Terrel....It was second grade and HE kissed ME in the middle of class and got us both suspended. Other than that time, Ian was my first kiss, and he had made it the best it could be. I hardly even heard Ethan and Ian bickering, I was busy daydreaming about the best night of my life.

Chapter 7

We traveled on, still following the almost invisible footsteps. Ian and I kept subconsciously looking at each other, and every tender look made Ethan even more mad. Smoke was practically coming out of his ears by the time we made camp. That was why I was surprised when Ethan pulled me aside and said in a whisper, "Come with me."

He led me to a clearing, not much bigger than a swimming pool. Ethan took me to where he had a little picnic, even though we just had dinner. However, this was more like a snacky picnic. Wild raspberries sat on a plate made from bark, and fresh spring water sat in delicate little cups.