Live Free

The First Night

"And tonight, I'll fall asleep with you in my heart."

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For hours we aimlessly wondered around in the forest, now with the addition of sunlight streaming through the trees. It was around 4 o'clock in the afternoon according to my phone, and my legs were beginning to ache from our walk. I knew time would make my legs stronger and able to go further distances, but for now they hurt and I was ready for a rest. If Sky was tired, she didn't say anything. Our sweaty hands still clung together, never letting go. We needed each other to go through with this, that much was clear. 

The temperature rose as the day progressed, so I shook off my lightweight jacket and stuffed it in my backpack. Sky gave me a sly smile and took hers off too, silently agreeing with me. We traveled for another hour before we stopped at a small clearing surrounded by berry bushed with tiny, colorful flowers. 

"Think we should stop here and set up for the night?" I asked, already in the process of rummaging through my stuff to look for the tent gear. 

"This is as good as it gets. I don't think we could find any better," she said while gently inspecting one of the berries. Before I could protest, she quickly popped it into her mouth and closed her eyes in content. 

"Sky! What the hell are you doing? Those could kill you!" I shouted, filling the quiet forest with the echoes of my desperate screams. "Don't you know not to eat random berries you find in the wild?" 

She looked at me and rolled her eyes. Without hesitation, she grabbed a few more and gobbled them up as well, all the while with a smile dancing on her face. Meanwhile, I felt like ripping my hair out in frustration. We couldn't afford to get sick so early on in our ‘adventure’. 

"I think I know a thing or two about poisonous berries, thanks though," she replied, eyelashes flashing like a hummingbirds wings. "But it was nice of you to worry, it was actually kind of cute."

"Cute? You could have died! And then what would I have done?" I exclaimed, and that statement pretty much wiped the smile off her face. Inside, I was so grateful that the berries weren't life threatening, although I wouldn't tell her that. 

"Let's forget this and set up camp. You've been camping before, right?" I asked her. 

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Turns out, she hadn't been. When I was little, my parents took me camping almost every month. They loved the outdoors, and that's mainly why I didn't have a problem staying out in the wilderness. Determined, I went through the basics of building the small violet-colored tent we had brought, while Sky totally ignored me and continued picking berries. 

"You need to see what I'm doing so you know how to do this!" I complained. 

"And you need to be more aware of possible food sources. Sure, we may have money now. But don't think it's going to last forever. If we start collecting food from the forest, that's a little less money we'll have to spend on actual food," she replied with a smirk. Why did she always have to be right? 

I shut up and finished preparing the tent. I placed our belongings inside and crawled in. It wasn't big, but it was enough for two people. I smiled proudly at myself. We were on our way. 

When dusk came, we started a fire. There were plenty of limbs and branches everywhere, and we had a lighter, so it was easy to make. It started off a tiny little spark, but grew until it was almost a big bonfire. 

"If only we had brought marshmellows," she commented while she wiggled her outstretched arms to warm up to the fire. "We could have made smores!"

I wasn't even listening to what she was saying. My head hurt really badly, and my heart rate sped up by a million beats per second. Not really, but that's what it felt like. My hands got all shaky and suddenly I got the urge to puke. Something felt completely wrong. I felt like crawling in a hole and dying. So I stood up and told Sky that I needed to go to bed right this second. 

"Tyler, what's wrong? You look horrible," she pointed out. 

"I don't feel so great. When you’re done out here, put the fire out with this," I said, handing her a bottle of water. "Make sure it's all put out so we don’t catch on fire."

"No, I'm going to bed if you are. What's the problem?" she asked. I explained to her my symptoms and she went silent. 

"I hate to say it, but I'm pretty sure you're going through some drug withdrawals. Do you need anything?" 

Crap. I knew it was bound to happen, but I didn't want to experience this so early on. 

"No, I just need to go to bed. Come with me?" 

She put out the fire, and instantly the clearing went pitch dark. I had to admit, it was really intimidating. We slithered through the opening to the tent and lay down on the makeshift bed. We had no room to bring an actual mattress, so we settled with a ton of blankets. It wasn't as uncomfortable as it sounds, and it was really warm. Sky snuggled in beside me and laid her little head on my chest. I attempted to focus on her even breathing as she tried to fall asleep. 

"Goodnight, Ty," she whispered, turning her head to give me a peck on the check. When she pulled away, it felt like her lips left a burning imprint.

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I don't think I slept at all that night. My head swarmed with a thousand bees inside of it and my entire body shook. I broke out into a cold sweat about halfway into the night, and my anxiety skyrocketed when I heard even the softest of sounds. A leaf crunching or wolves howling a million miles away stayed with me as I tried to get some sleep. To no avail. 

Finally, morning came.

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This is what happens when you do drugs, kids. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please help me out by voting and giving me feedback, seeing as though I had to re-publish the entire story for the watty awards! Thanks for reading, 

~angel~