Breathe Me

Lesson Number One

"Where are we going?"

Asher's Jeep was parked at the far end of the lot, still a shiny black despite the mud that had kicked up at the bottom rim of the metal. In typical Jeep fashion, the only window the car had was the windshield, and the roof was completely open. The one thing that brought the car any sense of security were the doors that had remained attached, presumably to keep all his belongings in the car. Asher tossed his bag into the back; I followed suit.

It wasn't until Asher had unlocked the car that he spoke up to say anything. Leaning outside of the car over the driver's seat door, he gave me a devilish smirk, declaring,"We are going on an adventure!"

Asher flopped into the driver's seat, pushing the key into the ignition, making the engine roar with life. Despite the uneasiness that had taken hold of my body as a result of the uncertainty of our destination, I climbed in tot he seat besides Asher, watching the way the sun lit up his eyes to a golden brown.

His car was cleaner than I expected, its contents only being a few water bottles, a blanket, our backpacks, and an additional bag that reminded me of one you'd see hikers wearing. I prayed that wasn't what he had in store for us; I'm not so sure my body could handle that.

That reminded me- I needed to take my next dose of medicine. After discreetly reaching behind my seat and slipping my hand into my bag to pull out of one of the pills from my Ziploc, I eyed the water bottles once more.

"Mind if I have one of these?" I pointed to one of the full bottles in his cup holder.

Asher glanced down for a second before returning his focus to the lot so that he could pull out. "It's all yours."

As subtly as possible, I passed my fingers over my lips to slip the pill in, trying to play the motion off as a scratch before unscrewing the cap on the water bottle and taking in a large gulp. Luckily, Asher's focus was on anything but me, or so it appeared.

A sense of peace settled over me as we drove off into the distance, the little beam of sunlight refusing to leave us. I didn't mind its company, though. It was warm and comforting making me believe for just a moment that something gold could actually stay. But then the reality set in with the fact that nothing lasts forever: not this hazy sunlight, not pain, not even us. Ponyboy learned that the hard way. I just read a lot of books.

It wasn't until we were out of town that Asher decided to speak up. "I've never seen you so relaxed. If only I knew all I had to do to get you to put your guard down was to kidnap you."

Asher spoke in a playful tone, but there was no denying the sincerity that seemed to string his words together I wasn't about to lie to him and say it wasn't true, so instead, I just nodded. "There's something about being so far removed from everything where you are forced to acknowledge the elements from which you came from that I find comforting."

Asher chuckled. "You sure it has nothing to do with the fact that you notified your dad that some strange boy has taken you hostage, and you want him to knock me out? We both know that's what you were doing when you not so discreetly grabbed your bag."

I felt the colour drain from my face at the mention of my dad. Asher must have picked up o the tension as he caught a glimpse of me while I remained silent.

"I was just kidding, you know?" he interrupted with a shaky voice, clearly worried he crossed a line. "Or at least I hope I was. You didn't actually text your dad to beat me up, did you?"

The serious expression that took over Asher's face was enough to make me laugh and forget the whole deal. "No, don't worry. You're safe for now."

I let my arm rest along the top of the door, my fingers spread to catch the sensation of the forceful wind blowing in between them.