Page 40 of Pictures in Blue
I can’t count how many times I’ve taken this trail in the past. Axel and I hiked it a lot when we were kids. Usually at night, when our parents thought we were in bed asleep. We’d sneak out with our packs, ready to camp out by the waterfall, hoping to spot a bear or a cougar so we would have some kind of thrilling story for school the next day. The one time we did see a bear, we almost shit our pants. Both of us scrambled up a tree and hid there until he was finished raiding our food and went along his way. I smile at the memory of how idiotic we were. Still are half the time.
“Wow,” Avery says. “He smiles in my presence.”
I look over and find her studying me, blue eyes scanning my face and looking for something I don’t think I can give her. “Just memories of me and an old buddy being stupid teenagers.”
“Oh?”
Something about the way she’s looking at me makes me want to tell her every single time we snuck out and hid in these woods and every time we got caught.
“Axel. He owns the auto shop a mile or so from the inn. We’ve been best friends basically our whole lives. Grew up here together and got into a lot of shit together too. Detentions, pranks around town, just stupid, teenage boy shit.”
“What’s the dumbest thing you guys did together?”
I think about all the things we got into together and try to recall the one thing we did that was probably way too far. “There’s a long list of things, Sunshine,” I say, the nickname slipping from my lips before my brain has a chance to process it. “But the dumbest thing,” I continue before she can ask about it, keeping an eye on the trail ahead of us. “Was probably the time we attempted to do the longest hike without any prep. No gear, no overnight stuff, nothing. We thought we were invincible. Thought we could do the hike in half the time just because we were young and fit.”
“Sky said that hike is over a day long.”
“It’s about 47 miles long to be exact, so it takes at least 21 hours of hiking, not including breaks and sleeping. We weren’t prepared at all.”
“So how long did you last?” She asks, her eyes widening with interest, and I want to stop and bask in her attention.
“About 4 hours in, we both realized our mistake when we got hungry...I have no idea what was going through our heads other than us trying to prove how manly we were. Big mistake.”
“Did your parents flip out?”
“Not really. They were used to our bullshit at that point. I think my dad was more surprised we didn’t stick it out longer given how stubborn we both were. But mom was making fried chicken and pie that night and I wasn’t going to miss that. I remember using that as an excuse to Axel when I wanted to bow out. But he wanted that apple pie just as badly as I did.”
“I would definitely not hesitate to quit for homemade fried chicken and pie,” she laughs.
“I’d quit anything for my mom’s cooking,” I say without hesitation. Because it’s true. The only reason I’m still fit is because I run regularly and fit in other workouts when I can. Her cooking would be the death of me if I didn’t keep up with my routine. But in the best way.
“She sounds nice.”
“She’s the best.”
We fall into silence as we concentrate on the trail. The further in we go, the muddier and slicker it gets. A few times, Avery slips and I reach my arms out to catch her, only for her to grab a nearby tree to recover her balance.
Part of me wishes she would let herself fall just so I can feel her in my arms again. Every time she slips and catches herself, my arms itch for contact, coming up empty. The tension between us grows and I start to wonder if either she feels it too or if this attraction is one-sided and yesterday was a fluke created in our hazy, sleepy state.
Throughout the hike and between hills and muddy patches, Avery continues to take out her camera to snap pictures of the trees, different plants, bugs she spots on the ground, even rocks. By the time we reach the halfway mark, her knees are caked in mud from her kneeling down to get the shot she wanted. She doesn’t seem to care one bit.
The hardest part of the hike is near the end when the hill becomes a steep slope we have to make our way down. Axel and I would come here after it rained all the time to slide in the mud.
“This next part is going to be difficult with the mud. Be careful,” I warn.
“Don’t think I can handle myself?” she asks.
“I didn’t say tha—”
Before I finish, her foot slips and she starts sliding. I throw my hand out to grab her around the waist, but I lose my footing and now we are both sliding down the slope of mud. I feel a few rocks scrape their way up my back as I dig in with my boots trying to find any kind of traction. Her foot gets caught under me and I can feel it twist at an odd angle before we finally come to a stop at the bottom of the hill.
“Told you to be careful,” I groan. My back is stinging, and I know without having to look there are bright red scratches stretching all the way to my shoulder blades. I hear her hiss as she tries to stand. “Shit, are you okay?” I ask.
She collapses down in front of me and holds her left ankle. “I think I twisted it. It got caught under you.”
Ignoring the ache in my back, I sit up to examine her. I gently unlace her boot and slowly take her sock off, exposing her already reddening skin.
“Does this hurt?” I press gently on the side of it.
