Seventeen-year-old Hazel never saw having a sick mom in her future. And the last thing she expected was for her new next-door neighbor to give her a checklist that would change everything.
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After Hazel Winter's mom got sick, all emotion vanishe...
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River made the forty-five-minute hike very interesting. Every ten minutes, he'd complain about the bugs, and then a minute later, he'd lie and tell me how much fun he was having. This went on and off for the entire duration of the trail, and I've been trying to hide the smile on my face the whole time.
Reaching the overlook made it completely worth it, though. Watching someone see it for the first time is always special, and River is reminding me of how my mom looked that day we came here. He's staring off into the abyss with an expression of adoration mixed with disbelief.
A stone balcony juts out over a cliff, and River and I tentatively step onto it to peek over the edge. Trees run for miles and miles, and a large river surges at the very bottom. You can hear nothing but wind and water, and it's incredible. It's better than I remembered it to be.
"This is..." River shakes his head. "Wow. I don't even have words."
"Right? I told you. It's paradise."
"We should hike more often."
I arch a brow. "And listen to you complain about the bugs the whole time?"
"I'll bring bug spray next time," he offers, and rather than fight him on it, I point down to the right of us, where there's a grouping of large rocks.
"See down there? You can climb to the bottom, but there are so many steps. It's beautiful once you get to it, though."
"We're definitely doing that someday."
I love the way he's making future plans with us.
"God, Tracy would love this. She's always talking about wanting to see the world and stuff. I need to take pictures before we leave."
Hoisting myself onto the edge of the balcony, River eyes me skeptically before he eventually joins and turns to face me so that one leg is over the edge of the cliff, the other still on the ground of the balcony. I follow suit and mirror his stance so we're across from each other.
"You're fond of her, aren't you?"
"Tracy?" he asks.
I nod.
"I mean, it's hard not to be. The woman is an angel. Same with Steve. I was in a rough spot when I came to stay with them, but they never gave up on me."
The more I've gotten to know River, the more I understand his personality. He doesn't take well to being pushed to talk about things, so I'll open the door to see if he wants to talk about it. If he doesn't, he doesn't, but I'm dying to know more about him and his past.
"Rough spot how?"
I watch as he runs his fingers between the spaces of the brick, sighing before he shrugs and says, "I've been bouncing around since I was six. I don't trust anyone. Well, I never used to..." He trails off, and my heart skips a beat. "I don't know, staying with them at first felt like it was too good to be true. People can't be that nice, you know? But they're good people, and they want me to stick around for whatever reason."
