Page 27 of When The Mountains Held Us

Emotion pricks at my eyes, and I throw a hand over my face. I don’t deserve her pity. “Yeah, me too. But I’m okay. Really.” I don’t have the energy to make it sound convincing.

Of course, Danielle sees right through me.

“It’s okay if you’re not. The important thing is that you got out, and you’re safe. Just give Professor Cormen a call. I’m sure she’ll understand.”

“I know. I’ve been meaning to speak with her, but with everything going on, it slipped my mind.” I don’t have to tell her that I really did remember, but haven’t had it in me to face the music. She knows what I’m not saying without me having to explain.

“That’s typically how it goes when one is in the midst of fight-or-flight mode.”

My thoughts race, and all I want to do is go back to sleep for a few hours. I was having the best dream. Flashes of tanned skin, pine trees, sunshine, and green eyes play through my mind as I desperately cling to the dream that left me feeling more than a little turned on before I woke and got slammed face-first back into reality.

“Listen, take all the time you need to figure shit out,” Danielle continues. “But please know that I will be in the car, on my way to you, the second you tell me you need me. I want to give you the space to figure this out on your own, because I know you’ve got it handled, but you also don’t need to do this alone if you don’t want to.”

“I love you. You know that, right?”

Her laugh is infectious, and I smile as a tear rolls down my cheek, wondering why I was nervous to tell her in the first place. Danielle isn’t one to judge me for my decisions. If I told her I want to join a nudist colony, she’d strip down without hesitation, grab my hand, and walk right through the gates with me.

“I love you too, babe. What’s my story when the others start asking?”

“Just tell them I’m taking a semester off. We can figure out the rest later.”

“You got it. Oh! I’ve been meaning to tell you. Marcia and Gabe finally got together.” She launches into full-blown gossip mode, and I’m thankful for the distraction. We end the call thirty minutes later with her promising to visit during her next break. I’m lighter than I have been in weeks.

Climbing out of bed, I put on a pot of coffee and let it brew as I jump in the shower. My mind drifts to Levi, and I wonder as I scrub the shampoo through my hair what his Sunday mornings look like. Does he like to sleep in? Or is he an early riser so that he can watch the world slowly wake as he sips his coffee?

Hiking with him and Bandit was the highlight of my day yesterday. The easy way I found myself opening up to him feels like that split second at the top of a rollercoaster right before you drop. Maybe it had something to do with being surrounded by the sounds of nature, but I felt like I could finally take a deep breath without the weight of all this shit on my shoulders.

I’ll admit I felt a twinge of disappointment last night when I didn’t see him at the bar. I found my eyes constantly bouncing between the door and the corner booth where he sat with his friends the other night, hoping that he would walk in. I had meticulously picked out my outfit, opting for a pair of dark wash skinny jeans and a white ribbed tank top. I even went as far as to brush a bit of mascara across my usually bare lashes.

I cut the water and carefully step out of the shower, leaning my body over the tub to wring out my hair. Dressing in my last pair of clean leggings, I throw on an old T-shirt over my bra. I need to go to the grocery store and stock up on a few essentials, so I make a note to ask Jessie about a laundromat. I hope she’s working today.

I pull up to the front of the store and smile when I see Jessie through the front window, chatting animatedly with an elderly woman while she bags her groceries for her. Despite the heaviness of the conversation with Danielle earlier, I practically skip into the store. It feels good to be excited about something as mundane as grocery shopping, but I’m not going to complain nor question it.

Jessie beams at me when she sees me walk in, calling out a greeting, and I wave back to her before grabbing the couple of items on my list. She’s still chatting with the woman when I get into line behind her and start loading the items onto the conveyor belt.

“Oakley, this is Wendy! She lives up the mountain a little ways.”

I take the woman’s wrinkled hand and give it a little shake. She smiles warmly up at me from her hunched position, nothing but genuine kindness in her eyes.

“It’s so nice to meet you, dear. Welcome to North Creek. I hope you love it here.”

I melt a little at her warm welcome.

“I think I’m learning to. I actually got out for a hike yesterday, and it was absolutely gorgeous. Must be something about the mountain air.”

“What trail did you hike?” Jessie asks as she starts scanning my items. I don’t remember the name of it, but when I start describing the way I drove to get to the trailhead, she nods like she knows exactly the trail I’m talking about.

“That’s a good one! It’s even better in the fall when all the leaves start to change colors.”

“You ready to go, Wendy?”

I look up at the sound of Levi’s voice. God, he’s everywhere. He’s smiling gently down at the woman as he takes the bag from her hand and grabs the rest off the end of the counter.

“Oh yes, thank you. Jessie was just introducing me to our newest neighbor. This is Oakley. Have you two met?”

“I saved her from a mountain lion her first night in town.” His tone is serious, but a playfulness creases the corners of his eyes.

Jessie barks out a laugh, and Wendy swats his muscled arm with all the force of a fly in a tornado, scoffing at his joke.