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When I walked out into the open forest, my eyes squinted hard as the sun was practically blinding me. It took a few moments for them to adjust to the new sunlight, but when they did, I was ready to go and find my bracelet. I walked a little to the left of the building as I began my search. My mind was racing, trying to retrace my last few steps all while trying not to replay the argument that Zach and I just had. There was no way that he could understand how much it meant to me, how much I needed to find it and get it back. The thunder was racing through the sky as the clouds grew darker and the rain started to fall. No, this couldn't be happening- I needed to find it. Suddenly, something grabbed me and pulled me behind a tree, placing a hand over my mouth. "Sh, don't move until I say so," Zach whispered, his eyes looking beyond me as the rumbling on the ground moved closer. "Now!" He said, grabbing my hand and running towards the old storage shed we had found only minutes earlier, as the dinosaur screamed into the air and started running towards our location.
It was cramped, dark, and there were probably spiders everywhere, but I couldn't stop staring out the small window on the door, looking at the dinosaur that was hunting for us only a few feet away. "Zach.." I whispered, my voice trembling.
Without saying a word he wrapped his arm around my waist, bringing me into him. We looked at one another, both of us wanting to speak, but unsure of what to say. And as his heartbeat began to match mine, I let out a sob and clutched onto him tightly, resting my head on his chest as we both looked out of the window, wondering if we were going to make it out of this alive. I don't know how long we stood there listening to one another breathe, it seemed like forever. Neither one of us wanted to risk moving in case the dinosaur was still out there and heard our small movements. The smell of Zach's cologne was comforting in a way. It had a scent of Sandalwood amongst other things...but the sandalwood stood out the most. "Hailey..." he whispered, lifting his chin off of the top of my head and leaning back slightly so he could look at me. "do you think the coast is clear?"
I looked out of the small window and waited for any sign that the dinosaur was still in our presence. "I think it's gone, should we-"
"Um, I don't want to take any chances..." he said, biting the inside of his cheek. "in case that dinosaur is out there...but if you think we should go out- outside I mean, then we can."
I looked at him and for a short moment, I considered telling him that I didn't want to go outside, that I wanted to stay right here in this position and moment. But I couldn't bring myself to. Granted, I know that there's something between us, but how am I to know that he knows that too? "Yeah, let's go outside."
We stepped away from one another and he opened the shed door slowly, peeping his head out before walking out himself. He nodded his head at me to come out of the shed and he extended his hand to me. I took it and walked out of the shed, letting the door close softly behind me. "I think we're good, the dinosaur is gone." He sighed.
We looked at one another, both of us obviously unsure about what to really say about what happened. Do I tell him that he was right? Could I have died? Or does he apologize for saying it in that way? "Zach...why did you come after me? What were you doing out here?"
