We were driving. Just seeing where the road would take us as we sat in silence, just hearing the cars pass by and the wind whoosh. It wasn't an awkward silence we were sitting in, more like a refreshing silence. One you could just relax in.
Only I wasn't relaxed.
And Mel couldn't tell. Thank God.
I continued to glance over at her as she watched the trees go by. I smiled to myself, slowly relaxing, as I continued to drive. We were driving down a dirt road; one I hadn't noticed was there before.
Mel smiled in glee as she watched carefully. Obviously she hadn't been down here, either.
Soon I pulled over and stopped.
"Do you want to keep going this way, or go back? 'Cause we can get out and I'll help you to somewhere we can sit if you'd like." I said, looking at her.
She smiled softly and replied, "If you don't mind...I'd like to keep going. I haven't been here before and it's absolutely beautiful."
"Alright. I'll pull up a bit more to that spot so I can park the car."
Her smile grew as she nodded and sighed happily. I smiled to myself. She was adorable when she got excited about something, really excited. Once I had parked the car, I hopped out and grabbed her crutches that were in the back. Once I had gotten to her door I opened it and helped her out.
"I don't know how long I'll be able to walk." She said, frowning slightly.
"That's okay. I can carry you. And don't argue with me or I'll just carry you now."
She rolled her eyes and reluctantly nodded her head.
We walked for a little while, admiring the view and looking for somewhere to sit so we could talk. The silence followed us everywhere we went as did my tension. We finally came across an opening that had wild flowers and other plants. The grass wasn't too tall so we decided to settle down here and take a breath.
"It's beautiful here." She whispered in awe. I smiled to myself, refraining from saying she was more beautiful. I wanted to talk to her about what had happened. But at the same time I was scared out of my pants.
She noticed how I was looking at her, probably anxious yet deeply fascinated by her beauty. She lowered her head a bit so her hair fell into her face and hid it. I swallowed the lump in my throat and slowly tucked her hair behind her ear.
She sighed softly before she slowly looked back at me and opened her mouth to start talking. She was using a soft, delicate tone. I could tell she was scared, probably more than I was. "Troy...gosh, I don't really know how to say this..."
My mouth felt incredibly dry as I tried to talk. "Just...say it. Slow and steady wins the race."
"I was thinking about what happened...that...kiss...all night and this morning." She spoke slowly and softly as she formed her words with precision. "And about what you said, and I was trying to figure out how you could ever feel that way for someone like me. But then I realized, somewhere along the lines of our crazy life and friendship that something had happened. I think I'm falling for you, Troy boy.
"But...but I'm scared. I know what you are, what you do with girls. I'm afraid that if I fall for you, you'll neglect to catch me and I'll end up on the ground. I trust you to an extent, but with a serious relationship... I-I don't know if I can trust you. I want to trust you. Man do I want to trust you, but my brain just can't do it."
She closed her mouth and looked down again. I could feel my heart pound faster as I looked from her eyes to the grass beneath us.
I finally spoke up, quietly and softly like Mel had spoken, "I don't blame you. I've been an idiot all my life and...I lost someone I loved. I let her slide through my fingers and she was the one who broke my heart. And I guess I've gotten worse with the whole dating and dropping girls because of her."
