Oceans and Emeralds

Chapter 7

After hours of practicing and hanging out, we notice the time and Moe drives Jessie and Tayler home while Leah drives me. "You think we can pull this off?" Leah asks as we pass trees in the dark. The sun's already gone down and it's almost pitch black outside.

"Yeah. I think we can," I nod and smile.

"Me too. Oh, how's your back? It probably wasn't the best idea to be drumming right after that fall,"

"Fine, I'll put ice on it when I get home. See how bruised it is," I answer.

"If it's too bad you could go to a doctor. Make sure you didn't fuck up your spine," she adds.

"Yeah," I nod. Suddenly a woman is standing in the middle of the road causing Leah to slam on the brakes so we don't hit her. The car slides around a bit because of the ice on the road and we both jerk forward before the car stops.

"Are you okay?" Leah asks.

"Yeah, you?"

"Yeah, but who is that?" She motions in front of us. The woman stands in the same spot, unfazed by the car almost hitting her. She's only wearing a black tank top and ripped-up jeans and her blond hair blows slightly above her shoulder.

"I don't know," I look at the woman. Her grey eyes are staring right at me. It's unsettling.

"Stay close to me," Leah opens her door and unbuckles causing me to do the same. We meet in front of the car and the woman is still staring at me with cold, angry eyes.

"Are you all right?" I ask her cautiously.

"You're River?" She holds the same expression. "River Canman?"

"How do you know my name?" I hesitate.

"I know your family," her expression changes to a wicked grin. She's terrifying and I instinctively grab Leah's hand.

"Scared?" The woman asks, her smile still terrifying. "You should be."

"Who are you?" Leah speaks up.

"The real question is who are you?" The woman starts to slowly pace. "Rivers friend? Or is it more?" She motions to our hands and my grip tightens.

"Who are you?" Leah asks more firmly now.

"Fine. I'll give you a name, then I'll leave." She stops. "Kayla Rogers. Don't forget it." With that, she runs into the forest and disappears.

"Get in the car," I tell Leah quickly before I let her hand go and we both get back in the car quickly.

"You recognize her?" She asks as she starts driving.

"No. I have no idea who she is," I shake my head.

"Fucking Christ," she clutches the steering wheel hard enough that I notice her knuckles turning white.

"Don't get too angry," I tell her.

"My fucking breaks are busted now," she seethes as she shows that the breaks aren't working.

"Just breathe," I take her right hand off the wheel and wrap my hands around it in an effort to keep the girl calm. "What do you think our band name could be?"

"I don't know," she sighs.

"Maybe Griffin, Canman, Markus, and Sampson?" I joke and feel Leah tighten her grip on my hands.

"Definitely not," she objects.

"Why not? It's all of our last names," I jokingly act offended, putting my right hand on my heart as if she hurt me.

"Because that's too long," I see a hint of a smile on her face through the darkness. "It should be something short, like a combination of our last names or something,"

"Okay, and that would be what? Grifcanmarkson?"

"No," She laughs lightly. "Thanks."

"For what?" Our hands rest on the center console.

"For keeping me from breaking my steering wheel," she glances over at me. "You didn't let me get as angry as I would've gotten three years ago."

"Oh. Well, you helped me stay calm. I'm not gonna let you be the only one helping around here," I smile. She smiles and the rest of the ride is a comfortable silence. The only thing heard is the tires crunching the snow and the engine running. As we stop in front of the shop I take out my keys and look into the pitch-black store. Do I want to go in alone after tonight?

"Are you okay?" Leah asks.

"I don't know if I should go in. After what happened, I mean," I look at my lap

"Why not? Won't Arthur and Tammy have some weapons and shit or something?" she asks.

"No, they're out of town until later tonight. I'm still a bit uneasy about that girl," I explain.

"I could stay until they get back, so you aren't alone," she offers.

"You don't have to," I shake my head.

"Trust me. I want to stay," She lightly moves my chin so I have to look at her. She looks almost desperate to stay.

"Okay," I give in, grateful to have her stay with me.

"No problem," we both step out of the car as Leah shuts it off and takes the key out. As I unlock the front doors Leah locks her car. After locking all the doors and turning on a few lights, Leah and I sit down with sighs.

"What do you want to do?" I ask.

"Watch TV?" she suggests.

"Sure," I turn on the TV and we decide to watch Gravity Falls. "I'll be right back," I get up as the episode ends and quickly grab my sketchbook and pencil.

"What are you gonna draw?" Leah sits up more as I sit next to her.

"I'm gonna continue drawing the eyes we talked about earlier. The ones you thought I could try again with," I answer.

"Sweet, I get to see your process," she smiles. The next episode starts and I sit with my legs crossed on the couch next to Leah and continue my drawing. After a while, I move to lean my back against Leah with my knees up enough to lean my sketchbook on.

I don't know when but I end up falling asleep with my sketchbook on my knees and a pencil in my hand. When I wake up I find all the lights off and the TV silently playing Chicken Little. My sketchbook and pencil sit on the coffee table and Leah is sitting with her head leaning on her hand next to me. A blanket covers her legs and another on mine. I think she's sleeping. Did she cover us up? I shrug and lay my head in her lap as I watch the silent movie play until I fall back asleep.