Wishbone

8 - escape from la

When I woke up Friday morning, I turned over and expected to see Paige in bed with me. Once I moved around and realized she wasn't there, my tired, fragile mind dropped into sadness. I hadn't heard her get up, or leave, if that was what she did. I checked my phone, saw no messages, and frowned. Then, I heard a massive crash coming from the kitchen, and I flinched in surprise.

Suddenly, my door opened a bit and there Paige Hyland was, in all her glory. Her eye was peeped around the corner, and she swore quietly.

"Did I wake you up with that?" She whined, opening the door wider once she saw I was awake. Running a hand through her hair, she said, "I was trying to be as quiet as I could."

"It wasn't you, I was up for a couple minutes...and even if it did wake me, I'm just glad it's you and not some burglar," I stretched and sat up, the smell of food wafting in from the kitchen. "Are you cooking?"

"Breakfast," Paige smiled tenderly, a pastel blush lighting up her face. "I thought I'd thank you for letting me stay, and taking my mind off everything in general."

I grinned from ear to ear, feeling my stomach growl. "You are incredible."

"Come eat, and let's freaking go to Death Valley! I wanna get out of this city!" She yelped, throwing the door back and walking to the kitchen quickly. I threw the blankets off and followed her with a heavy feeling in my heart; it wasn't a sad feeling, just a deep one.

It was ten in the morning, so if we ate for an hour, then packed and tried to locate camping gear for an hour, we could set off to Death Valley at twelve and make it there by four. The problem was, I wasn't exactly sure where we were going to get our camping gear, unless we rented it; it could be expensive to rent from Pepperdine, even if you were a student.

"Is it good?" Paige asked as I salted my eggs a bit more. She had already finished her plate when I was sleeping earlier, and was just sitting across from me at the table with a cup of coffee.

"Fantastic," I said, taking a large bite to prove it. "Thank you for doing this."

"Anything," she smiled. "So, what is there to do in Death Valley? Why did you pick to go there again?"

"Well, it's remote so people won't bother us, no service so we can just get away...honestly, I don't know, I've never been there!" I snorted. "You said 'death' last night and Death Valley was the first place that came to mind."

"Fair enough," She nodded thoughtfully. "Have you camped before?"

"Yeah, like once or twice," I took a bite of my eggs, and said with my mouth full, "We just have to figure out where we can get cheap camping gear."

"Yeah," Paige nodded again. "But anyways, guess what?"

"What's up?" I met her eyes and put down my fork.

"I extended my trip," She squealed, and a huge smile broke out onto my face. I also made a little 'eep' noise, and she continued, "I'm leaving next Saturday instead of tomorrow."

"Yes!" I pumped my fist into the air. "Chloe and Paige, roommates edition."

"Are you sure?" She asked, her eyes wide. "I do not want to be annoying and stay here if you don't want me to...just give me the word, seriously."

"Why wouldn't I want you here?" I said gently. "Like I said...you're amazing."

She just smiled across the table from me, and I didn't even try to cover up the thought that if she were my girlfriend then, I would lean across the table and capture her lips in a meaningful kiss. I tried not to imagine kissing Paige too hard though, because I was afraid a blush would come to my face, mirroring my stomach of butterflies.