The Senior Trip

Chapter 55

Harper

I couldn't sleep last night. My ankle was throbbing and the anxiety I had thinking about getting on the bus and heading back to the hotel was too much. My body was tense as I tried not to disturb Asher, but he tossed and turned and finally we both acknowledged there would be no sleeping. We laid together and watched the sun rise from the window of our room.

His hand is in mine as we watch the bus pull up. This is it. This is the beginning of the end. I brace myself for the ride back to reality, and lean back into his arms as we pull away from the stop. My head fits perfectly beneath his chin and I don't allow myself to think of anything but the fun we had falling into friendship and maybe something more these last few days. As the sun flickers in through the windows as it fights past the buildings on the route out of town, it creates a perfect kaleidoscope on my closed eyelids as I slowly breathe in and let it go. Memories flash like an old reel of pictures in a slide show.

I remember Asher on the plane and the way he looked like someone had stolen his heart and was holding it captive. I can imagine the smile on his face as we took the test that somehow became a catalyst to this entire adventure. I saw into him and he saw into me in a way I'd never allowed anyone else. I can taste the apple on my tongue from the tree we had found, and my smile spreads across my face when I think of the cow that created a need to take a wider path.

Asher's arm encircles me, pulling me closer as he runs his free hand up my arm, soothing away any anxiety I have about our return. I remember being in his arms at the wedding, and again last night. The weight of his embrace will be burned into my mind forever now. Maybe it's because he was the first boy to hold me in this way, or maybe it's because it feels so right—whatever the reason, I know I will miss this.

The bus bounces over the road, shaking all who are inside it. When I wince from the sting of my ankle being shook on the floor beneath us, Asher readjusts his position so he can help me lean against the window and extend my foot onto his lap. His firm hand on my calf stabilizes my injury and the soft circles he draws on my skin with his thumb absently makes my soul feel full in a way I would struggle to express outside my head with words.

"Do you think they've noticed we are gone?" I ask. I'm surprised I hadn't thought more about my answer to that question. Maybe our parents have been notified—maybe the whole group has been searching.

Asher pauses for a minute, staring down at my feet on his lap. It's as if he hadn't thought of it either. We've been so lost in this adventure with each other, we forgot about the ties to the rest of our group and the impact our disappearance might have had on them.

"Is it weird that I hope no one noticed?" he asks. His eyes move up to meet mine. "I want to slip back into town without any big fanfare. I don't want a million questions or to be punished for the best week of my life. I want to remember it just as it is."

I love his answer. That's how I feel too. I don't want to experience any guilt about wondering off when it was the best part of the whole experience. I don't want to know if people have been worried about us or what was happening in the life we stepped away from for the last few days. I don't want to know the narrative of everyone's discovery of our absence—I just want to have this week without any contamination—to feel what I've been feeling for as long as possible.

"Thank you," he says quietly.

My head tips in question.

"For these last few days. Thank you. I've enjoyed every minute of it." He squeezes my calf lightly, and watches my face.

"You're welcome." I know I should thank him too, but I don't have time. His face moves closer to mine and he moves his fingers beneath my chin to guide my lips to his.

After the sweet kiss, we both slouch in the seat, his head resting against the back of the upholstered bench and mine against the metal and glass of the window behind me. At some point, we both fall asleep and the road blurs our passage back to where ever we've just come from. I don't know if I'd be able to find my way back and somehow that feels right. It's as if I've finished an amazing book, and I allow the read pages to slip back through my fingers too quickly to read until it's closed and I'm staring at the cover. It's incredible to think the ending to our fairytale could never had been imagined that first day, even if the cover had hinted at something wonderful between the jacket.

My summer with Asher will be a memory I'll keep forever on the shelf. It's a book I won't loan out and one I'd never be able to tuck into a box and forget. He is the reason I will believe in love and our story is just the first in a series. And maybe Asher won't be the hero, but I already know no other stories will compare. No one likes a sequel where the characters have parted ways.

The hum of the bus lulls me in and out of sleep and I focus on his hands and the way his skin feels against mine, trying with every mile I can to memorize the weight of them.