Everything happens for a reason

Everything happens for a reason 18

Chapter 18: Exhaustion leads to... nothing good

Ellie's point of view

It had been exactly 2 weeks yesterday and frankly, I think I may have bored Pudge to death by my talking.

He was resting on my shoulder as I walked through the bush alongside the river. I had left my backpack on the other side when I had been washing my clothes and forgot to get it back. I had to stay near the river so I could drink, but go far enough in to find the berries that were edible, because the ones on the rivers edge were deadly.

I remember reading about them once; as soon as the juice is swallowed, it is a painfully slow death. I won't describe it in detail because it is just too horrible, but it sure as hell made me look twice even three times before I ate any berries.

It was just past midday and I was exhausted from walking around all day with no water. I flopped down on the path my arms spread wide as my head rested on the soft earth beneath me. Pudge climbed onto my stomach and curled up into a tiny ball his little chest rising and falling, his breathing evening out and eventually falling into a deep slumber.

I watched his small chest rise and fall softly for a while before turning my gaze up to the trees swaying back n forth above me. Their branches like long hands waving at me. I smiled and watched in a trance as the light faded as clouds passed over the sun and the trees arms waved at me continuously.

I must have fallen asleep at sometime because I woke to hands shaking me vigorously pulling me away from sleep.

"Go away, I'm trying to sleep!" I yelled out. But the hands never let up; they just shook me harder until I sat up banging my head into something my eyes flying open.

"What the hell, can't a girl get some sleep? Jeeze!" I yelled lying back down and placing my cool hand against me head. That person has a very hard head. "Ellie?" Someone whispered.

"Yeah, Josh, who else is it going to be, the Easter bunny? Well if you want me to put on a bunny costume and prance around handing out Easter eggs then fine, but it's going to have to wait because I need sleep, I haven't slept in four days!" I groaned sliding my hand off my head and over my eyes.

"Ellie?" He whispered again.

"Jeeze, Josh, we've already established that I'm- wait." I said sitting up.

"Josh?" I breathed.

"Ellie." He repeated for the third time. "Ellie! Oh Ellie, I thought you were dead, oh Ellie!" He pounced on me knocking me back to the ground, his arms wrapped tightly around me. I was so shocked I couldn't say anything, I just lie there as he squeezed the life out of me, and then just before it was becoming unbearable.

"Can't... Breathe... Josh... Too... Tight..." I wheezed.

"Oh, right, sorry." He mumbled, his voice breaking at the end and I realized he was crying.

He pulled back and I held his face in my hands. I brushed the tears away worry lining my face. The tears wouldn't stop running; no matter how many times I brushed them away, they just kept running down his cheeks. I hadn't realized I was crying until his hand came up and brushed the tears away from my face to. I slipped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer, holding him against me.

I hated to see him so broken that he was crying. I thought it was sweet that he cared enough to cry for me.

I could feel my own tears running in a steady stream down my face, soaking his t-shirt. Racking sobs shook through us making the other shake more.

After a while of just holding each other I calmed down a bit, my tears had dried up but I could still feel Josh whimpering against me. I rubbed his back trying to calm him down.

"I'm n-never l-letting you g-go." He hiccupped.

"Shh, It's ok. I'm not going anywhere. You can hold me forever I promise." I whispered calmly stroking his back. He squeezed me tighter.

"You mean that Ellie? You mean forever?" He sounded so unsure.

"I'm sure Josh, Forever. I never want to be away from you again, it's just to hard, just too much pain, it hurts too much." I was sobbing again and this time it was his turn to comfort me. He pulled me into his lap, cradling me like a baby. I curled into him, gripping the front of his shirt.

"Don't worry Ellie. I've got you." He whispered against my hair.

"I know. I just can't believe it. I think I'm dreaming, I must be." I whispered, not sure if he had heard it. He didn't answer for while, just rocked me back and forth, stroking my arm, and kissing the top of my head.

"I love you Ellie." He finally said. I breathed a sigh of relief, it was true, it was all real, he wasn't a dream, I hadn't manifested him, and he was real.

"I love you too Josh." I said taking my hands from the front of his shirt and snaking them around his waist pulling myself closer to him. I tilted my face up to look into his eyes, those eyes; I had not looked at for two weeks and two days. Those beautiful green eyes that held me captive whenever I looked into them. Those beautiful green eyes that were shining with love right now. I got all the love I could find and put it into one look. Staring at him with that look, so he would know that I loved him so much, that if he ever let me go, I would fall apart.

He leaned his head down and touched his lips to mine softly. Then again, a little longer. The next time, I put my hand behind his head so he couldn't pull away. I kissed him softly back, returning all the love that he was giving me right then.

I know some people say that you never find you soul mate or true love in high school, but those people don't know that it's not about the fact that most people don't take love as seriously as it should be taken in high school, because they don't understand it.

Right now though, right now, in this very moment, I know some people find them, they find the person they are suppose to live the rest of their lives with in high school. Some do, and then think better and try to find someone else, but they always end up getting back together, its fates way of saying, that those two people are suppose to be together forever.

Right then, I knew that fate had given me a sign, no one else had found me, it was Josh, he was here, holding me, loving me, kissing me, he was here and he was mine forever.

We kissed for a long time that night and as promised, even when we did break away, he never let me go, and I never loosened my grip on his waist, if anything we gripped each other tighter, because our kiss wasn't holding us together anymore.

I leaned my head on his shoulder and peered up at him through my lashes. He was looking back. I reached up and kissed him one the chin, and he tilted his head down and kissed my head.

"I love you." I whispered. The smile was what Rose would have called his 'thousand-watt smile' that amazing one filled with love and admiration.

"I love you too." He whispered, his breath tickling my ear as he leaned closer. He kissed my neck, then my shoulder, then my cheek, and finally, my mouth. I could never get enough of him; I never would be able to. I pushed that aside though because I loved the feeling that swept through me, the one that sent tingles running through my body whenever he touched me, looked at me, kissed me, anything.

We kissed for a little while longer before he pulled us over towards a tree. He leaned his back against it while his arms encircled me again, pulling me around so that I was pressed against him.

I kissed him again, and whispered, "I love you, goodnight." A smile evident in my voice. My eyelids drooped, I was so tired from all the crying, the shock, the kissing, everything made me so tired, but I was fine with that because I was in his arms and I never had to leave them. Just as I was vanquished by sleep, I heard one last whispered sentence that put a smile on my face for the rest of the night.

"I love you Ellie, one day you will be mine forever. I promise I won't make you wait too long. Sleep well my beautiful girl."