The Senior Trip

Chapter 49

Harper

            Zooming, flying, racing, falling—all at once as my body floats above these beautiful trees. Have you ever stood up too fast and got dizzy, your ears muffled from the speed at which your blood is pumping back up to your head? Well that's how it felt to swish down that line. My cheeks still hurt from the smile I have as we sit like sardines in the van on the way back. Every couple of minutes Asher or I start to laugh and it causes the other of us to join in. What an adventure!

            The girl next to me has fallen asleep and is slowly leaning in my direction. I'm not sure what to do as I don't want to wake her. She's a mom and I can tell she's been run ragged on this trip.

            "Here," Asher says quietly. His arm wraps around me. He pulls me into his side. He's warm and comfortable even though his athletic physique would make you assume he's not.

I rest my head on his chest as the van bounces over the road. My heart is finally beating slowly again, my breathing evening out as the sun beams through the old windows and on to my face. My eyes are getting heavy as Asher slumps a little further in his seat and creates an even more inviting position against him.

My body feels heavy and I'm so tired. I can feel myself slipping down his chest. Asher's other arm wraps around me to hold me against him so I am cradled to his form. It feels familiar and warm. My eyes finally shut as I fall asleep.

The ride down feels like it went a lot faster than the ride up to the zip line. I'm awoken to the sound of the van door sliding open and the children in the back wrestling to get out first. We wait for the last of them to get out before we straighten up. Maybe I stayed that way longer because I loved being in his arms, but I'm not going to feel guilty or overthink it since our time together is almost over.

"What now?" he asks as we stretch outside the van.

This vacation started as a way for me to be wild outside the eyes of my parents. I wanted to feel like I was free to be young and explore everything dangerous and exciting. Somehow I thought that would make me feel like a grown-up. So is it crazy that I just want to spend the last hours I have with Asher soaking in everything about him? I don't need anything risky or on the edge to get me excited, my brain is already in neurochemical bliss just being next to him.

"Should we explore this little town?" I ask.

Asher looks over my head at the town behind me. It's beautiful. As I get older I finally understand what adults mean when they point out old buildings or large stretches of open land and tell us kids it's "beautiful."

"I'd like that," he answers. Without hesitation he takes my hand in his as if he can't wait to get me away from the crowd of other tourists beside us.

The sun is no longer in the center of the sky and the heat of earlier is cooling down. Asher tugs me along beside him as he points out an old road lined with homes.

            "Imagine living here," I say. And at this point I really could imagine existing in such a fun place. Knowing that families make their homes here isn't hard to believe.

            "I wonder how long it would feel like a vacation," he says. "You know, before all the regular stressors of life followed you here."

            "But it would be stressful in paradise," I note. Somehow I find it hard to wrap my head around being stressed out in a place like this. The air smells magnificent, the sun setting is stunning on the horizon, kids are running about while neighbors are chatting. It's just different here.

            "If I'm ever rich, I'll buy us both a vacation house here. But we will have to come here often enough that we become locals. I want to know every shop owner, " he says as we turn a corner and stop to pet a dog that wanders up to us—his owners, two small children, are running and laughing trying to catch up.

            "I won't argue with that," I say.

            This block is mostly small houses. No one here is trying to impress anyone with their wealth like back home. But it's clear that this isn't a place that people have forgotten or can't afford to keep up. Although there are no grass lawns, the front of each house is clean and well-kept. People here take pride in their town.

            "We could meet here for big holidays. Have dinner in the plaza," he says, spinning around to look back in the direction of the center of the small town.

            I wish I could believe that. I wish that the weight of tomorrow wasn't so heavy. But I know that soon we are going back to the hotel and our lives will take different paths. Maybe he and Jess will come here some day and wander the town like we are. He might point out the things we've found along this path, like the purple house or the yard with roosters. He and I will lose touch and perhaps only when I return here with my own family some day in the future to show them this wonderful place that I found accidently, I'll think of Asher.

            His hand finds mine again and he squeezes it, as if he could read the thoughts in my head. We both know this is the last time we will walk this street together. As I take each step, I feel a little part of my heart being ground into the dirt beneath my feet.

***********THE NEXT CHAPTER IS A PAID CHAPTER. IT IS A WEITER REVEAL AND NOT PART OF THE STORY. IT IS AN EXPLANATION OF HOW THE STORY COME ABOUT AND MY THOUGHTS WHILE WRITING SO FAR. THIS STORY WILL BE COMPLETED ON WATTPAD BUT THE WRITER REVEAL IS NOT THE NEXT CHAPTER IN THE STORY, IT IS BONUS CONTENT FOR THOSE INTERESTED. It is also my first time writing bonus content so I am very open to your feedback and interested in what you would like to read from me in the bonus content opportunities. Thank you!****