Between Two Fires

^.^ Chapter 18 ^.^

The air blew warm against my skin as I followed Lea down the trail which lead to her car. Longingly, I look back at the beach and sigh in disappointment. Although Lea had told me to wear a bikini under my clothes, she hadn't mentioned whether or not we would be going to the beach after meeting up with Ethan and Trent. It was well past noon and my stomach was longing for food but my body had a greater longing for sleep, the lack of sleep was quickly expanding its trail throughout my body leaving me feeling tired and lazy. My heave feet dragged along behind me until we finally got to Lea's small Suzuki, parked just by the Diner.

As we approached I couldn't stop my eyes from wandering to the shack in search of a certain green eyed individual. Instead, the small wooden building is shut closed, the surfboards and signs which are usually placed on the outside are nowhere to be seen. That's strange. I think. I had grown accustomed to seeing it open, even on Sundays.

"Lea, why did no one open the Shack today?" I question as we each get into the vehicle, adjusting our seat belts.

"We all took the day off." She shrugs and starts the car. I don't bother asking her where we are meeting Ethan and Trent but instead I use this opportunity to doze off to sleep. I had always found it easy to fall asleep in cars, the ride had always felt soothing making it easy to drift off to sleep but I always regretted it when I woke up after a long trip and found myself sore all over from sleeping in an awkward position.

It can't be longer than twenty minutes when we come to a stop. At first, I don't register the change of pace but a knock on my window startles me out of me sleepy haze. Instead of Lea, I'm surprised to see Luca's face peeking in. I glare at him through the window before opening the door, lightly bumping his forehead.

"Ouch!" He puts his hand to his head and I roll my eyes. I hadn't even hit him that hard. I step out of the vehicle and take in my surroundings. Ethan and Lea are on the other side of the car talking to Trent which waves when I get out of the car. I wave back and smile before looking around at my surroundings. The first thing I notice are the tree's towering above us and the sound of water rushing. Even though there is no water to be seen I can hear the heavy sound of water, indicating the close proximity a beach, river or waterfall. The bright green leaves hang onto the trees adorning the dark brown dusty path which, I guess, leads to where we are going.

"Where are we?" I voice my thoughts.

Luca chuckles to my right, "See for yourself. It's best not to ruin the surprise." He starts walking down the path, carrying a large fridge in one hand and his satchel in the other. I grab my own satchel and run up to catch up. The excitement bubbles up as I hear the sound of water get louder as we walk further along the path. 

When I finally step into the clearing it takes me a while to believe whats in-front of my eyes. A spacious clearing surrounded by tall tree's decorates a large pool of surprisingly clear blue water collected at the bottom of a layered waterfall which gushes down with glistening white strips of water. My eyes light up like those of a 4 year old on Christmas and I bring my hands to my mouth in awe. Luca was right, this was definitely best to be left as a surprise. I walk closer to the water, reflecting my own awe-struck expression. 

A contented sigh escapes my lips, "This is..." I can't finish my sentence but I hear a hum of approval from Luca. My eyes scan the area again. It's a place of fairy-tales. There was no-one else there which didn't surprise me as it was still early. A clicking sound snaps me out of my awed state and I look back at Luca as he pockets his phone.

"Did you just take a picture?" I question raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe." He smirks. I am about to fight him on this when Lea and the others emerge from the path.