This wasn’t my first visit to this castle, but I could already tell my photos from this trip would be my favorite. I took a few steps backward to get a better view and brought my camera back up tomy eye, but it still wasn’t quite right. I took one more step back, without realizing how close I already was to the edge, and fumbled slightly as my legs hit the edge of the bridge. My hands were full and for a second, I thought I was going to flip over the edge before I caught my balance and my ass hit the wall's edge. Lennon jerked out of her spot and shouted my name at the same time I started falling. She darted over to me, eyes wild and frantic, and grabbed onto my shoulders.
“Jesus, Theo. You need to be careful.” Her voice was full of worry as her hands dropped from my shoulders and turned away quickly to look over the edge of the bridge. It wasn’t a far drop into the river, but yeah, it definitely would have hurt.
Her shoulders were moving in an erratic motion as I stepped closer to her, and I could hear her attempt to regulate her breathing. She jumped at my touch and turned to me with glassy eyes.
“Hey, are you okay?”
She brushed a stray tear from her eye and apologized before stepping back. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m sorry, that was a silly reaction. I-I don’t know what that was,” she said as she pulled my jacket off her shoulders and handed it over to me.
“I’m going to go wait in the car until the tour of the castle starts. I’ll see you later.” She didn’t wait for my reply before she turned on her heel and started back to the castle. The moment she disappeared, the surrounding air suddenly felt colder. I wanted to go after her, but my common sense kept me planted.
The rest of the day passed in a blur, and I didn’t even see her until I was packing up. She appeared out of nowhere before I hada chance to call and see where she was. Her hair was windswept, and her cheeks were tinged pink from the spring wind; she made it hard for me to focus.
There was no intention on my part to fall for her again, but looking at her pulled feelings from the depths of my heart that I never thought I would see again.
After I had left Lennon, I stuffed everything about her in a box, then tucked it away under lock and key. Every touch, every kiss, every time she’d look at me with those deep blue eyes had to be kept hidden away. But now, it was impossible to keep the lid closed. She was everywhere, and I only had myself to blame.
What was I expecting to happen, asking her to come on this trip with me? That I could be around her twenty-four seven, with no consequences?
She was worth it, consequences or not.
“How was the tour today?”
“It was good,” she said, tight-lipped. She slid into the car as I threw the last of my stuff into the back. The sun had finally broken through the clouds, but I was sure it would be short lived, rain clouds gathered in the distance.
We were headed to Inverness today, but the way she was closed off was making me want to detour a bit, and I had the perfect place to take her.
“It’s still early. Do you mind if we detour? I have somewhere I’d like to take you.”
She agreed, but she was still so quiet. We spoke a while about sites we’d seen the past few days. Polite conversation was all thatI got from her; it was almost as if she was scared to be left alone around me. So, we tiptoed around each other throughout the days, and at night, I would lie in bed alone, my dreams filled with images of her.
She was made for this country, it seemed, her auburn hair would billow in the wind, and her eyes were bright as she wandered her way around the grounds of each new place. It was hard to focus, so I did what I do best and turned my camera on her. I wasn’t sure she even noticed that she was my subject, but I was drawn to her, pulled in a way that I didn’t care to fight.
It was another silent drive as we drove out of the grounds, Lennon reading silently in the passenger seat. After about an hour, she closed her book and turned to me.
“Where are we going?” she questioned, as her eyes scanned the landscape we were passing through.
“It’s a surprise,” I said and threw her a wink as she groaned and flopped back into her seat. It only took us about two hours before we got to our destination. Lennon kept flashing me skeptical eyes throughout the drive.
When we pulled into the lot, it was already showing signs that it would be busy. I unbuckled and leaned onto the console to tap her book. “We have about a twenty-minute walk from here.”
By the look on her face it felt like she was about a half second away from running, maybe not all surprises are good. “You didn’t bring me here to kill me, did you? Cause that would really put a damper on my trip,” she asked half-heartedly, as I reached for my door handle. There was a smile that pulled at the corners of her lips.I got out and jogged over to her side of the car before she reached for the handle. Leaning on the open door, I held out my hand for her to take and pulled her out.
I must have pulled a little too hard because suddenly she was entirely too close. She stumbled slightly as her hands braced themselves on my chest. A tiny “oh” fell from her lips, but all I could focus on was the heat of her hands on me. We both paused, frozen in this position. Her head tilted up slightly and I met her stare. Her pupils dilated as they pinged between mine like they were searching for something. My hands buzzed with anticipation. She must have hit the play button. I blinked and she moved quickly to the side and let me shut the door.
“It would really ruin my trip, too, so no,” I said with a lazy smile that earned me an eye roll.
We weren’t really in the middle of nowhere, the parking lot nearly full, and we’d passed enough people on the trail that I could sense her relaxing beside me. We followed the river and the signs that pointed for the Viaduct Trail, and I could tell she still had no idea where we were, which was more exciting for me. My heart thumped in my chest at the anticipation, and I kept stealing glances of her as she walked beside me. We finally got through to the viewpoint, and there were small crowds of people gathered around, all waiting for the afternoon passing. It took about a minute before I heard a small gasp from her.
“You didn’t!” she exclaimed as her hands gripped onto my arm. There was pure excitement radiating from her; it was tangible as it wove through the air. This was the Lennon I remembered, andthat box that I had been keeping closed flew open and everything I had ever loved about her came pouring out. There was no point in trying to stuff her back in, I was doomed to fall again from the beginning.
She let go of my arm, and I was dying to reach back out for her again. I pulled my camera out and snapped a few pictures until she turned back for me with her hand outstretched. Snapping one last photo, I let my camera hand fall from its leather strap and walked toward her. Without a second thought, I placed my hand in hers.
It was warm and familiar, and I wondered what it would be like if I never had to let go.
She tugged, and we walked farther into the space before us. Glenfinnan Viaduct was stunning in itself, but it was the Jacobite train that drew in the crowds. Twice a day during this time of year, it rolled its way over the viaduct.
Like most people our age, the magical book series roped us in and the movies brought it all to life. I had hoped bringing Lennon here would bring a spark from the past back, and it looked like I was right.
