Caspian leaned forward to look at the water, his eyes animated as he swept them over the river. He loved water as much as he loved music. Although for some reason he hated the beach and ocean water. He’d joked that saltwater dried out his hair that I loved so much.
Quickly, I fumbled with my phone as I slowed. I bit back a smile as I found the song I wanted and clicked it on. The twangy tune came on and I sang out loudly with it. Caspian leaned his head back against his chair and smiled as he watched me.
“Almost heaven, West Virginia! Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River. Life is old here, older than the trees!” I continued belting out the song, disturbing the quiet wildlife. All the doubt and paranoia I let eat at me previous to now were cleansed as I took in deep lungfuls of the forest fresh air and sang. A smile spread over my face.
Caspian gave a quiet laugh, enjoying my show. A confidence I had yet to feel since starting this journey livened my body and I straightened my shoulders. I’d had so many naysayers pushing their opinions on me that it had clogged my mind down.
I’d persisted in this adventure, even if everyone else thought it was stupid or crazy. I’d been told I wouldn’t last camping. That the job was suspicious. That I was running away from my calling. That I was a disappointment.
I loved my family, but sometimes I didn’t always like them. Which sounded horrible but I pushed the guilt of that thought away to enjoy the view in front of me. This extended break from them couldn’t have been at a better time. Hopefully, they’d come to accept my decision. Hopefully, they could be as happy for me and my interests as I was for them.
Finally, we found the campground. It was sparse even though it was still the tail end of summer. Caspian and I eyed the small numbered placards labelling each campsite until we saw number twelve, the one I’d pre-booked online.
New River Gorge National Park was the first stop on our year-long journey and we were scheduled to stay here for a week. I remembered what my boss, Ben, at Sasquatch Inc. had said about frequent social media updates and grabbed my phone after parking. When we stepped out of the car I took a big deep breath of fresh air and smiled.
This was it!
A loud bang came from my car. I shrieked and spun around. The largest bird I’d ever seen up close was perched on the hood of my car, glaring at me as if it wanted to test its claws' sharpness on my skin.
“A vulture,” Caspian commented, his eyes taking in the massive bird. He rounded the front of the car and came to stand beside me. His arm slid easily over my shoulders and he tucked me into his side.
Its head was featherless, the red and black skin wrinkled. It spread its wings wide and flapped them once. It was only about five feet away from me with its beady black eyes. Suddenly another swooped in, landing on the very top of my car and then peering down at me. The high-pitched scratch of claws on my SUV’s paint made me wince.
Their eyes were fixated only on me, never wavering to Caspian. It felt like an omen—as if they sensed death and came swooping down to find it.
Frustration bubbled up in my mind. I was thinking like my family would. It was just birds, not an omen. I wanted to leave superstition back in Virginia along with haunted houses and all things ghostly that crept up on me in the night.
I swallowed, tugged out my phone, and snapped a picture of the vultures before backing away with Caspian.
I looked back over my shoulder to make sure they hadn’t decided they were violent predators instead of scavengers. They blinked at me, looking somehow cruel and judgemental despite having wide glossy eyes as non-expressive as a lizard’s. They watched me move, their attention nowhere else.
Goosebumps popped up over the back of my neck and I gave a sudden full-body shudder.
“Scared of some birds?” Caspian chuckled, his laugh smoothing over my skin. We walked around the campsite, surveying our home for the week. There was a wooden picnic table bolted to the ground, a rudimentary fire pit, and a nice stretch of flat ground at the back, next to the trees where we could place tents.
“They just surprised me,” I insisted. He looked down at me with an oddly serious expression. My eyes dragged over the hard lines of his face, angular but almost artistic.
“Would hate to see how you react to something bigger and stranger,” he said, voice deeper, eyes sucking me in. I frowned.
“Strange is not why I’m here. I’m here fornormal.”
“Right, no strange. Scout’s honor,” he joked, giving a two-finger salute, his serious expression vanishing as quickly as it had arrived. It left me feeling off-balance, not understanding his strange shifting tone.
“Now, you take a nap in the car. I’m setting up camp,” Caspain said, pressing a quick kiss to my head. I bit my lip and averted my eyes from his, afraid he’d see something in my look that shouldn’t be there. I didn’t have to worry though because he darted away from me, running at the birds, waving his long arms around while he shouted. They scattered and I gave a huffed laugh.
“Thank you,” I sighed, shuffling back towards the car while my eyelids grew heavy. He closed the door behind me and smiled warmly through the window before leaving me alone to fall asleep.
4
Ava was asleep and I was watching her with all my attention. Creepy perhaps, but I couldn’t bear to take my eyes away. She was my own Sleeping Beauty. My hand was pressed into the window as I stood there watching her chest move up and down breathing. Her eyes twitched behind the lids and I imagined what she might be dreaming.
I couldn’t stop watching and why should I? She wasn’t awake to see me. Though honestly, I did it while she was awake too. She brushed it off as my charming weirdness.Funny.
The past five years without her had been torture. Especially knowing that she was likely dating. That someone had been inside my Ava. My teeth pressed tight together as I ground my jaw.
There wouldn’t be a single day without her from here on out. She wasmineand I’d work out the memory of anyone who dared to worm their tiny dick between her soft thighs. I’d work the memory out thoroughly.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Brandon called out. My eyes swept over Ava’s face one last time before I turned to look at the other occupied campsite. Brandon, the drummer for Nix, and Matthias, the guitarist, were staring at me with strange looks. I smiled,nothing to see here folks, and they looked even more uncomfortable.
