358
Hundreds of games of I Spy later we arrive in Portland. We follow Luke’s car through the quiet town and to the other side where the caravan park sits. It’s at the bottom of a hill with a beach across the road, not that we would be using it. There are large willow trees around the entire campground and we decide to set up camp in the shade of two of them. They are looking scarce in the almost winter; what’s left of their leaves have turned a crisp orange that litter the green grass. It’s beautiful here.
I step out onto the grass and immediately want to go exploring. The caravan park is so big and there will be so many places to see. I want someone to come with me but everyone has things to do. Luke, Ryan and Aiden have to unload the cars and are tasked with the job of allocating tents, while Beckett, Lacey, Olive and Joshua have to actually put the tents up. That only leaves Alex.
As much as I don’t want to, I figure I should do something to make Olive happy. “Does anyone want to come for a walk with me?” I call, standing near the dirt road.
“I’ll come,” Alex smirks, but turns to the guys and asks if they need him here.
“Nah, go ahead. Try to find places for firewood while you’re at it.”
We head off down the dirt track and I am entrapped by the beauty of my surroundings. The trees are so incredible and they would only be more so towards the start of Autumn.
“What are you thinking?” Alex voice breaks through my daydream. I blink and look up at him.
“I’m thinking about ways to delete that video off your phone,” I lie. I’m sure he’s not interested in hearing about my tree-thoughts.
“I told you,” he says, shaking his head as if in disappointment. “The only way to get me to delete that video is to sleep with me. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.” He shrugs as if he is the most innocent being on the planet.
“And I said, that it’s never going to happen.” I have slightly lengthen my strides to keep up with him. I’m only 5”5 (not tall or small) but Alex would be approximately 6”1 and he has long legs. I can’t keep up with that.
“Sure thing babe,” he winks at me. I think he is going to say the same comment about flying pigs but he doesn’t. “And Beckett and Lacey aren’t going to hook up.”
“Wait, what?” Oh my God, is that real? “Are you serious?”
“Yeah, everyone sees it. It’s so obvious they are in love. Pansies…”
“I thought it was just me who thought they would be good together! Okay, we have to get them together,” I tell him, leaving no room for objections. But then I get distracted by a little Japanese girl coming out of a tent with her mother. She is wearing a cute little winter suit but what catches my attention is the pretty paper crane she holds on her tiny hands.
I run back to the camp and find Olive, grabbing her arm with excitement. “I found something else to put on the list!”
“What is it?” She asks, walking with me to the side of the group. The tents are nearly set up (apparently they are 3-minute-3-man tents) and the cars are unloaded.
“I want to learn how to do origami,” I explain, thinking of the paper crane I had seen the little girl with.
“Add it to the list,” Olive grins, happy I have found something else.
“I can’t,” I realize, frowning. “It’s at home. On the laptop. See, this is why they’re better hand written.”
“What’s better hand written?” Luke asks, coming over to us with Beckett and Alex. I completely forgot I had ditched Alex, but he doesn’t seem to care and I am too excited with my new discovery to care.
“Lists,” I tell him, pulling my beanie down over my ears.
“What kind of list are you making?” Beckett inquires, looking between us with suspicion. If anyone is to figure out what is happening it will be him. He’s a smart cookie.
“A bucket list. Things to do before I die,” I clarify, hoping I said it casually enough. Beckett frowns but doesn’t say anything, while Luke remains oblivious. I can’t figure out what Alex is thinking, but he’s slightly frowning.
“Okay then…” Luke trails, laughing it off. “Let’s go get some lunch and then go see the blowholes!”
We all put our bags in our tents (as promised, I’m in a tent with Lacey and Olive) before digging in to the sandwiches Lacey brought. We take our time and eat until we’re full, before packing up and heading off. It is a 3km walk to the blowholes lookout with a scenic view so I head to the front of the line to lead. Beckett joins me, and the rest trail behind.
“What’s up?” Beckett asks, adjusting his glasses on his nose as we walk along the dirt trail.
“Not much,” I respond, but before I can ask the question back he shakes his head.
“No. I mean, what’s going on with you? Or Olive, I can’t tell. But there’s something you two are hiding.”
We walk along in silence for a minute as I debate whether or not to tell him. I know Beckett is a nice guy and I know he can keep a secret, but do I want his pity or whatever else comes with the looming Eternal Sabbath of Rest. I decide to tell him my confliction.
“I don’t know whether to tell you or not.”
He holds a branch out of the way for me. “You know I won’t tell anyone, not even Lacey.”
“I know, that’s not the problem.”
“Then what is?”
I look behind me to see how far away the rest of the group are. I can’t even see them, so I turn back to Beckett and tell him. It takes me a fair portion of the walk to explain everything, starting from when I thought I just had appendicitis to my last doctor’s appointment where I was told I had a year left.
He doesn’t say much, nor do I expect him to. He just says he’s sorry and that I don’t deserve it, and then he hugs me and we walk in silence the rest of the way. I tell him to treat me no differently and he says he won’t. I believe he will try his absolute hardest to act as if I’m normal but it’s not an easy thing to do. I know this, but I still want people to try.
We get to the end of the path first, where there is a wooden walkway to the lookout. We wait there for the rest of the group to catch up. From here, you can only see far out into the ocean and not the blowholes that are closer into shore.
“I think you need to tell everyone,” Beckett says quietly, looking at his shoes before everyone else was within earshot. I don’t have time to explain why I don’t want to do that, but I make a mental note to talk to him about it later.
I shove the thoughts of my impending demise from my head and focus on the blowholes. I walk down the walkway and can’t do anything but stare when I reach the end. Beneath us the water that has crashed against the rock is a fantastic turquoise and every time that happens, salt water sprays up and mists over us. I take a deep breath in, inhaling the wonderful sea smell that comes with this place. Olive and Lacey have their phones out and are taking photos of us as we enjoy the view.
“What God must we have to put something as beautiful as this on the Earth?” Alex surprises me, whispering into my ear. It sends chills down my spine and I step away from him. I hate knowing that he can be sophisticate sometimes.
“That it is,” I agree, mumbling while taking a small step away from him.
“No, I was talking about you,” he grins, before winking and turning back to the water.
“Will you stop trying to get in my pants for two seconds and enjoy this?” I ask.
He laughs quietly, but nods. “Sure. Enjoy.”
***
A/N: To wherever you can see, this is Beckett!!!
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365 Days
Romance"I am going to die." Yes, you heard right. Dakota Everett is going to die. She is given a year and wants to do as much as she can. The trouble is, she's 17, so a lot of the things she wants to do, she can't yet. So she makes a list of all the thing...
