Hearts So Pure

After we ate lunch, we all crowded in the van and headed home. We sat in the same spots as before, and suddenly, Pat turned around.

He looked really eager and excited, and I couldn’t help but smile. Pat was the kind of person who always made everyone else feel good.

He finally spoke, looking back and forth between me and Nicole.

“So, we’ve been talking-the band-and we decided that we wanna go on a little road trip. You know, it’s not that fun staying in one spot. And it would be an adventure.”

My stomach dropped. I didn’t want them to go. I squeezed Garrett’s hand.

But Pat continued, “Anyways, we were all talking and we wanted to know if you guys wanted to come with us? I mean, I know it’s a big deal and you guys have been so great to us and we’re like good friends right? Anyway I don’t want to seem rude so it wouldn’t hurt our feelings if you said no but please say yes,”

Pat had rambled on, tripping over his words at the end. I smiled, and Nicole turned back to face me.

“Leah?” she said, a huge smile on her face.

“If it’s okay with you!” I said, smiling right back.

I could have sworn everyone in the van breathed a sigh of relief, and Pat said, “Great! We’re leaving tonight,” and turned back around.

“Woah!” I shot up. “Tonight? As in, now?”

Garrett interjected, “Yeah, we.. we were kinda scared to ask you. We didn’t want you to say no. And I guess we kinda waited till the last minute..” and he frowned at me.

Honestly I kind of liked this feeling. I would have to go home and pack really quickly. It would be a rush, trying to get everything done on time, leaving in the middle of the night, going on the road. I was excited.

“It’s fine,” I said, smiling at Garrett.

I looked in front of me to see Nicole leaning her head on John’s shoulder. I knew she wouldn’t have a problem with it.

A couple hours later, the house was busy. People were running around in the hallways, packing clothes and toothbrushes and towels and food and basically everything.

Garrett’s door was closed and I was sitting on his bed, watching him pack.

“You excited?” He said, nodding at my leg. My leg had been shaking for a while now, a result of my restlessness.

“Yeah,” I said, exhaling. “This is cool. You know, doing stuff like this. I like it a lot better than having to sneak you into my room at night hoping my parents wouldn’t hear,”

Garrett laughed. “Yeah, me too,” he said, as he started zipping up his suitcase.

We both stood up and looked around. My suitcase had been packed for a while now, Garrett had a little difficulty packing his; his room was a mess.

“It think we’re done,” he said, and reached for the door. We walked out into the hallway.

We were bombarded with boxes, blankets, and anything else we could hold.

“Take these,” Kenny said, handing me a stack of blankets. “We’ll need them. Put them up front.”

Pat came up to Garrett.

“These go in the back,” he said, and handed Garrett two suitcases. Pat and Kenny walked off, saying something about where to keep the beer.

I followed Garrett outside to the van. We packed in the suitcases and blankets. “Hey,” he said, opening the door to the van. “Let’s just wait in here? They can handle the rest, I’m sure. Looks like they’re mostly done. I think I heard Kenny say they’re just getting the beer.”

He stepped inside the van and sat in the backseat, making room for me. We had spent the last couple of hours packing, and it was dark by now. Even though it was still summer, I could feel myself starting to get cold. I looked at Garrett, sitting in the backseat.

He was pulling his iPod out, untangling his headphones. His hair was sticking up in the back, but it suited him. I smiled. Wherever he went, I wanted to go too.

I stepped in the van and sat down beside him. I heard the front door open and knew everyone was ready to go. Garrett grabbed a blanket and laid it over me.

Everyone shuffled into the van. John put in a Tom Petty CD, and everyone made comments of approval.

I felt Garrett slip a hand around my waist, and I leaned my head on his shoulder.

He pulled the blanket so it was covering both of us, and I looked out the window as all the city lights blurred.

I didn’t even know where we were going, I doubted anyone knew. But from Garretts shoulder I could see everyone settling in, completely comfortable and happy. Nicole and John were whispering to each other and laughing quietly, Pat was watching some movie on his laptop. Kenny, in the front seat, was holding a map, talking to Jared. Jared was laughing at Kenny, telling him something about the map being upside down.

I smiled. I knew this was probably going to turn out to be the best summer I’d ever had.

Garrett moved, and I looked up. He handed me an ear bud and said to me, “Listen to this. You’ll love it. It’s this guy, Ryan Adams..”

I smiled and listened. As the slow music came on, I closed my eyes, and that was the last thing I remembered.

The next morning I woke up and the van was still. Garrett was gone, and as I sat up I realized so was everyone else. Well, except Nicole. She was asleep, leaning against the window.

I looked outside. We were parked outside of a gas station. I watched as the boys came out, plastic bags in their hands.

They shuffled in the van, each holding a bag. Garrett sat next to me and handed me a pack of chocolate donuts and a Gatorade bottle. “Breakfast,” he said smiling.

Everyone else had something similar, and as we started to eat I asked “Where are we?”

Kenny, with a Cinnamon Bun in his mouth, grabbed a map from the dashboard and said, “Well… we’re either here,” and he pointed to a spot on the map. “Or,” and he flipped the map around, upside down. “Right here.”

Jared moaned. “You said you knew where we were, man!”

I laughed and tuned them out as they argued. We all knew it didn’t really matter. We had food, I’m assuming we had money, and a van full of supplies.

Nicole stirred, and John rubbed her shoulder.

“Mornin’ sunshine!” he said.

Nicole groaned. “Where are we?” she said, still half asleep.

“Doesn’t really matter,” John said. “But here.” and he handed her a cup of coffee and a muffin. “Eat up.”

The van started up, and we were moving.

I assumed we were out of the city, the only thing out the windows was green grass and the occasional car. I think we’d driven all night.