Green Eyes

CHAPTER 25

We pulled off the freeway at 2:00 pm. Katie was watching a movie on her iPad in the backseat and Grace and I talked in the front. Grace's window was rolled down and as the car started to slow down, she stuck her arm out the window, feeling the wind.

I followed my Dad's car into the thick trees. We emerged on a paved road in a campsite that was fairly empty. There were spots marked with signs, fire pits, tents and RV's scattered across the site. 

Dad's car pulled into a large site right on the beach. There was a large grassy patch, a picnic table, and a fire pit. There were a few wooden stairs leading down the slope to the sand. 

I parked near Dad's car and shut the engine off. Immediately from the backseat Katie ripped out her earbuds and unbuckled. She jumped out of the car and rushed down the road past the other campsites to where the bathroom was. 

I slowly got out of the car to help my Dad with the tents.

"Here..." My dad heaved a large duffle bag out of his car. "Here is your tent!" He smiled.

"Do you need help?" Grace asked me. I nodded and we started to pitch the tent in the corner of the grassy patch. 

Soon we had the tents set up and the car was nearly unpacked. Dad had brought several air mattresses. Me and Katie had to share a Queen sized mattress in our tent, and Grace would sleep on the twin. I wanted to sleep with my girlfriend, but I wasn't about to convey that to my parents. 

Katie set up the sleeping bags and extra blankets and pillows. 

"Do you want to check out the beach?" I whispered to Grace. 

"Sure." She smiled. 

"DAD! WE'RE GOING TO THE BEACH!" I yelled at him as we left. It was a short walk to the sand, but if we wanted to get to the shore and a spot where my parents couldn't see us, it ended up being a five minute walk. 

The sand was warm on my toes as I walked side by side with Grace. She looked at her feet the whole walk and bit her lip.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"What do you mean?"

"What are you thinking about?"

"How could you tell?" Grace smiled at me. 

"You bite your lip when you think..." I smiled. She also bites her lip when she was turned on, but that's not really the point.

"Oh." She took my hand and sat down on large birch log sitting near the water, pulling me with her. We sat side by side, facing each other. She looked down and I could tell something was wrong.

"Grace..." I whispered. "What is it?"

"It's my parents, James." She sighed. "You have no idea what it's like for me. They want me to do one thing. I don't want to be a doctor, James. I want to travel the world. I want to be exciting and surprising... like you." 

"My parents..." I trailed off. "They give me that freedom because they think I'm out of surprises. I've wanted to be a writer, I still do but... a college writing course, that's all essays. I want to write about the world... your not alone." 

She looked at me and I saw her eyes cloud up with tears. I smiled and took her hands into mine, letting her lean on my shoulder. We sat there for several minutes, not bothering to talk, just listening to the ocean...