Wedding Bell Rush - A.U. (H.S., Z.S.)

Chapter 12: End of the Journey

My back felt sore. I heard footsteps around me, and I rubbed my eyes. I opened them to see the ceiling of the living room lit up by light daylight. I tried lifting my neck, but everything was sore. I forgot I was in Tahoe for a second and sighed once I realized I fell asleep on the couch.

"You're finally up," Harry said, walking quickly in front of the couch I was sleeping on.

I just groaned and threw a pillow over my face.

"We're leaving soon. Lila made up her mind."

I threw the pillow to the ground and found the strength in me to get up. I was still in my clothes from the other day. So much for packing, right? I grabbed my phone that was on the coffee table in front of me. It was 6 A.M., and I audibly groaned.

"Are you fucking kidding me, guys?" I yelled, hearing footsteps behind me.

"If we want to make it in time for the wedding, we have to go now!" Zach yelled from the front door. I turned around and gave him the stink eye. He was holding Lila's coat. He saw me eyeing it. "She's in her car. Come on, we're all waiting for you."

I stretched. "Let me use the restroom first, god damn!" What Zach said finally hit me. Lila chose to go through with the wedding. A part of me was disappointed, but I was hopeful at how forgiving Lila was. Maybe she was making the right decision, and maybe I was the cynical one.

After using the restroom, I went outdoors. Lila, Zach, and Harry were chatting outside by the cars. They all turned to me as soon as I stepped out.

"Good morning, sleepyhead!" Lila beamed at me.

I walked over to the group. "This is way too early for me, but you should have woken me up earlier if you guys didn't want to wait for me."

Lila shrugged. "You were never a morning person. Plus, you get ready quickly anyway."

I stretched one more time. Lila went to lock the front door. "Who's taking who?"

"You can come with me. Lila's with Zach," Harry shrugged at me.

I nodded. "Alright."

Lila came up to me and hugged my arm. "It's a beautiful day, isn't it?" She said, scrunching up her red nose.

I put my arm around her and hugged her. "Yes, it is."

We stood in silence taking in the view. The trees were slightly swaying with the sharp, crisp wind. The sun was slowly rising, and the clouds were parting from each other. The fog around was like a light vapor that hugged us goodbye. The dew on the cars started to drip down, making the pavement darker around the vehicles. I sighed one last time. I realized that our journey ended here. It was a manner of getting back on time for the wedding that was concerning me.

"We better head out," I said, breaking the silence between all four of us.

Zach had his hands in his front pants pockets. He stretched a little and gave me a small smile. It was like he was trying to send me a message. A reminder? A goodbye? I wasn't sure. I gave a small smile back, making him blush and look at the ground. "See you there, guys," he said, not looking up and walking to Lila's car.

Harry and I waved at Lila and Zach as they got in their car. I followed Harry to his car and slouched in the passenger seat.

"I did not miss you," I whispered, rubbing my hand on the interior of his car. I leaned my head against the window. I focused my eyes on the cabin in front of me. We started pulling out, and I kept watching it. I was curious at how this cabin survived all through these years. Although it was physically far from Juniper, it was metaphorically close to Lila's family. It was an old cabin. It wasn't anything special, but it was a place for them to escape. As dull as Juniper was, the Chamberlains needed a place to get away. I thought it was just Lila, but their whole family took this old, worn cabin and made it a symbol of peace and happiness. It took care of them. It was a place for them to run to. I'm not surprised Lila found comfort in this cabin, even though their family hadn't been there since Lila moved for college.

I closed my eyes when the cabin was out of my sight. I let out a sigh of relief and let sleep take over my body.

...

I felt the car bumping on the road. Some music was playing on the radio, but all I could concentrate on was trying to go back to sleep.

"I will lay me down," a voice sang out. It didn't sound like it was coming from the radio. "Like a bridge over troubled water. I will lay me down," the voice continued. It was a nice deep voice with a rich tone. My ears perked up, and I didn't want to sleep anymore. Harry was quiet, but he was singing with his heart. I opened my eyes and slowly turned my head, trying to catch him singing. He continued with the song, his jaw moving with his words. He was tapping on the steering wheel, unaware I was watching. My heart fluttered. I didn't know he liked to sing and was actually good at it. I didn't want to be a creep, so I shuffled in my seat. He immediately closed his mouth but was still tapping on the wheel.

"Didn't know you liked music," I said, yawning.

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Didn't know if you would like my music."

"It's Simon & Garfunkel, Harry. Everyone likes their stuff," I chuckled. "You got some nice pipes on you."

He blushed. "I thought you were asleep," he said, trying to hide his smile.

"That beautiful voice woke me up. It's like a fairytale," I said, semi-mocking him.

He gave out a small laugh and gave me a glance. "I don't sing, but it's fun sometimes- just karaoke, though."

"You're pretty good! Now I'm curious at what you've been hiding from everyone."

He rolled his eyes playfully. "Things are hidden for a reason."

"One day, Harry, I'm going to find out about who you really are. You seem so mysterious and quiet, but you're just a talented singer who has a crush on his best friend's girl!" I joked.

He gave me a push. "You're so fucking annoying," he tried to say seriously before breaking out into laughter. "We're almost there, by the way. Maybe 20 more minutes?"

I was shocked at how long I slept in the car. I immediately sat up and looked out at the window. The area was filled with suburbs and outlet malls once again. I was back home. "Was I out for that long? Did you guys get anything to eat?"

"We stopped at a gas station an hour ago. Zach got gas for their car and we got some snacks at the store. I tried to wake you up, but you looked peaceful." He reached behind him and threw a bag of chips on my lap. "In case you were hungry."

Iwas still shocked at how deep I slept. I always had trouble sleeping, but thisjourney was sort of liberating. It got rid of some stress I never realized I hadin me. I looked at the bag of chips, and my stomach growled. I started going totown on the bag. "Thanks," I muttered with my mouth full.