Wanderlust ∞

Chapter #1

I want to breathe. Shut my eyes, inhale and just – breathe. Without the heaviness of the world, all the noise and destruction. I feel suffocated, shackled. And I wasn't alone.

Dear Mum,

Please don't worry. I know this isn't like me, disappearing all of a sudden. But I promise I'm fine. No, I haven't been forced to write this by some creepy serial killer or whatever's going through your mind right now. Just know I'm safe. I'm with my friends, and we're going to be away for a while. I don't have my phone, but I'll call home, okay? You don't understand, and I don't know if you ever will. But we needed to get away. School's over. And the world, the world's open.

I love you,

Lola.

A small sigh emerged from my lips as I glanced up, meeting Jake's gaze. "What?" I asked, his blue irises scanning mine. There was a certain look on his face, an endearing sense of gratification. He combed a hand through his brunette hair, leaning  in to the back seat and shaking his head.

"Nothing." He murmured softly, a small grin still playing on his lips. He did that often, he had a habit of studying people; clogging his mind with thoughts but refusing to confess what he was thinking. I rolled my eyes and returned my attention to the front of the car.

"Where are we actually going?" Muttered Cassie, a fiesty blonde with the capacity to be rather sassy. She raised an eyebrow, glancing around at the blank faces in the car before groaning hopelessly and returning to her game of angry birds. Where were we going? It was clear none of us knew. But the excitement and mystery of the unknown drove us. I couldn't help but smile a little, our car steadily moving through an empty lane.

"How about California?" Suggested Harry, his quiet yet attention-earning voice echoing through the fairly silent car. He had been quite the father figure through the planning of the trip, ensuring we had all wrote our rather useless notes to our parents and brought everything we needed.

"Are you kidding?" Cassie responded, her tone as bitter as always.

"No, Cass, I'm not."

The entire car fell silent. There was a certain tension between the pair, and there always had been since Cassie found her sister and Harry evidently hooking up one afternoon.

"I don't really give a shit where we go." Sam pointed out, his index finger raising from the back seat of the car as she slouched beside Jake. His comedic voice instantly lightened the atmosphere and a few smiles appeared.

Running my fingers through my dark hair, I pulled my knees up and leaned against the cool window. The sun was gradually setting in the distance, creating a glimmering light hovering above the distant trees. I tapped gently at my knee, the quiet chatter in the car drowning out The Kooks playing in the background. There was only one person who hadn't spoken since we packed up, Anna. I leaned closer to her, whispering in her ear.

"You okay?" I asked, gnawing at my lip. Her silence often meant something was most definitely up.

"I'm fine." She mumbled, flashing a reassuring smile.

The car slowly came to a halt.

"Okay you assholes, get up." Harry demanded, pulling the key out of ignition. I stretched my arms, opening the door and slipping out of the car. The warm breeze pulled me into a sudden embrace, hugging my skin softly. Taking a step back, I allowed Cassie and Anna to exit the van.

"This is the part where you do the special chair flippy thing to let us out." Jake murmured, scratching the back of his neck. He and Drew were unfortunately lumped with the back seats, meaning the front chairs had to be pushed forward.

"Or you could just do this." Drew shouted, diving in between the small gap of the top of the seats and the cieling of the car. Rolling out on to the seats in front, a quiet giggle emerged from my lips.

"Idiot." I pulled the chair forward, allowing room for Jake to exit.  "What is this place, anyway?" I asked whilst Jake and I fiddled to push the chair back. Shutting the car door, I brought my attention to the small cabin.

"It's my dads lake house. We can stay here for a few days whilst we plan an actual route." Harry nodded, pulling out his luggage.

We began unloading our things from the van, excitement brewing amongst us. My gaze occasionally shifted back to Anna, the concerned look remaining plastered on my face. A light flutter errupted in my heart, something I hadn't quite ever felt before. I was living. Living for real this time. No deadlines, or worries about my parents. I was breathing.