Beautiful Chaos by Myles Alan

Author:Myles Alan [Alan, Myles]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Myles Alan
Published: 2023-02-28T16:00:00+00:00

26

ARE YOU SCARED OF THE BOOGIEMAN?

The afternoon slips by quickly.

“We should probably head back soon.” I glance at the horizon as the sun fades lower in the sky. Shades of pink and purple mask the sky.

“I don’t want to go back.” Cole’s tone is unintentionally reserved. And I can tell his apprehensiveness stems back to his family. “Being here with you today was the first time in forever that I’ve felt happy. Like I didn’t have to pretend to be someone else,” he confesses breathlessly.

“You never had to pretend to be someone else around me.” And as soon as I say the words out loud, I feel like an absolute hypocrite. I realise in this moment I can’t keep lying to myself anymore. “Whatever brought us together did it for a reason.”

We bundle the throw and picnic basket into our arms and start back towards the narrow track. I look at the cotton candy skies before I begin to manoeuvre my way back through the thicket of brambles and ferns.

Cole follows closely behind me. The path serves to be much tricker in the later afternoon light, the thick canopy overhead obscuring most of the light. Clunk, snap, crunch. Cole groans loudly as he yanks the throw free from a low-hanging branch.

We make it back to the Chevy in one piece. We quickly unload the throw and picnic basket into the backseat before sliding into the front of the car and clipping myself in place.

Cole turns the key in the ignition, and two beams of light instantly illuminate the empty lot. He waits for the engine to kick over before winding the steering wheel all the way around and heading back the way we’d come.

“What are you doing tomorrow?” I ask anxiously once Cole has turned onto the main road.

“Tomorrow?” Cole chuckles. “Nothing. Why?”

“Let’s escape somewhere where you can completely clear your mind,” I say.

“What do you have in mind?” He looks at me suspiciously.

“What do you think about camping?”

“I didn’t peg you for the outdoorsy kinda’ guy.” He keeps his eyes fixated on the road as he speaks, but I can feel the warmth that radiates from his voice. “And just to be clear, it’s camping, as in, tents and wilderness and campfires?” He asks dubiously, his lopsided smirk playing at the corner of his mouth.

“Yep, that pretty much sums up camping city boy.” I mock.

“Well, I’ve never camped before,” he confesses. He takes a second to mull the idea over in his head before offering me a steady nod. “Let’s do it!”

“So that’s a yes?” I ask, astonished that he actually agrees. “Are you sure you aren’t scared of bugs and the boogieman?” I reply sarcastically.

“Are you kidding me? They’ve got nothing on me.” He sweeps a hand across his shoulder and removes imaginary dust with the flick of his wrist while keeping a satisfied grin plastered on his face.

“Would you be up for a hike, city boy?”

“I think I’d be able to handle that, but I really wish you’d cool it on the city boy.

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