I'm Not Okay (rewrite)

Chapter Ten

I woke up to a loud growling sound. I look around, wondering what it could be, but then I realize it was my stomach. A bit of coffee should keep that down. I sit up and stretch, hearing my back crack. The best part of sleeping on the couch is that there is plenty of space. I head into the kitchen, and pick out a vanilla Keurig cup, and place it in the machine, as well as a mug full of water.

When the coffee comes out of the machine, it smells amazing. The smell of fresh caffeine wakes Gerard and Frank.

"Morning beautiful." Frank says, as he passes me to make his own cup of coffee. I take a sip of mine, and smile. It is so good.

"Ready for kayaking?" Gerard asks, practically jumping. I'm actually feeling a bit lightheaded, but I better keep that to myself.

"Yeah. When are we leaving?" I ask.

"As soon as the lazy butts get up." Frank chuckles. I drink the rest of my coffee, and look outside the window of the tour bus. I recognize the area we are driving through. This is Fredericksburg! We must be going to the Rappahannock river! I really need to take a shower, but I'm not sure if I should wait until we finish in the river. Ah, screw it I'm gonna shower.

"I'm going to go take a shower." I inform the two boys who are now drinking coffee. They nod, and I walk to the bathroom, undress and get in the small shower. I wash my hair and body, then step out, leaving the warmth of the shower behind.

I change into some denim shorts, and my maroon "30 hour famine" tee shirt. When I leave the bathroom, I see that everyone is up and waiting for me.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to take so long."

"It's fine, we just got here anyway." Claire smiles. We all run out of the bus, and onto the small beach.

"So this is where we are going kayaking?" I ask. Frank nods and leads me to a wooden building. A man is standing in the building behind a counter and greets us with a smile. Frank rents 3 kayaks, each fitting 2 people.

"I'll go with Gerard so you can go with Frank and Claire and Mikey can go together," Ray says to me. I smile and nod. The man from the building assists us with getting our life jackets on and getting the kayaks into the water. Frank and I lead the parade of yellow kayaks down the river. Moments after Claire and Mikey get in the water, I hear them scream. They went the wrong way and got stuck in some tree branches.

"Don't worry we'll save you!" I yell, then sigh. Me and Frank start to turn our kayak around, but to our suprise, Claire and Mikey start heading toward us and soon, pass us. "How did you-?", I ask amazed.

"I have experience with kayaking," Claire says, flashing me a cheesey grin.

"Then how did you guys get stuck?" Gerard sassily yells from behind us.

"Ask your brother," Claire yells back. Mikey playfully splashes water from the river into Claire's hair and face, giving Frank the same idea. He sprays my face with river water, which gets in my eyes.

"Ahh, Frank no!" I scream. He giggles, and wipes a few droplets out of my face.

"I love you." He says quietly. Inside my head, my jaw drops. What? He loves ME? He could have any girl on this planet, and he loves ME?

"I love you too Frankie." I reply with the same volume he used. He smiles at me, and continues to paddle our kayak. I would help, but I'm feeling very lightheaded and tired. I lean back, and rest myself on the back of the seat. Frank is in front of me, so I don't have to worry about him worrying about me.

Frank and I soon catch up to Claire and Mikey.

"You okay Caroline?" Claire asks with concern laced in her voice.