Stars Of Our Lives

No Touchy Please

We stayed there at the side of the road for a few hours, sleeping in shifts to let everything calm down as much as possible. Steve offered to take the first shift. I was asleep before he was done talking. It was close to two in the morning when I could finally get up again.

Everyone was awake at that point, just eager to get going. So we did, and by the end of the next day, Steve's hands were bright pink from the blood on the steering wheel. 

But at least the rain had finally let up.

We had parked in a small clearing of trees, pulling off the road to hide beneath the canopy of leaves. The sun was barely set across the horizon when I stepped out of the car, gazing up at the first cloudless sky I'd seen in a week. I knew what that meant. 

Stars.

"Where are you going?" Krel called.

"I'll stay close!"

Jogging to the largest oak a little ways from the clearing, I put my hands on the bark to pull myself up. A sharp ache shot through them, forcing me to release with a cry. Eli had cleaned and wrapped my hands this morning, leaving me with gloves made of gauze. Guess that probably wasn't the greatest thing to have when you climb trees.

"Need some help?"

I turned to see Steve approaching, nodding towards my hands.

"Thanks," I replied.

He lowered himself onto one knee, knitting his fingers together as a foothold. With my sneaker situated against his palms, I rocketed myself up into the branches, catching myself with my wrists.

"You good?"

"Yep!"

Kicking my legs against the branch, I heaved myself up several more, using my elbows and forearms as grips. It actually wasn't too hard.

The sound of a shoes sliding on bark made me turn, watching Steve tumble back to the dirt. I giggled, swerving back down, anchoring my elbow against a low branch, and holding my hand out to him.

I didn't even realize what I was doing . . . until I did. But I didn't stop. Fingers, arms, and shoulders had brushed me over the past few days. Nothing happened then. And when I grabbed his hand in Walmart - nothing happened then either.

Dangerous, my mind said. This is dangerous.

And it was. But I didn't care.

"You're not like other girls," Steve said. "Are you?"

His hand reached past mine, grabbing my wrist probably to avoid causing me anymore pain. I still felt the heel of his calloused hand brush the skin where my sleeve ended. I still felt the warmth of his wrist through the gauze. It made me giggle again.

"You have no idea."

He followed me up through the tree, his hand still clamped around my wrist for stability - and I didn't mind it one bit. The branch I settled on was thick, but still high enough that I could see the sky over the canopy. I scooted along it, pulling Steve with me.

And then -

Then I looked up and -

The sight knocked the wind right out of me.

Stars. Glittering and glowing across the sky. So delicate. So constant, the constellations already jumping out at me - like no time had passed since I'd last seen them. Blues and purples brushed back and forth behind the lights, completely mesmerizing me.

I didn't realize I was crying until Steve reached over to brush a tear away. I beat him to it before I could stop myself. It was probably better that way.