Despair Inside Of Dreams

5: The West Coast

          I checked the time on my dashboard. It was only 4 o'clock. I looked over at Halley, who was sitting in the passenger seat, looking outside the window. She looked confused, yet excited.

"So, where are we going?" she asked while reaching for the music station in my car.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise," I responded. She gave me a quick look and a smile. We continued down the road.

          Thirty minutes later, we reached the destination. Halley got out and stretched while I walked to the front of my car. It was a chilly, yet sunny day. Halley walked towards me, with her arms wrapped around herself.

"Cold?" I asked while laughing.

"Just a little bit. I can handle it," she responded.

"You sure? I've got a sweatshirt if you want." I held the sweatshirt in my hand. The answer was yes, I guessed, since she stole the sweatshirt from my hands and ran off. Playfully, I ran after her.

She stopped on the sandy floor, and she looked around. "The beach? I thought we'd be going to a coffee shop or the mall, but-"

"I can take you back! I'm sorry, I just thought you'd-"

"No! I love this place," she screamed and turned to look at me. "Thank you for bringing me here."

"No problem! Glad you like it."

          We walked around on the beach for a while. The sun was nearly kissing the horizon. The sound of the small waves crashing on the sand made the evening more peaceful. I would look over at her at times while we laughed and talked. She looked small in my large sweatshirt. She wasn't much shorter than me, but I did have a loose sweatshirt. We stopped near an empty beach spot, where nobody was to be found for miles. No city lights, no noise, and nobody else. We stood still and watched the sun disappear under the horizon, as if the big star had to sacrifice himself for the moon to be alive. She stood by me, watching the sunset. She leaned her head on my shoulder, and I slowly put one of my arms around her to support her, naturally. I didn't want the moment to end. I wish it didn't end, but we turned around and saw the immense, intimidating clouds that stood in the sky behind both of us.

"I didn't realize there would be a storm coming," she said. "Is it bad?"

I checked my phone. "Nope, just heavy rainfall and a couple of rumbles of thunders, but that should be it," I said. "It's 9 o'clock. Do you think we should start heading home?"

"Yeah, I think we should go home before it starts to rain." We headed back to my car.

          We sat inside my car, and I turned my ignition key. No response came. I tried two more times, to see if the car would turn on, but the car didn't start. "Great," I said. "I think my battery died. Either that, or something's wrong."

"How are we going to get home?" she asked, worried.

"I can't start the car until an auto-mechanic comes along, but all the places are closed at this time of the night. I'm sorry, Halley, I didn't know this would happen."

"Oh, it's fine! I have an idea."

"What's that?"

"I saw a hotel on our way here. We could possibly spend the night there. I don't know about you, but sleeping in this car would be uncomfortable." She laughed.

"Wouldn't your parents get mad?"

"It's Friday night, dummy. My parents said that they're going out of town for a few nights. They wouldn't know. Even if they did, they wouldn't care."

"Yeah, but you and I in a hotel room together? Wouldn't they care about that?"

"Like I said, they wouldn't know." She got out of the car.