Page 25 of A Twist in Fate
“But I said no offence!”
“James, just because you said no offence doesn't change anything.” My sister braids small pieces of her hair while rolling her eyes at James’ words.
As they continue to argue, I lean over the table and say to Ivy, in a hushed tone, “C’mon, let's go to leave them to argue. Also, where we're headed has a bit of a time crunch."
“Okay,” she says brightly, springing up from her chair with a slight skip in her step. “So, are you going to tell me where we are going?” She continues as we hop into my truck a few minutes later. She clicks herself into the seatbelt and smiles from across the car.
“Not at all. It's a surprise sunshine.”
“You know I hate when you call me that,” she says, and I was going to counter, like usual, but I watch her clutch the small sunshine hanging from her neck as I lookover to her and forget everything I was going to say. She continues to plug her phone into the cable coming from the car and soon after, I hear a similar song that she had played a week ago. We drive through the long road towards town, past the town and back to more roads through surrounded by the fields.
“This is taking forever!” Ivy starts to complain, rolling her head back, sighing dramatically. I love when we have spent enough time together that she starts to get comfortable around me. She opens up like a beam of sunlight between the dark clouds. She laughs more, becomes competitive and is a little more sarcastic. While I love shy Ivy, who blushes constantly and twiddles her thumbs, it's nice to watch her confidence come out once in a while. It's nice to know she can do that with me.
“Ivy, we are literally here. You can be such a pain in my ass sometimes,” I say laughing, and she instantly puts a fake frown on her face and crosses her arms much like Alec had done earlier today. “C'mon Sunshine, you know I was kidding.” I reverse up next to another car.
“Where are we?” she asks. It is hard to see anything but the few cars in the dark right now and a long field.
I check my phone and say, “Quick, we have like five minutes until it starts.” I get out of the car to open her doorfor her and offer her my hand as she steps out. I keep my hand in hers and take her round the back of the truck. She gasps as she looks at the sight in front of us.
There are four bed pillows lining up the back of the truck with a large comforter and a white and pink checkered blanket across the end. This blanket is covered by loads of foods, all her favourites, which I know after shopping with her on her birthday. I put string lights across the back with the pillows. I hate to admit I spent a while on this but I knew she would love it. Finally, there is a bouquet of daffodils laying on the blanket. I don't really know her favourite flowers but when I was at the fruit and flower shop, I saw Angie and she swore that Ivy would like these ones the best. That felt impossible considering she only saw the side of her face, but I decided to agree as these were the same flowers Dad used to get Mom growing up. Every single week there were new flowers in vases on the living room table, the ones he got for her.There was anyway.
“Lucas… this is beautiful. I don't… why would you do this for me?” Her question surprises me and I'm suddenly very aware of how nervous I am around her. Leaving a girl lost for words is new for me but in return she has made me completely lose sanity.
“I just wanted to. I wanted to watch this movie with you.” There is a big screen in front of us that currently is not displaying anything but darkness.I feel a little embarrassed.
“What movie?” she asks, moving onto the blankets and patting the other side telling me to sit with her.She sits on the same side she slept on when we shared a bed.
“I told you sunshine, it's a surprise.” I move across the blankets, closer to her until our shoulders rest against each other. All I want to do is pull her close. So close that I could feel the beat of her heart. So close that the feeling of her skin could burn me and I would want it. She’d be the only pain I would want to endure.
Minutes later, the screen starts to glow displaying the Disney castle, with fireworks blaring behind it. It fades out and you can hear a man's voice along with the growing image of a wanted poster nailed to a tree.“This is the story of how I died…”
“Oh my god! Lucas, it's Tangled! This is like one of my favourite movies! The lantern scene honestly changed my entire life, it's my dream to do something like that.” Ivy squeaks so loudly that she gets shushed by the couple in the car next to us. “How did you know I love this movie?” she asks in a much more hushed tone.
“I didn't. Me, Mom and the girls watch it all the time and it's more of a comfort thing for me now. After you called me blondie a couple weeks ago, I knew I wanted to see it with you. Why did you only call me that once by the way? I thought we had started a nickname thing between us," I reply, watching her face change as her eyes stay upon the screen ahead.
“I felt embarrassed. I don't do that. It is hard for me to be confident like you.” She fiddles with her finger, once again and looks down, sadly. It breaks my heart. I know she has struggled before, especially in the past couple of years and every time she goes into that shell of anxiety, I want to pull her out and protect her from this cruel and chaotic world. She deserves the love and care she gives to everyone else. I want to give her that.
“I liked it. Call me anything you want, sunshine.”
“Okay.” The smile returns to her face but she's blushing ever so slightly and as much as I try to focus on the movie playing on the screen, my eyes somehow keep travelling to the brunette beside me.
As the end credits roll of the movie, Ivy has tucked herself right into my side, the comforter swallowing us and the bags of snacks everywhere. Her breathing is slow and steady, and it takes me a moment to notice that shehas been sleeping. I can feel the slight movement of her breathing against my chest and I wonder if she fell asleep listening to the rapid beat of my heart. Her hair is slightly sprawled out across her face and onto my arm, so I brush it away behind her ear, revealing her freckles. I leave my hand resting on her cheek and my thumb slightly goes over her soft lips. The waves curved over her face and passed her shoulders, the ends spiralling up. The dim light from the movie highlights every single delicate freckle that dances across her face, each one like a kiss from the sun. There has been much more since the day I met her.
The calm rhythm of her breathing suddenly changes as her eyes flutter open, instantly noticing my hand gently brushing her cheek. I don't rush to move it as she looks up at me with a look I can't decipher. Her lips are slightly parted, and her bright brown eyes seem to have more golden specks right in the middle. She's mesmerising.
“Ivy—” I start, about to say that we need to get back to camp soon but I'm cut off when she leans up and kisses me.
She kisses me.
Her arms reach up to behind my head, her hands brushing my chest and neck as she does. The hand I have on her cheek moves back into the curls I so desperatelywanted to hold a week ago. They are soft and as I thought, perfect to run my fingers through effortlessly. My other hand brushes the bare skin of her waist. She is not pulling away like she did on the fourth of July. She kisses me. I forgot how good this is. I missed her. Naturally, she slowly pulls away and I instantly feel the effects of her being gone.
“Ivy,”I whisper into the air, letting it swallow my breathless words.
“Lucas.”
We are both breathing heavily, my hand still in her hair. Hers are still linked behind my head. Maybe it is the adrenaline pumping through me or the happiness of finally being with her in the way I have wanted but it forces me to say, “I don't want to pretend anymore.”
“What? What do you mean?” she says. The smile instantly leaves her face, and she sits up pulling her hands away too. I sit up more beside her and continue, almost regretting the words that are spilling from my mouth. “I don't want to pretend anymore that I don't have feelings for you. I don't want to pretend that I don't want to kiss you and hold you. I don't want to pretend that it doesn't physically hurt, ignoring the way I'm feeling every single day. We have three weeks left together, I can't ignore this.It is entirely impossible." I gesture between the two of us and watch her process what I said. “I just want to be with you.”
