14 Days

1

"I love you," he said, a shuddered breath in the timid evening air. Once unnerving green eyes; sharper than glass and hotter than molten iron, now trembled with uncertainty unbecoming of the typically poised bastard.

I forced a laugh, one that made him rigid, and replied, "That's an odd joke, even for you."

Beneath the wooden archway overgrown with gnarled ivy and surrounded by fragrant flowers from roses to lilies to sunflowers, Beau invaded more than my space. He shattered the confinements of my mind, crumbling barriers that once stood tall. The soft click of his sneakers against stone rumbled in my ringing ears.

Here, in a garden of cold gray fountains and sleeping flowers, Beau spoke with bated breath as if to ensnare me with words alone, "It's not a joke. This isn't a joke, Devin."

He kissed me.

I wondered then how the hell so much changed in only 13 days.

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"Devin, I swear if you are not ready within the next five minutes, I am going to make you sit in the hotel room without TV for the next two weeks!" Mom bellowed from the floor below, successfully kick starting my motor that ran out of gas mere seconds after she had woken me up for the tenth time.

"I'm ready, I'm ready!" That was the biggest of the bullshit lies though, so I shot out of bed like Satan himself was after me. In the case of my annoyed mother, she might as well be Satan.

My luggage wasn't even fully packed. I launched whatever I got my hands on into a suitcase and zipped it shut. The only items of real importance were my phone and charger anyways. Good thing I was sent into overdrive because Mom ascended the stairs in quick strides that signaled my possible upcoming doom.

My bedroom door flung open. She stood in the doorway, a little frazzled with her chestnut brown hair stuck up in a messy ponytail. She analyzed the room, taking in my smug ass sitting on a very full suitcase.

"You just threw random stuff in there, didn't you?" She accused.

"No."

She leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed and nose wrinkled.

"You said I had five minutes," I argued.

"Yes, now, but you knew about this trip months ago." She rubbed her temple. "Oh my god, how are you going to survive living in a college dorm? You barely take care of yourself when I'm nagging you."

"Hey!"

"Come on, throw your stuff in the van. Everyone is about ready to go." She left.

I followed after an initial smell check of clothes, haphazardly throwing on a loose top and basketball shorts. My frizz of brown hair was never tamable so a trusty baseball cap was always there to save the day. Not like I needed to dress up. We had at least an eleven hour drive. If I was gonna be stuck in a van for that long, I was going to be comfy as hell.

Luggage rested by the doorway downstairs for a two week long trip. Our family didn't have the cash to dish out for a vacation every year. The last time we did anything remotely expensive was six years ago, when I was twelve. We took a three day trip to an amusement park. I had a blast even if I threw up after the first day. I was determined to ride every damn thing. Did I succeed? No, but I did my best, and I was a proud little boy with a very upset stomach.

The trip we were about to go on though was what my parents had been calling "The Big Adventure" for nearly a year. The plan was as followed; one week at Old Orchard Beach, Maine, then head down to Silver Sands, Connecticut, for three days and our final destination was Skyland Manor, New Jersey, which was a freaking castle!