Carry Me Home

Forty-One

Evelyn

The sunlight brightly shone into the room as I slept beside Rowan. The silence was blissful and calming as I cuddled in deeper into his side. This moment right here made all my worries disappear and made my life feel complete. I rested my head on Rowan's chest and listened to his therapeutic heartbeat - a constant reminder that he was still here with me. As long as that heart kept on beating, he wasn't going anywhere. 

He didn't promise me any sense of security when we started this relationship but with his actions he did vow to me that I won't ever have to face any issues alone. 

Then why did you want to face such a big problem by yourself, Rowan?

"You're awake?" he croaked, peering down at me. I smiled up at him and he kissed my head in return. "We should wake up like this more often."

"No, thank you. You kicked me about ten times during the night," I lied, detaching myself from him. He scoffed at me and put on an offended expression.

"Excuse me, Evelyn Lawson, but I'm a very calm sleeper. You're the restless one - you whacked me with your hand about a million times." This time it was my turn to gasp and act offended at his comment on my restless sleep. "Don't worry, I still love you."

I rolled my eyes and got out of bed, leaving Rowan behind to shut his eyes for a little while more. 

xxx

"We're going to the beach today," Hayden exclaimed, handing me my tea in an excited manner. I took a long sip before registering what he said. 

"Why're you single-handedly making plans, Hayden?" I asked, cocking my eyebrow. 

"Because the two of you are too lazy and boring to make any exciting plans. Come on guys! We just finished our first year at uni."

"Which is why I want to catch up on all the sleep I lost, Hayd," Rowan added, taking a seat beside with this coffee mug in hand. His hand skimmed mine and just like that the butterflies came back and more fuel was added to the fire building up inside of me. His fingers intertwined themselves with mine below the table and it took me back to seven months ago where we were keeping our new relationship a secret from others. All that excitement came rushing back and made me feel like I had a new meaning to life.

"Listen to me you lazy little shits. We are going to the beach today and that is final. We've been stuck in this place for two weeks. Get up and get ready." I wanted to laugh at Hayden trying his best to be scary but decided to keep my mouth shut instead. 

I leisurely walked into my bedroom and changed into some shorts and a flowy shirt. I combed all the knots out of my hair and pulled it into a high ponytail. Sandals weren't my favourite sort of shoe but we were going to the beach so why not?

Driving to the beach wasn't any different from being in a car with Rowan and Hayden when going to the shopping centre. Both of them were singing from the top of their lungs despite the fact that both of them sounded like dying banshees. 

"Evie, join in!" Hayden asked enthusiastically, tapping his fingers against the dashboard. 

"I'm fine, thanks."

The beach was packed as usual during the summer but I found my own little isolated place among the sand which had to be ruined by my companions. Rowan and Hayden stripped of their shirts and went to go play around in the water. They might look like nineteen year olds but paired together they weren't any better than a bunch of five year olds. 

I placed my blanket on the sand with my beach chair on top and laid upon it with a book in my hand. Everytime I tried to focus on the words on the page my mind got distracted in all sorts of ways. My head was too cluttered to be of use to me when I wanted to relax so I just put the book down and looked at what Rowan and Hayden were doing. The two of them were currently engaged in some sort of race with some other people.