A Sokeefe Selection

Chapter 53: Sophie

Not so princess-like curses slipped out under my breath as I congratulated myself on how much of a genius I am. 

We'd 'camped' (and I use the term loosely, because what do we know about camping??) at the top of the hill overnight, and unfortunately the gorgeous scenery was not enough to make up for our complete misery, we each had small backpacks with minimal supplies, including small blankets, so we bundled up and stayed warm(ish) without a fire, but on the walk to the beach in the morning we realized how much we'd royally messed up. 

We had no plan. 

In the days it'd taken to get here, none of us had been able to come up with a better plan beyond our original 'wing it.' 

Now, we were in the middle of a lake-ocean, soaked to the bone, with damp to soaking supplies. 

I didn't remember much about my first trip across the water here, but I'd definitely estimated pretty much everything wrong about the water.

I'd assumed it was a bit over a half mile across, and maybe 6 feet deep. 

Nope! 

Probably a mile across, and definitely 9-10+ feet deep. And the pitiful raft we'd tried to make at the shore sunk before we got past the shallows of the water. 

As much as I was trying to mask my desperate sadness with irritation, I knew Dex and Biana could see through it, and that's why they'd been quite this whole way. This whole situation is near impossible, because me and Dex aren't the strongest swimmers, but we can handle well enough I guess, with lots of rest. 

Biana, thankfully, has been super patient, because unlike me and Dex, who never go swimming, Biana grew up near water and learning to swim was right there with learning to walk. 

As we continued, the island started to come into clear view, and even with the silent nature above, the movement from the rebels was almost something you could just sense. 

Another maybe twenty minutes passes before we dragged ourselves onto the beach and into the tree line. Collapsing, we caught our breaths. 

As the sun began to set, we stayed near the water and camped the night to rest. Tomorrow, we'd find the secret tunnel I escaped from the last time. 

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I'd been awake for hours. Restless, knowing Keefe was right here. He's so close to me I can just feel him.

I've been thinking a lot, since he was taken.

I just know now. All the back and forth, the indecision, the fear, the anxiety and pressure and all the reasons to turn my back on him and forget him. There's just a feeling I have that I can't ignore, just like him. 

He's my forever person. He's the person who gives me the feeling that I know he'll be with me forever, that he'll never leave me, never hurt me, never give up on me. 

That nagging feeling is the reason I know my love for him is real, that it's not just something I made up in my head because of hopeless dreams.

He'd never leave me, so I'm never going to leave him. 

I turned to Dex and Biana, who were just waking up.

"Alright, so here's the plan..."