Boot Camp

Boot Camp [ 10 ]

HEY. SUPER LONG AUTHORS NOTE AT THE BOTTOM, READ THE WHOLE THING AND I'LL LOVE YOU EVEN MORE THAN I LOVE YOU NOW FOR STICKING WITH ME EVEN THO I'M A PIECE OF SHIT. PS, spoiler, you learn what happened between Ryan and Lanie in the past in this chapter so EEEEKKKKK exciting shit. Okay, proceed. 

Ryan Brooks

Lanie and I were in the back seat of Mike's truck. With the rough terrain, we were bouncing back and forth, our thighs brushing up against each other. And Lanie wasn't even moving away. She let it continue to happen and it was so damn hard to keep the smile off my face. You would think that the fact that we're on our way back to Goodwin's would make me not feel like smiling at all, but here I am. Grinning ear to ear like a mother fucker because Lanie's leg keeps touching mine. 

I'm totally whipped. 

The window's down and Lanie's hair whips around her face in wild tangles. The smell of burnt trees and wet earth waft up through the air and fill the truck. We're getting close. many of the trees surrounding us are bare and charred. 

Sean rubbed at his buzz cut hair and shook his head. "Can't believe this shit, man." He let out a laugh that held no humor. "Just can't fucking believe it." 

Mike nodded but said nothing. 

"Can't believe I finally got out and now I have to go back."

My head snaps over to Lane. She smiles out the window at nothing in particular. Smiling, but obviously not happy. I stay silent. 

"We'll figure it out, L. I promise," Mike tells her. "As soon as we think of a plan to show the world that Goodwin is a fraud, then you'll be right back at home, where you belong, with mom and dad." He shakes his head and slams the steering wheel. "Wish like hell I didn't have to bring you back, but it has to be done, you know? I feel really shitty doing it, L, I do."

"It's alright, Mike."

No one says anything, because we know that it clearly isn't alright. 

Lane should be at home. Where she belongs. I shake my head as the car rumbles over another bump, shaking Lane and I, our legs brushing together once again as I stare out my own window. I think back to that day. The day where everything went so wrong, so terribly, horribly wrong that Lane ended up here in the first place. All my fault. 

The store.
The phone.
The sweatshirts.
The sneakers.

All such simple items, yet they were the cause of our demise. 

Flashback

"This phone is such a piece of shit," I grumble, and chuck said phone in the grass. We were sitting on the ground under a big oak tree at our favorite park. 

Lanie giggles beside me. "Oh, get over it, Ry, at least you have one. My parents took mine away for sneaking out last week," she sighs. Such a pretty sigh. I glance over at her and my bad mood diminishes. She's smiling. So damn pretty. 

"I need a new one," I shove myself up off the grass and reach down to grab her hand, pull her up beside me. 

I start walking away, but her grip on my hand tightens, making me look back at her. She's watching me warily. "Where are we going, Ryan? You don't have money for a new phone, you know."

I chuckle and nod, tugging her along. "Yeah, I know, my Lanie. Just come with me, please." I shoot her a smile and she shakes her head, fighting off her own smile. "You know you can't resist this smile, Lanie Bug." I pull her with me and she punches my shoulder. 

"Next time we hang out, we're doing something I choose, you dumbass." 

We walk a few blocks, hand in hand, down to what we call the 'Shit-and-Go'. We call it that because whenever tourists drive through town, they always stop there, and well, you know. They use the bathroom and then leave, ya feel?