That was only the limitation of my experience, I reminded myself. I straightened. I was going to try lots of things. Maybe not sex, but there was more to do in the world than that, wasn’t there? No one would call me na?ve when I was finished.
I walked for some time before my feet began to bleed. The grass had seemed like manna at first, like a magic carpet that had carried my away, but now it caked onto my sore feet, dragging me down.
I tried to think smarter, strategically. I didn’t have any of the things from my backpack, didn’t have my car, and I was alone in the woods. Not an auspicious beginning to my newfound freedom. But I resolved to keep going. Just keep walking and I’d find something new. Something better.
The afternoon waned into dusk, the edges of my vision tinted with purple. I could only see trees in every direction. I was so tired. Thirsty too. My worst fears began to surface in the delirium. I wasn’t cut out for the regular world.
Gradually, like the drift of a cloud, I became aware of the tinkling of water. I stopped walking and cocked my head to listen, then headed in that direction. It felt like I’d never find anything, like maybe it had been a mirage even as the rush of water got louder, the taste of moisture in the air grew thicker.
Shadows lengthened on the ground and pooled into darkness. Night had fallen. I glanced back the way I had come and saw only darkness. How far had I gone? Miles, light years away. It was impossible to tell and didn’t matter anyway.
I was too far away to be found by Hunter. Too far to ever find him again, even if I wanted to, and an inexplicable sadness stole my breath away.
The ground beneath my feet turned from grass to muck then to wet sand. I stumbled out onto a steep beach. Gentle waves lapped at packed sand. A burst of joy and relief pushed out of my body as a laugh. I stumbled down the bank, washing my feet in the frigid water. I splashed it on my face and drank it down.
When my feet were numb from the cold, I reluctantly returned to the shore. A soft of smoky air tickled my nose. Fire?
Running over the heavy sand, I saw a reddish point of light in the distance. The closer I got, the hazier it became, large and weighty—a campfire on the beach, and that meant people. I felt light, flying, almost there.
Two black shadows burnished with orange approached me while I babbled: p-p-please help me, oh I’m so glad I f-found you, I was lost. One of them got a blanket and draped it over me. Slowly the shapes turned into people. They were young, maybe my age, maybe a few years older. Both male, though I would have been hard-pressed to use the word man. Despite the scruff marring their faces, they both had a boyish quality. It was their eyes. No worry there, no hardships weighed on them. They did not seem overly concerned with my hardships either. One took a sip from a beer bottle.
The other examined me with detached curiosity. His dreadlocks were tied back with a ribbon, his shirt ripped down the side, exposing pale skin stretched over slender ribs. “Where you from, sweetheart? You damn near gave me a heart attack. You came out of nowhere, like you flew from the sky.”
I blinked. What a strange thing to say. “I was running away from—never mind.”
It was a relief, I told myself. These were exactly the type of people I had been seeking in the first place. They didn’t take things too seriously, not even a dirty, bruised woman stumbling out of the woods. Maybe they were even thrill seekers. That would explain why they were out here in the middle of nowhere, camping on the beach. Devil may care.
The circumstances may be strange, but I wasn’t going to waste this opportunity. In fact, as the seconds ticked by, instead of calming down, adrenaline flooded my system.
“I’m Evie. What’re your names?”
The one with dreadlocks said, “I’m Trevor. That’s Rob.”
“Nice to meet you.” I laughed, still a little lightheaded from the lack of food or water or sleep. “Well, T-T-Trevor, I’m going to t-tell you something. I’ve had a really bad d-day, but that’s over now.”
“Yeah, because you’re here now. You can stay with us.”
“Actually I probably need t-to find a town.” And a police station.
I didn’t relish the thought of turning him in, but I didn’t have a way of getting back my stuff without him. My car, my camera—my book. Some days I wondered if the book meant more to me than the place.
“It’s a hike up that way.” Trevor waved down the river. “We’re going back tomorrow morning if you want us to show you.”
Relief flooded me. “That would be great.”
Rob popped open a beer from their cooler and held it out. “Thirsty?”
“Hold her down.”