Under a Silent Moon

28

Chapter Twenty-Eight: We'll Always Have Now

ZACK

Hours have passed and she's still sleeping. I've never seen her so calm and vulnerable before. I catch the fluttering of eye movement behind her lids and wonder what she could be dreaming about.

Still swathed in the darkness of my room, I carefully slip out of bed and pull on a pair of shorts. I feel like such a creeper watching her sleep, but it's astounding to me how someone could look so angelic and harbor such hellish thoughts at the same time. I wish I could help her, I wish I could fix all of her broken pieces just like she's been repairing my own puzzle. Today has been the closest thing to paradise that I've ever experienced, and I hope she feels the same.

Lana stirs ever so slightly, and I feel a pang of guilt for disturbing her sleep, but for once reality is better than any fantasy her slumbering mind could be concocting and I can't help but smile when she pushes herself into a sitting position against my pillows.

Once taking in her surroundings, she modestly pulls the sheets up above her chest.

"You're beautiful," I assure her, taking a seat at the edge of my bed.

"How long have I been sleeping?" she asks, frazzled.

I check the clock on my nightstand and approximate two and a half hours.

She chuckles and I've never heard anything more perfect.

"We haven't studied yet."

"Well, you've never been the studious type anyway," I say, grabbing her waist and pulling her onto my lap. She doesn't mind the sheets anymore, pressing herself against me while her hands trace the contours of my back.

She inhales deeply and says into my neck, "I've been wanting to do that for awhile." Her breath is warm against my skin, and a pleasurable tingle races up my spine.

"I know," I say.

She pulls back to study my face. "You know? Jerk." She playfully flicks my nose and I retaliate by tickling her sides. She squeals and falls back over onto my comforter.

"Me too," I add earnestly, and toss a pillow at her, which she doesn't catch. It thuds against her body, entwined in my sheets. With her curled up like that, the pillow almost hides her small frame completely. "But get up and get dressed. We have places to be!"

"What? Where are we going?" she groans, stretching out comfortably. Selfishly, I wish we could pause this moment and print it out. I could stick it in my wallet and carry it around with me at all times. It would serve as a reminder that despite the hardships life vexes us with, we'll always have now. We'll always have this undeniably raw connection that's fundamentally stronger than any worldly problem.

"Yes, Sleeping Beauty, we have more things to do today than just each other." Her eyes widen as I wink. Viciously, she attacks me with a pillow.

I knew I wanted to take Lana here long before today. It's a simple place with simple pleasures, but it's the nostalgia that I hold sacred. It's a chilly day. We huddle together in our hoodies for warmth, and when the riverbed comes into view, Lana breaks off to hop carefully on the mossy rocks.

"I haven't been down here since junior high," she announces, pausing on a large boulder. I can tell she's about to elaborate on the memory, but decides to tuck it away instead. She turns to me as I climb up onto the boulder, joining her. "Why'd you bring me here?"

I stand precariously at the edge of the boulder, my sneakers merely an inch from the ledge.

"I used to come here with my mom when I was younger." Inhaling the crisp air fills my lungs as well as my head with irreplaceable memories. I can almost feel my mom's arm squishing me tightly against her as she rests her head on my shoulder, reminiscing about how her dad used to take her to this very spot to fish for salmon in the spring.