Perpetually Dreaming

Chapter 6-Tire Swings

((1706 words))
Chapter 6-Tire swings

      As I stood there, behind my car, I took in the sights around me. A few tents were pitched in the front of the lawn and the owners had begun construction on some sort of house nearby the tents. The garage we parked in front of wasn't anything special, but the house beside it was a farmhouse dream, complete with chickens swarming around it. On the porch, there was a small middle-aged woman, accompanied by an Australian Shepard. Opposite the house was a hill covered in blooming flowers, with a path leading off into the distance.

     A weary looking Shelby went up to the woman on the porch and acquired the keys and directions to where we would be staying. She came back to us and grabbed her things, before heading off onto the path surrounded by flowers. We hurriedly unloaded our things, as to not lose sight of her. Liam brought a sleeping bag with him, which I wasn't aware that I would need. Push comes to shove, I share with someone, not that big of a deal.

      I put on my backpack and grabbed the duffle, following Shelby and the others into the field, walking until we got over the hill and saw where we would be staying. By the looks of it, it was newly built, considering the wood hadn't gotten a weathered look on it yet. The small cabin sat on stilts, with a balcony on the ground level and stairs leading up to the house. I remarked to Liam that it looked like the Minecraft homes you build when you have no ideas, causing him to laugh.

     We walked up the stairs that had been laced with fairy lights and into the hut. Almost all of the walls were covered with windows which was great because the view was beyond belief. The house had a small table at the wall adjacent to the door, and opposite the table was a ladder up to a small loft that took up maybe a third of the ceiling. The ladder was surrounded by three couches, but Ally informed me they were actually futons. I picked one of the two beds on the loft, and Liam chose the one opposite and closer to the door. Shelby and the others made their homes downstairs on the beds, each couple getting their own and Shelby by herself. I found a couple of blankets already on my bed, so I figured I no longer have to fear the cold in the night.

      After a few minutes, everyone had settled in, so we sat around talking. Shelby seemed to have calmed down quite a bit after the incident at the gas station, but she was in that state after crying where you feel numb to the world. When she spoke, it was quiet and  maybe three words at max. Ally and Emily sat on either side of her, not necessarily comforting her, but being a backbone in case she broke down again. The boys sat on the couch closest to the door, leaving me to either sit on the floor or exclude myself from the conversation. The former seemed to be the prettier option in this scenario.

      "Put your phones on airplane mode, by the way," Ally explained. "There isn't service out here, so keeping your data on will just kill your battery." It was obvious that her and Shelby were the only ones that knew about the lack of service prior to us coming because everyone began to panic. I heard most of them yelling about how that means they can't upload and other things, but it didn't bother me all that much. I mean I usually only use my phone to text H or for school, so it's not that big of a deal to lose internet for a week. I mean I'm sure seven adults can find something other than being online to do.

      Then it hit me, H makes all his money from uploading videos, and they probably do too. That might not be good. In my head, I began to formulate a plan for them. "Maybe you guys can just vlog while you're here? Or even better, don't work for the week at all. Take it off, be dumb," I explained to them with a smile, but they didn't seem to care that much. Will explained to me that they had all the videos done for the week, they just needed to upload them. I felt red creep into my cheeks from my stupidity, but I quickly tried to recover.

    "Vacationing on your vacation is still an option," I said, but it was for nothing, the conversation had already switched topics, and I was left behind. They all knew each other so well, I shouldn't have come. Trying to include me in things is just a burden on their friendship, I don't know why Ally invited me. I didn't want to breakdown in front of them, they didn't need any more drama today, so I quickly put myself back together.

     "I'm going for a walk if anyone wants to come with," I announced, heading for the door. Everyone except Will and Emily decided to come with, Emily saying that she's "really jet lagged and wants to go to bed early," and Will staying because he just likes to be with her. I held the door for those who decided to come with when Shelby said her first full sentence since we got here: "Oh no! I forgot, I need to go into town to pick up the pizzas, they won't deliver to out here." She ran back inside and grabbed a yellow shoulder bag, walking to her car.

    We shared confused looks with each other at her sudden change in emotion before Zach ran after to help, Ally close behind. I was left alone with Liam, so we continued the walk as it was planned. Golden hour had begun a few moments ago, casting warm rays across the entire site. Liam and I walked down to the gravel driveway and begun to notice all the small chickens surrounding us. He laughed as he tried to pick one up, but it fled before he could.
 
      I don't know how long we spent chasing the birds, but it was long enough to make us out of breath. Not too long though, for the sun hadn't fully set and the chickens weren't going to their coop just yet. We started walking around the site, looking for something to do. A few feet outside of the small construction zone was a small tire swing which I immediately began to sprint to once I saw. Liam struggled to keep up with me, but he eventually made it to the rusty looking swing.

     I sat on it and tried to make it swing on my own, but that resulted in me spinning in circles, yelling, "I REQUIRE ASSISTANCE!" Liam let out a loud laugh as he walked over, grabbing two out of the three chains. I quickly came to a halt, being pushed into his arms by the leftover momentum with nowhere else to go. He caught me by the waist and stumbled back slightly, somehow managing not to fall. I remained on the swing surprisingly, so we stayed there for a few seconds, taking in the sight of each other. I was leaning in to kiss him when we were interrupted by a screaming Emily.

      "Wait! Y'all are a thing?" She asked. I have never heard Y'all said in a British accent before just now... sounds as weird as you would assume. She ran over in excitement, and I watched as a defeated-looking Will put a small box back into his jacket pock-- Oh my god that was a ring box. I made a mental note to tell Liam about it later, but right now wasn't the time. Emily was excitedly jumping up and down over H and I, So we had to address that first.

    "How long?"

    "Four-ish hours," I told her. Just then, Shelby's car pulled into the driveway, and Emily began to run to her to tell the news, only being stopped by H frantically saying, "She just got dumped, please keep this a secret from her for a few days, okay? And from Ally and Zach too... Just keep this all on the down low."

      Emily looked defeated about not being able to tell, but, nonetheless, she agreed to keep it a secret. We all walked back to the cabin for dinner, praying that we would keep the other secrets. Shelby was oddly happy again, but I won't question it. I don't know the girl, maybe this is just a regular thing for her. Being cheerful that is, not the just getting dumped part.

      The pizza was mediocre at best, but I guess that it's pretty good for California. Back on the east coast, we had the best pizza imaginable. Guess that that's just the price I have to pay for leaving Jersey. There wasn't a slice left when we were done though. We left the boxes closed on the table and begun to go to bed, worn out after a long day of travel.

     I attempted to find a comfortable way to sleep, but there wasn't one. The blankets felt like terrible towels and the bed itself wasn't too comfortable either. I felt the cold of night begin to creep into the house after a few minutes of struggling before I decided to just give up and crawled over to H. The ceiling was maybe three feet above the beds, so it was a struggle not to bump my head.

   Once I had successfully reached his side, I shook his arm until he awoke. He gave me a confused look, whispering, "Nat, what are you doing?"

     "Unzip the sleeping bag, it's freezing over here," I whispered back. He didn't question me anymore, though I know he wanted to. I tucked myself under the blanket and put my head on his chest. It didn't take long to get me to go to sleep after that, drifting off into a dreamless slumber, but jokes on you, all my dreams have already come true.