diamonds | river phoenix

nineteen

By the time River and I finally managed to stumble into the airport, the sun was up and it was already starting to get hot.

I felt fatigued, like I could collapse in exhaustion at any point given. Walking countless hours and miles through the streets of Toronto was hard enough, even worse when you were doing it in the middle of the night.

My legs felt like jelly and I could barely stand, River looking the same. I felt like I was drifting in and out of consciousness, I desperately needed to sit down and rest for a bit.

Holding my hand, River lead me over to an empty bench in a deserted part of the airport, where it was quiet. I sat down, all of my weight suddenly being lifted off of my feet. It almost felt magical. River took a seat beside me, gently lifting my head and placing it on his lap, so I could rest. We stayed there for a while, not speaking, just taking in what had happened so far that day.

Courtesy of Riv stroking my hair, I felt myself slowly drift off to sleep.

A while later, I woke to River waving two pieces of paper in my face. Sitting up and rubbing my eyes, I took the papers from him.

"Two first class tickets?" I exclaimed, unable to believe it. I was shocked, how did he manage to get seats in first class at such little notice?

"How?" I said excitedly, playfully tackling him.

He shrugged.

"It was all that was available."

That didn't seem right, but I wasn't about to refuse his offer.

"Is something wrong? Are they bad?" He asked nervously.

"What? No! They're the best seats you can get!" I replied, hugging him around the waist.

"one-forty at gate 6." I read off the ticket. I looked around, trying to locate some sort of clock. I finally managed to see one hanging behind an old counter.

"one- thirty five! We have to go!" I almost yelled, literally dragging River off his feet.

We dashed madly around the endless hallways of the airport until we found the gate.

"Are we late?" I asked the lady at the desk, huffing and puffing.

She shook her head, and I thrusted the tickets at her. She scoffed, before rudely snatching them and swiping them in some sort of machine.

"That way." She pointed, not looking up.

"Let's go!" I said, holding River's hand in mine. We ran down the long bridge until we got to the door of the plane. Struggling to catch his breath, River leaned over, resting his hands on my shoulders.

After a minute or so, we made our way into the plane. It was exciting and nerve racking; I'd never flown first class before.

Without hesitation, River sat down in an empty recliner, playing with the settings. I took a seat next to him.

"This is crazy." I told him.

"What?" He asked, still fiddling with the buttons.

"We're leaving the country and going to another, we have nothing."

"As long as I have you, I don't need anything." He said, beaming. I leaned over and kissed him.

"I love you so much." I told him.

"I love you too."