Teardrops

Chapter 29: The Little Nut Princess

Chapter 29

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Lexi's Point Of View

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I awoke peacefully, smiling to myself as the sun began to filter down through the threads of the tent. I assumed Shelly would be awake, since I couldn't hear deep breathing or snoring from my right, so I rolled over to look at her.

"Good morning, my princess." I planned to say. But, instead, I shrieked. Because my princess wasn't there anymore.

"Donny!! Donny!!"

"Huh?" he grunted. He opened his bright green eyes groggily for a moment, saw me, sighed a little, and then fell back asleep.

"Douchebag." I muttered as I stepped clumsily out of the tent in a rush. I stuffed my feet into my shoes and shuffled over to my camping chair to put them on properly- but only because it would help me move faster in the long run. Sitting still while Shelly was missing was killing me. A moment later, I tore down the path leading to the water, hoping it was the right one, the one that led to Shelly.

Did she leave? Was she kidnapped? Did she go for a walk and get hurt? Is she... is she... alive? Did she leave because she hates me?

My mind raced with utter panic as different scenarios presented themselves to me. I stumbled slightly as the packed dirt became sand under my feet; I was on the beach. I looked around hurriedly, my heart in my throat. It was stupid of me to think I could find her this way...

There!! A flash of blue on the boulder in the middle of the river caught my attention.

"Shelly??" I cried out, my heart leaping with anticipation. A faint, "Huh?" could be heard from the form, as if it had just woken up. As I watched, the person sat up slowly, and their hood fell off. It was her!!

It was hard to keep myself from dashing across the rocks to her. I would probably make us both fall in. It was a terrifying experience for me to watch Shelly navigate the rocks by herself. Every time she stepped, wobbled, jumped, crouched, or threw her arms out for balance, my breathing would catch in my throat. But she made it safely, without ever seeming worried, herself, and as soon as she was safely on the beach, I ran to her and tackled her to the ground in a huge bear hug.

"Oof!!" Shelly exclaimed when I barreled into her. I held her tighter, breathing heavily as I thought about all the bad things my mind told me had happened to her. I buried my face in her hair and whispered, "You scared me to death, you little nut."

"Says the person who tackled me like a football player. Dang, Lexi." she replied, not fighting my grip at all.

"Hmmmmmmmmmm." I was still trying to calm my erratically beating pulse, "Momma bear will kill you herself if you do that again."

"Yeah, right." She didn't believe that I would hurt her. She was right.

"Hush, child."

"What time is it?"

"Umm... like 5 ish." I guestimated.

"Can we go back to bed?" Shelly yawned, "I accidentally fell asleep on the rock but it wasn't very comfortable."

"Okay..." slowly, I let go of her and stood up, fighting the need to grab her and never let go so that she couldn't leave again.

"I'm not going anywhere." she smiled at me like the little mind-reader she was.

"Okay." I breathed, exhaling slowly.

Slowly, we began to walk down the path, side by side. I was trying to be conscious of the fact that she had only recently gotten the cast off and that she was half-asleep, but the more I thought about Donny being alone, the more anxious I became.