Never Letting Go (Book 1)(Reuploaded)

Chapter 8

Words: 1027

It seemed like we were racing against time as we ran across the camp to the buses. A few minutes later we had made it to the buses, with two minutes to spare. I put my hands on my knees and tried to catch my breath. I looked up at Zach and saw the he was already looking at me. He held his hand out and I quickly high fived him. We got in line and quickly got suited up with life jackets. We piled onto the bus and sat next to each other. I looked out the window the entire time.

The river looked long and winding, but never failed to be beautiful. I just stared at the water, not making a sound. I then felt some pressure on my hand and look over to see Zach's big hand on top of my smaller one. I looked up at Zach, confused.

"What are you doing?" I whispered.

"I wanted to get your attention. Are you ok?" I nodded and leaned against him, putting my head on his shoulder. I kept my eyes open, not wanting to fall asleep.

"Hey Zach?"

"Hmm?"

"Can you sing to me?" He moved his head to look down at me. I looked up at him, with my head still on his shoulder, which caused his face to be really close to mine. I looked from his eyes, then down to his lips, and back up to his eyes.

"Please," I whispered barely above a whisper. He just continued to stare at me. I picked my head up from his shoulder and looked at him. I waved my hand in front of his face until he snapped out of whatever he was in.

"Wait what?" I laughed, and went closer to him so I wouldn't talk in front of everyone.

"I asked if you could sing to me," I whispered into his ear. I pulled back and saw him nod while smiling softly.

"What do you want me to sing?" He asked looking into my eyes. I thought for a second. Once a song popped into my head, I leaned over to his ear and whispered.

"A thousand years," he looked at me and nodded. I leaned my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes as he sang the first verse, quietly.

"Heart beats fast, colors and promises. How to be brave, how can I love when I'm afraid to fall. But watching you stand alone, all of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow. One step closer" I slowly start to fall asleep as he starts on the chorus.

"I have died everyday, waiting for you. Darling don't be afraid I have loved you, for a thousand years..." I let the darkness take over.

~

I was awoken by the sound of brakes. I lifted my head and looked out the window to see a lot of kids carrying rafts.

"Well it's nice of you to join us Sleeping Beauty," I turned towards Zach to see him smiling widely, causing me to have a slight smile. Someone cleared their throat and I looked to the front of the bus as one of the staff members started talking.

"So before we get off the bus, I need to tell you a few things. 1. You need to stay with your buddy that you were paired with when you first arrived. 2. You are not aloud to say cold, freezing, or anything related to that or else you will be pushed into the water by your guide or anyone else in your raft. 3. Listen to your guide as he or she doesn't want you to get injured. That's all now go have fun," he finished and got off the bus. All at once, every kid stood up and started walked down the crowded isle. Zach started walking, so I immediately grabbed his bicep as to not get separated. He looked back at me and smiled. Once we got off the bus, we walked to a building to put our belongings so they would be dry. Like towels, phones, etc. Once we'd put our things in the big wooden box, we went to go get oars. After we had gotten our paddles, we headed down to the place where they had the rafts. I let my hand leave Zach's arm as I walked up to the river. I bent down and let my fingertips touch the water. I closed my eyes and breathed in. I felt a presence behind me, but didn't care as I took in the peace that this place gave me. I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Winter, we need to go," I sighed and stood up, turning to Zach.

"Ok," I said under a whisper. He grabbed my hand and led me over to a raft with a female guide. She held her hand out for us to shake.

"Hi! My name is Karissa and I'll be your guide today!" She seemed to cheery for me. Plus I had a bad feeling that something was going to happen. I pulled Zach away from talking to our guide. He looked at me, confused.

"Is everything ok?" He looked me in the eye and put his hand on my shoulder. I faced him.

"I just have a feeling that something bad is going to happen. That's all," his face softened.

"Are you scared?" I looked down and nodded. He pulled me in for a hug and I rested my head on his chest and breathed in. 'I could get used to this' I placed my arms around his waist. He rested his chin on top of my head.

"I'll be right there beside you. You don't have to be scared. I won't leave you," I smiled at his words. 'This boy makes me so happy' he pulled away, but kept his hands on my waist. He slowly leaned in and kissed my forehead.

"Are you ready?" He asked, I nodded in response. He smiled and pulled me to the raft where I saw Aster and Daniel, and two other people that I didn't know.

'I hope this goes well'