What I Never Told You

Chapter 13

  I stirred in bed, unable to go back to sleep; I pushed the covers back, climbed down the ladder, and tried to go to the bathroom, but when I jiggled the handle, it didn't budge.

  I stepped out of the RV and stumbled through the dark, trying to find the bathroom I had seen earlier in the day.
  The sky was pitch black, void of stars and the moon; I couldn't see what I was stepping on or where I was going.

  It felt like I had been walking around in circles for the last ten minutes when I heard a twig snap under my foot and the ground caved in.
  I let out a yelp as I fell. I landed on my side and groaned. I forced myself onto my feet and slowly spun around. I was trapped in a pit that was at least six feet deep.
  My hands ran across the dirt walls, searching for anything that could help me or get me out of here. I felt something sharp, maybe a branch, near the center of the dirt wall. It felt thick and sturdy like it would be strong enough to hold me up. 

  I placed one foot on it and then the other and stood up. I stood on my tiptoes and reached for the edge of the pit but my fingers fell short. The branch wobbled beneath me, warning me that I didn't have much time left. I jumped and lunged for the edge just as the branch snapped. My fingertips barely grazed the grass, and I fell back down onto the broken wood.

  I sat up and buried my face in my knees. What was I going to do? Nobody knew where I was. I was alone: one of my worst fears. 

  I laid down on the ground and closed my eyes, hoping that this was just a horribly vivid dream. 

  The feeling of the warmth of the sun on my skin woke me up.
  Was it morning already?
  Nobody had come for me.
  I pulled my knees to my chest and buried my face in them. I began sobbing.
  Why hadn't anyone come to save me? Where was Ryan?

  I thought about the words of the lady from the park and her advice.

  What's wrong with me? I'm not some helpless girl that needs a knight in shining armor to save her. I can't believe I'm so reliant on some guy that I just met. How could Xander's accident have changed me so much? I've become so dependent on others and even gave up the one thing I loved most: music.
  I regretted giving it up. I regretted how I left things with Everly.
  Once I got out of here, I needed to fix everything.
  I'm strong and independent. I can figure this out myself.

  I stood up and walked around the perimeter of the hole.
  There had to be a way out of here.

  I picked up a piece of the branch that I fell on last night and dug crevices into the dirt walls until I couldn't reach any higher. I placed the stick in my back pocket and planted my right foot in one of the crevices. Then my right hand. I did the same with my left hand and leg and began climbing upwards, moving each limb from one crevice to another. I was halfway up when I ran out of places to move to. I held onto the crevice I was currently at with one hand and grabbed the stick with my other. I traced more into the dirt and continued to climb up. 

  Twenty crevices later, I was finally out. I collapsed onto the grass with my arms sprawled out beside me. I laid there for a few minutes, catching my breath and regaining my composure, before walking back to the RV.

  The door banged behind me and jolted everyone awake.

  They scrambled out of bed and began launching questions.
"What happened to you?" "Why are your clothes torn?" "Where did you just come from?"

  "I woke up in the middle of the night and needed to use the bathroom but it was occupied. So, I went out to use the public restroom but I couldn't see where I was going and fell into a pit. I was trapped all night and managed to climb out this morning," I replied.