Her Secret Garden

Chapter 7

            “You guys disappeared on me about halfway through the night, what happened to you?” Hunter asked.

It was the Monday after the dance, and Sarah, Lilibeth, and Hunter were meeting up after school to go over the plans for the weekend. That is, before the subject of the previous weekend popped up.

“We just decided that we were going to go eat something,” Sarah said.

“And you didn’t invite me? I’m hurt,” Hunter said sarcastically.

“It just looked like you were having a good time, and we didn’t want to interrupt your dancing,” Lilibeth said.

“I guess I forgive you,” Hunter said jokingly. “So, about this weekend, what time do you think we should meet on Friday?

Some of the people in Hunter’s family decided that it would be a nice break if they were to go on a weekend retreat at a lake house owned by his parents, and they had invited Lilibeth and Sarah to go along with them. Lilibeth had convinced her aunt and uncle for her to go, with some help from Sarah, of course. It’s not that she particularly wanted to spend the weekend with Sarah and Hunter, it would be nice and all, but Blaine was the real reason for her going. Is that shallow? Lilibeth wondered. She decided it wasn’t.

The rest of the week was weird to Lilibeth. It seemed like it would have taken forever for Friday to arrive, but the week seemed to fly by. When Friday came around, Lilibeth decided to put one more small entry into her Diary before she left for the trip because she didn’t know if she would have time to write during the trip. At least any private time to write.

This is it, Friday’s here! I finally get to spend some more time with Blaine, but I’m so nervous. What if he’s still acting like I don’t exist. Why does it have to be me? Oh well. Sarah seems to be excited to go, she hasn’t really been to a lake house before. On that note, neither have I, but it’s whatever. I’m going to have to try to talk to him more. I AM GOING to do it.

After finishing her short excerpt into her diary, it was time for her to go. She grabbed her previously packed supplies of which included clothes, a small knife, pepper spray (a new one, considering her old one was lost), swimwear, a flashlight, and a book. She didn’t think there would be any cell reception there, and she didn’t want to lose her phone, so she just left it at home. She didn’t know if there would be any downtime during the trip, but she was prepared in case there was.

“I’m getting ready to leave,” Lilibeth said to Annabelle.

“Isn’t it supposed to rain?” She asked, secretly wanting her to stay home, but also wanting her to go have fun with her friends.

“A little rain never hurt anybody,” Jacob said off to the side.

“What he said,” Lilibeth responded.

“Alright, just be careful,” Annabelle said. “And have fun!”

“I will!” Lilibeth said, running out the door.

She didn’t waste any time on getting to Hunter’s house, walking at almost a jog. She could have just asked for a ride, but she didn’t want Annabelle to waste any gas. She arrived at his house in record time, and was almost early. They packed up the van and were ready to go with a chorus of “be careful” from Tim and Lucy. There were seven people going all together. The lot included Lilibeth, Sarah, Hunter, Blaine, Victoria (to Lilibeth’s dismay), and two of Hunter’s cousins, Lilibeth hadn’t learned their names yet. Hunter climbed in the van first, going to the back seat hoping that Lilibeth would be the next to follow, but she waited for Sarah to get in the middle so she could slide in next to her. The cousins sat in front of them and Blaine and Victoria were in the front with Blaine driving. One of the cousins turned around, introducing himself as Jake. Jake was the same age as Lilibeth and Sarah, and it looked like Sarah might have an interest in him. Jake wasn’t buff per say, but he had a good look to him. His eyes were almost the color of silver, a very light gray. His hair was like a vanilla malt, styled to look like he woke up without having to style it.  He then introduced his sister, Amelia. Amelia was just a few years younger than her brother with hair that reminds a person of chestnuts, it went all the way down to her waist. Her eyes the same color. She wore glasses and she was obviously still growing. The conversations continued.