Reaching Emma

43.

The rest of the week went by quickly. Even though we had a few tests just, I was excited for spring break, well more excited to have a few days off of school. 

Anna and Jack offered to drive, so on Saturday morning we all packed our duffle bags into the cars and headed to Anna's lake house a few hours away. I rode with Anna, Emma and David, while Jack and Samantha followed us there.

Emma was fairly quiet most of the way there. I caught her in the middle of a yawn and dumbly asked, "You tired?"

"Yeah, I just didn't sleep well last night" she explained, trying to stifle another yawn. I nodded and our conversation ended just as quickly as it started. We listened to Anna's playlist and watched the trees and small towns whiz by around us, sitting in a comfortable silence. I glanced back at Emma and saw her nodding off. I smiled to myself; She looked so adorable. Next thing I knew her head had fallen and was resting against my shoulder. I instinctively scooted closer and felt her nuzzle onto my shoulder. I smiled down at her, a few strands of blond hair fell across her face as her breaths grew deeper. I heard someone clear their throat and glanced up to the front seat, only to see David looking back at me with his eyebrows raised. I rolled my eyes and looked back out the window, trying to ignore the smirk I knew he was giving me.

Before long we pulled up to a two-story cabin surrounded by trees. I woke Emma up and we stepped inside  the cabin. It was the perfect mix of outdoorsy and modern. Anna gave us a quick tour of the four-bedrooms, kitchen, living room and huge outdoor patio. The patio overlooked a beautiful lake, which was surrounded by trees. From the raised patio I could see a boat dock, unfortunately the lake was still too frozen to go swimming or use the boats. 

Since we got such an early start today, we had the entire day to hang out. 

"So what do you guys want to do first?" Anna asked when we all congregated in the living room. David suggested we go hiking and we all agreed. After we changed into hiking clothes, we left the lake house and followed Anna to a nearby path. I had never done much hiking, but it was really nice outside. Anna seemed to know where she was going. 

After a while, I saw everyone stop in front of me and assumed that we must have reached the top of the hill. Everyone was in awe staring at the beautiful view of the lake in front of us.

"That's amazing..." I heard Emma say quietly beside me. Everyone mumbled in agreement, awestruck by the view. I glanced at Emma, her cheeks were rosy from the crisp spring air and her hair was a little messy from the hike up. She must have felt my gaze because she turned her head slightly to catch my eye. I gave her a small smile and gently bumped her side affectionately. She returned my smile and held my gaze for a few seconds longer. It probably would have been weird if it were someone else, but just staring into her eyes felt so natural.

We all decided to stop and rest before hiking back down to the cabin. We sat on the rocks and shared some water and snacks that Anna had packed. 

"Does your family do a lot of hiking?" Emma asked Anna.

"Yeah, we come up here as much as we can during the summer and hang out of the lake mostly, boating, water skiing, tubing, ya know? Fall is my favorite time to go hiking up here though, the leaves are changing colors and it's so pretty, but spring is nice too with all the flowers" Anna said, motioning towards a few budding wildflowers around us. I could only imagine how beautiful this place was in the fall, especially seeing the colorful trees from this high up. After we had all some water, we decided to head back to the cabin so we could start making dinner.

I somehow managed to be at the end of our group on our descent as well. Not long after we started our trek down the hill, I saw Emma stumble in front of me. I reached out to grab her waist before she fell. Although she didn't fall, I heard her cry out in pain. Everyone in our group turned towards her and she hopped on one foot while I was steadying her.