Wish You Were Here

50

"There's a small canoe," Grant said.

Will shot him a look. "We'd be lucky if it didn't sink with just one of us in it. It's tiny! And it looks super old. There are four of us, so..."

"So, then only one of us goes. Or two. However many of us we can fit. But it's all we've got," Grant said.

We all looked at each other silently.

"Beth needs a doctor. Her leg isn't doing well. What if it's infected? She needs to go," I said.

"I can't go alone!" Beth cried.

"That's why Will should go with you," Grant told her.

"I can bring her across and circle back for you two," Will offered.

Grant shook his head. "Ryleigh's right. Beth needs a doctor. Don't risk coming back when you can call the police instead. We'll stay put and wait for help."

He looked at me and I nodded in agreement. I stood up and made my way into the kitchen. Taking out the leftover food and a lukewarm bottle of water, I returned and handed it to Will. He took it slowly and met my eyes. Will carefully scooped Beth into arms and then cautiously made his way into the kitchen and toward the back door.

"Let's grab any food and drinks we can find," Grant said after closing the door behind Will and Beth.

The kitchen was small and compact, so it didn't take long to go through the few remaining spots where there was some food left behind. It wasn't much, but we were grateful for anything at that point. We were able to carry it all in our arms, which led me to believe we would be out of food soon. If Will could row them to the shore quickly, he would get Beth to safety and call help for us. Grant and I could be off of that island in no time and could send help to find Cal.

After we went upstairs, we both tossed the food and the rest of the water onto the bed where we had been hiding just hours before. Grant closed the door almost all the way behind me. He sat down on the thin mattress and crossed his legs. My thighs were twitching too much, so I stretched my legs out across the bed and leaned back on my palms. We picked at the food in silence.

"They'll make it," I said, trying to sound convincing.

He nodded. "They will and they'll send for help."

I nodded. We had no choice but to sit and wait for Will and Beth to get us rescued. I wanted to go look for Cal, but I wasn't even sure which direction she would be in. The thought of her being out there somewhere alone made my stomach turn. Releasing my hands, I slid the rest of my body down onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. Grant shoved our stuff over and laid down next to me.

"We need to make sure they find Cal," I said.

"We will," he assured me. "We'll all be okay. We'll find Cal and we'll all be safe at our own homes soon."

When he said that, I suddenly realized that I would be back in my own house, in my own room, and in my own bed. As thrilled as I was, I also knew that it would mean Grant would be back at his own home, too, far away from me. I knew it was selfish and ridiculous to actually wish Grant could spend more time with me, but I couldn't help it. He wanted to go home to his family, like we all did, and I didn't blame him for that. But as we laid side by side, I realized how used to having him next to me I had become. The warmth of his body radiated over to me. His fingers grazed mine and I reached over to hold his hand.

He fell asleep soon after that. My mind was racing too fast for me to get any rest, so I stood and stretched my legs. Walking around the tiny room, I opened the closet. I found a bunch of empty hangers. A few pieces of clothing had fallen to the floor. I grabbed a loose t-shirt and quickly changed into it. I balled up the black t-shirt I had been wearing and stuffed it into our backpack. As much as I hated the idea of wearing anything that was Gina's, taking off the dirty black t-shirt was worth it.

I went to lie back down on the bed and could hear the sound of Grant's steady breathing. I turned into him, resting my head on his chest the way I had been doing now for the past handful of nights. Exhaustion hit me and I nodded off. We both woke up an hour later feeling groggy.

"I'm so tired, but it's so hard to sleep," he sighed.

"Yeah, me too," I agreed. "What's keeping you up?"

"I just keep beating myself up over this whole thing," he admitted. "I should've seen the signs, you know? How could I have been so naive?"

I sat up and looked at him. "You are not naive, Grant! You shouldn't beat yourself up. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't even be alive. You're smart and fast and brave and-"

"I'm not brave," he said quietly.

"You're the bravest person I've ever met!" I exclaimed.

He looked from the ceiling over to me and sat up. "I'm really not, Ry. I'm actually just a big chicken."

"Ugh, seriously?" I laughed. "Why would you say that?"

"Because there's something I've wanted to say to you and...just haven't been brave enough to."

My smile left my face as I stared at him in concern. "What is it?"

He looked away for a minute and my heart started pounding. I had no idea what horrible news he was going to say. Growing intolerant, I sat up straight and said, "Just tell me-"

That's when Grant leaned over, gently grabbed the side of my face in his hand, and kissed me.
His warm lips met mine and as hot as the weather was, a chill tingled up my spine.

He pulled away and we just stared at one another.

"That's what you wanted to tell me?" I whispered.

"Yeah," Grant said.

I smiled. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

He smiled and shrugged.

"Tell me again," I told him.

His eyes met mine and he kissed me again.

All of my senses were heightened. It was like the entire world stood still in silence. When we finally broke apart, he caressed my face.

My senses came slowly back to normal. As my eyes opened and regained focus, the tingling that was going down my spine subsided. I pressed my lips together, savoring the feeling of his lips on mine just moments before. As we both sat there, I thought I heard a noise coming from outside, but was so lost in the moment, I paid no attention. When a louder noise came, it was Grant who snapped back into reality.

"Did you hear that?" he asked.

"Do you think it's the police this fast?"

He shook his head. We shoved everything into the backpack and I threw it onto my shoulders. Staying in that bedroom made us feel like sitting ducks. Our best bet was to go downstairs where we had more than one way in or out. Carefully tip toeing down the stairs, we went into the kitchen. Grant took ahold of the door handle and after looking over his shoulder, opened it and we darted outside. There was no sign of Will or Beth.

"I want to make sure the canoe is gone," Grant told me. "Stay alert and on guard."

We stayed along the back wall of the cabin, making our way slowly across the dirt. After only taking a few steps, we both stopped when we heard the sound of sticks breaking. I knew it had to be someone's footsteps. Someone was closing in on us and we had no idea who it was.