Summer Ends

16

Peyton put her sleeping bag in the corner of our little nook and suggested that I should lay next to her. I threw my bag over to her and she caught it in a swift move. Every little noise that we made echoed through the great hall of the warehouse. Kai and Becca kept their voices down as they talked to each other from where they sat against the wooden crates. I looked around, but didn't find Hardin anywhere, so I walked out of the little room that was formed by crates and boxes and looked for him. I rounded the corner and let my fingers trace along the dusty wood. It was hard to tell what was stored in this warehouse, nothing was labelled and everything was shut. It honestly didn't really matter either, we had a place to sleep and it wasn't even that bad. I felt like I was walking through a maze while I kept looking for Hardin. The only thing that could lead me to him was the sound of movement of wet shoes on the shiny concrete floors. It was dark in here and pretty difficult to see, but my eyes started to adjust when the noise became louder. I had no idea how I would get back to the sleeping spot, but I couldn't get myself to turn back. I wanted to know why Hardin kept his distance from everyone and I wanted to know if he was okay, even if I was barely able to stand on my own two feet for more than two minutes.
I grabbed one of the crates to catch my breath and steady myself. Every little movement made my entire body ache and I was out of breath after three steps. It was like I had aged 40 years extra. I took a deep breath and started walking again, but I ran into something. I stumbled back a little and bumped into another object with my back. The room started to move around me and it felt like I was trapped like a mouse between these tower high crates. I tried to look up, but my head started pounding. I focused my eyes on the floor again and tried to control my breathing.
"Just calm down, deep breaths, I can do this." I whispered to myself. I wondered if they could hear me from where the others sat. I could hear them in the distance, but I didn't understand them. I wasn't going to find Hardin between all these obstacles, so I gave up. I let myself slide down the box I was leaning against. I put my hands on the cold floor and hugged my knees tight to my body. We had to figure out what we were doing because I couldn't just keep running. I didn't even know where we were running to. Did any of us really know? I rested my head on my arms and tried to close my eyes. It was too dark to find my way back and I was too tired to keep looking for where Hardin was hiding out. My eyes started to shut when I heard something get close to me. My head shot up and I looked around the dark that surrounded me.
"Is someone there?" I whispered into nothing. It looked like someone was standing in front of me, but it was hard to focus.
"Fallon, what are you doing here?" Now I could see Hardin standing in front of me in the dark, with just his pants on. I was thankful for the dark because it could hide the red that flushed through my cheeks.
"Thank god you found me. I was looking for you, but this place is just like a maze and I didn't find you, but it was too dark to get back to the others and so I tried to sleep here." I stumbled over my words as I tried to spit them out as fast as I could.
"You really amaze me sometimes, c'mon." He grabbed my arms and pulled me up. His fingers were hot against my skin. My eyes had adjusted enough for me to be able to see his entire face. He walked a little too fast for me to be able to walk next to him. He almost dragged me behind him by my arms. He pulled me in front of him when we reached an opening in the maze of boxes. I didn't move so he slightly pushed me forward.
"Take off your clothes, I have some sleeping shirts left." He gestured toward his backpack. I swallowed so loud that I was sure he heard.
"I'm not taking off my clothes." I folded my arms over each other as I looked at what he was doing. He was bent over while he was laying open his sleeping bag. The muscles on his back shifted with every movement he made. I had to look away as my throat started to get dry.
"Well, I'm not sleeping next to you while you are wearing those sweaty clothes." He turned around to face me. Without saying anything he pointed to my shirt with a deodorant in his hand. I had no idea he was planning on sleeping together. I raised my brows at the way I had formulated that and decided it was better to just listen to him.
"What?" He had noticed the face that I had made.
"Nothing. Can you please turn around?" I wasn't just going to strip right in front of him. Even though he had already seen me in my bra. He slowly turned away from me and somehow it made my heart skip a beat. I shook the feeling away and started to lift my shirt over my head. I looked down at the bandages around my waist and an image of Nick shot through my mind. I reacted without thinking and I sucked in a deep breath that sounded a lot like I got scared from something. Hardin turned around immediately and his face was laced with worry. I blocked my body with my arms and gave him an angry look.
"Hey!" I whispered and yelled at him. He threw up his hands as if I was threatening him with a gun. The slightest smile formed on his lips as he handed me the deodorant. He turned back around and I just knew he was smiling.
"You know you have nothing to worry about considering your body right?"
"Maybe I just don't feel like showing off my body like a whore." I threw the deodorant at his feet after I had sprayed it under my pits. He handed me a clean shirt and put it on. The black shirt almost reached my knees. I grabbed the edges and pulled it down even more even though he couldn't see anything.
We both didn't say anything for a moment and I could hear my own breathing in the dark. I wasn't sure what he wanted me to do, or what I wanted.
"We should sleep." His voice was raspy, but quiet enough to be soothing. I nodded and made my way over to the sleeping bag on the floor. I hesitated when I stood next to him.
"Where will you sleep?" I looked beside me to where he was staring at his bare feet.
"Next to you, but I will give you enough space, don't worry. " He put his hands on my shoulders and pushed me down on the ground. My knees hit the soft material and I settled on the fabric. Hardin pulled a hoodie over his head and put on the hood. His face darkened and it was almost impossible to see his features. I pulled the blanket over my knees as I held them tight to my body. The cold slipped underneath my legs and made shivers go up my spine. I let out a breath and it was like all the energy I had left released from my body. We both leaned against the crates behind us and let the night take over. I felt the thoughts seep in even though I tried everything to keep them out. Pictures of Hardin's dad flashed in my head and his confession played in my mind until I got crazy. I shifted uncomfortably, every limb on my body felt electric. Hardin's breathing had become a lullaby in the background which made me think he was already asleep. I couldn't understand how he could sleep that fast. I was tired and worn out, but still my eyes wouldn't close. I slid down the crate to lay down and try to sleep, but some kind of noise made me focus again. I looked around, but I couldn't see much. I didn't hear it again and so I laid my head down on the pile of clothes Hardin had laid down as a pillow. I stared at the back of his head. His mop of black peaked out from under his hood. His hair had grown so much already. It covered his ears and he always had pieces of hair that hung in front of his face. I hoped that maybe he would let me cut it soon. I liked the longer hair, but it bugged me when it got in his way.
I felt my eyes closing slowly and before I knew it I was sleeping.