Lost :: Chapter 3

Lost :: Chapter 3

I couldn't sleep that night. I heard the hand of clock tick by each minute, and heard the old house creak and settle. It was dark and the neighborhood was shrouded in shadows. I lay in bed, the blankets curled up around me. A duffle bag was hiding under my bed, holding some money I had saved and a few changes of clothes. I waited until 3am struck, and then I crept out of bed, dressed quietly and opened my window.

The duffle landed with a soft thunk in the garden below. I simpered at the idea of her precious flowers in a flattened state. I swung my thin frame out, jumped out and landed beside my bag. I stood there, watching my curtains waving in the breeze, and smiled. "Goodbye, forever," I whispered, grabbing up my bag leaving the house behind.

First, I wanted to go to the cabin and leave Daniel a note, but surprisingly, when I was within view of the cabin, I could see the lights were still on. He looked up in surprise when he saw me. "You're back?" he asked, looking confused.

"For good. I'm not going back!" I proceeded to tell him the entire story. "I'm catching the next bus to Wakerton, are you coming with me?" He started to shake his head, but stopped. For a few minutes, the silence was deafening. Starting to blush, I mumbled a "Never mind," and started to make for the door, but as my fingers wrapped around the handle, his hand rested on my shoulder. Turning to face him, he kissed me, and then nodded.

"I need to get money from my parents' house, first," he said. "Then I'm ready to go wherever we can." A surge of happiness invigorated me, and I threw my arms around his neck.

An hour later, we boarded the bus, his bag and mine thrown into the cargo department. By the time Judith woke up and saw the bed made, the Jack Kerouac book carefully placed on the pillow, we would be 4 hours away. As we took our seats and the bus began to move, I looked out the window at all the sleepy little houses, smoke puffing out of chimneys and all the lights turned out.

"I left the book in my room," I said, still gazing at the moving scenery.

"A bit late to go back for it now, isn't it?"

"I can read it later. It summarized my reasons better than any sappy note I could ever write." I snuggled into him and closed my eyes. The excitement of the last 12 hours had caught up with me, and I fell asleep, wrapped in the warmth of Daniel.