George Nicholson had, always, been a guy with a plan. Nothing was meant to happen on a whim in his life.
As his last year of university loomed in the distance, George put together a plan to spend summer at his home town of Lakebay with his two best...
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I had a dream last night.
Leah was holding my hand, her fingers laced with mine. We were standing at the edge of a high cliff and when we looked down we saw the sky, the clouds were floating endlessly. And, when we looked up, the ocean was above our heads. We could see small waves forming and moving to the edge of the horizon. We could see whales and illuminated jellyfish smoothly move in and out of the ocean. However, neither the water was pouring down on us, nor the ocean's creatures were falling out. I looked at Leah as she turned to face me. Toe to toe. Our hands intertwined in a vice grip as if we were both holding for dear life. She looked at the sky down the cliff, then threw her head back, looking at the ocean. She looked back at me, her eyes pulling me in, then she abruptly leaned into me as she stood on the tips of her toes.
"Do you dare?" She whispered into my ear, then leaned back, her eyes back on me. There was this obscure gleam in her eyes, my heart was beating so fast and I couldn't look away.
Then, I woke up. My eyes met with the bright sunshine pouring through the open French door in my room. I closed my eyes again, putting my arm over them to fend against the sunshine. I inhaled and exhaled slowly, trying to control my erratic breathing. I stretched my other arm across the bed but nothing was there. I could swear that Leah was here with me last night after we spent our time at The Blues, a local bar, we had some whiskey and danced until we couldn't.
I remember Farah helping me into the minivan. I also remember Leah kissing me. Then everything went blank. But, I could smell Leah's vanilla scent. I was certain that she was here in my bed last night.
The memories from yesterday flashed before my eyes. That jump was life altering, just thinking about it makes me want to hide inside a black hole. At first, it was a serene moment for me, but then when I looked up and realized what I just did, I was overwhelmed by these erratic emotions that I was going to be left behind and die. I almost had a panic attack. When my breathing started to become loud and I looked like I was about to lose my wits, Leah nursed me through the moment. The warm depth in her voice soothed me, telling me that I was brave and that I was going to be fine. Her fingers wrapped around my wrist, guiding me to safety. The moment we touched the shore, Leah's arms were around, her hands moving in soothing circles on my back. Cole and Farah stood by my side, as I rode the wave of panic. When I was more relaxed, Farah and Cole hugged me for a long moment; and it felt like we were eight years old again, standing in the playground after Farah came back home from the funeral of her grandfather in Lebanon.
I stayed in bed for a few more minutes, before I managed to get up and nursed my headache with Advil and water. I took a shower and changed into a black t-shirt and gray cargo shorts.
I checked Farah's room and it was empty. Then, I moved to Cole's room. He was deep in sleep. I walked to the bedside and nudged him softly so I wouldn't startle him.
"Cole, come on man." I said, trying to wake him up, as I looked through the message in my phone. I go through the one from my father, he is asking when I am coming back home. Crap! I forgot to tell him that we are staying an extra week. I would have to call him later. There is a message from Leah, as I was about to open it, Cole moved in the bed and groaned loudly.
