Eleven

Eleven

62 days and 8 hours until the wedding

I can't decide if I ever really liked camping, or if my younger self was only delusional to the realities of it. The chill that stings the night air and air mattress that is nothing like your bed. The sound of the bugs that could potentially be lying under your head. The shadows that rise and fall along the outside of your tent and the possible creatures they could represent.

Maybe at this point I'm the delusional one considering I haven't had an ounce of sleep. It's not because of my over-thinking. Instead, that has been my only defensive mechanism to the loud sleeping sounds of the hog that is my cousin. Although distance is the reason we barely see each other, I think I may add this to the list.

I squeeze my pillow around my head in attempt to squander the endless snores her nose is emitting, but only find the barrier seems to be encasing the sound around my head. I roll over and stare at her sleeping form. Her eye mask only blocks out the faint light the moon provides us, and only her head pokes out of the cocoon she has made inside her sleeping bag against the slightly frigid night air. It's her gaping mouth, though, that reveals her obliviousness to how obnoxious she sounds.

Sick of the torture I chuck my pillow at her peaceful head, and pull myself out of my own cocoon of warmth. As I stumble my way towards the exit, I don't even try to avoid stepping on the end of her air mattress, but rather relish in the groan she emits when my footstep has the top half of her body jolting upwards a little. Although I internally apologize to her, I still find myself harshly zipping up the tent behind me, allowing it to echo my annoyance.

"So, she's the snorer?"

My yelp sends my crouched form falling on my butt and I whip my head in the direction of the question only to find Nathaniel Graham sitting at one of the lawn chairs left in front of the now deserted fire pit. Before my sleep deprived brain can even conjure up something coherent to say, he picks up the flashlight from the cup holder of the chair and directs it right at my face.

"Too bad, kinda thought it was you."

My deer in headlights expression quickly changes to a scowl as I finally stand up, brush the dirt off my plaid pajama bottomed butt, and stomp over to him. "Rude. Why are you still up?" I end my question by slumping down into the chair beside him, but only he chuckles to himself.

"Also because of your cousin's loud nose."

I only grunt and tuck myself further into the lawn chair. In the process of tugging at my sweatshirt sleeves I can't help, but realize we are literally wearing the same exact thing. A grey pullover sweatshirt and plaid pajama bottoms. I once again find myself shaking my head at the thought, but when tendrils of hair fall into my face I'm immediately questioning the haphazard state of my hair.

After ducking my head down and throwing my hair back up into a more stable ponytail I find myself turning back to Nate, noting his comfortable state as the top of his neck rests on the back of the lawn chair, keeping his gaze locked on the dark sky above us.

I guess sensing my gaze he decides to speak again.

"I also just wanted to look at the stars."

"Why are you doing this now?" The curiosity leaks from my voice, but he doesn't even flinch.

"Doing what?"

"Um, staring at the sky?"

Nate turns his gaze towards me, but doesn't move from his slouched position. "Why not look at the sky?"

"No, I get that." I fold my arms across my knees, holding the warmth in between my curled-up posture. "I mean, why now when I know all ten of us spent about three hours doing it just with the fire in the center."

"Exactly!" Nate sits up at the exclamation before resting his hand on top of the flashlight. "It's different now."

"What do you mean?" The bewilderment scrunches up my expression, but Nate only continues to stare back at me.

"Lookup, Avery James."

I stare back at him for a second, almost as if questioning the earnestly in his gaze, before I comply.

"Holy guacamole." The phrase slips past my lips before I can stop it, and I catch a glimpse of Nate's smile as he finally tilts his head back up in my peripheral vision.

"I know." Is all he says, but all I can seem to think is that there are more stars in the sky than I can even fathom.

"How is this possible?" I voice my thoughts out loud. "To look up at something your whole life only to realize all you've been seeing is nothing compared to what it actually is."

"I know." He repeats the phrase with the same amount of awe, and I finally turn back to him to reveal my own.

"How?"

His eyes meet mine again at the general question, but the ghost of a smile that traces his lips means he understands what I mean.

"Well, artificial light prevents us from seeing the extent of the stars all the time, but I actually—"

"Did you hear that?" The words fall from my mouth before I can stop them when the sound of a leaf crunching echoes in the air.

"Hear what?"

I don't respond right away, but rather focus on our surroundings, searching for a break in the smooth sound of the cicadas.

"That!" I sit up in my seat when I hear an unfamiliar snap again, but Nate only laughs.

"You're paranoid, Avery James." He swirls the light of the flashlight around my frame, but I ignore it as I hunch forward in my chair.

The snapping of a stick resounds and that's when I finally stand up and Nate's chuckles cease. "See I'm not—"

"Ssh," Nate is quick to shut me up as his expression turns serious, and we both listen for possible intruders, and by possible intruders I mean bears.

"Nate," I try again just because in times of crisis I feel the need to talk things out. "Nate, I think—"

"Would you just—" Nate finally stands up with his flashlight in hand. "Be quiet. People are trying to sleep."

My mouth drops, but words continue to spill out of it. "And I'm trying not to be eaten by a bear!"

"You're ridiculous!" He counters as he continues to eye the darkness around us.

"I'm ridiculous?! I'm just trying to think about the worst possible scenario."

"Well, stop."

I open my mouth again, but another snapping noise fills the silence. Just like that my hand flicks out and grips Nate's sweatshirt covered arm and he does the same to mine.

"If I die tell my family I love them."

"How do you know you're going to die and not me?" Nate mimics my whisper, but still maintains an irritated undertone.

"You seem like the type who would do the whole "every man for himself" thing."

Nate sears me with a look. "You really think I'm that cruel?"

My lips part, but my brain takes its time considering the question, momentarily forgetting the current situation we're in. Another crunch of a leaf has me forgetting the question entirely, though, and I instead cast my gaze on the figure appearing from the shadows beside the cabin. The breath gets caught in my throat for a moment longer as my brain mistakes a cheetah print robe for fur, but fluffy pink slippers clear the delusion.

"Grandma?" The word falls past my lips just before she finally steps into the yellow glow of Nate's flashlight.

"Unjust is what it is! The things you expect me to be!" Her words have Nate and I finally relinquishing our grips on each other, and taking a side-step to regain the distance that was lost in our moment of fear, but our eyes remain trained on her shuffling form. "I can be feminine and fierce, just you watch."

"Grandma?" I hesitantly try the title again in hopes to find out who she's talking to, or why she's even out here in the first place, but she continues to slowly shuffle along. "I think she's sleep walking." I finally whisper so only the guy beside me can hear, but receive a scoff in response.

"No sh*t."

"Whoa." Now I'm the one to sear him with my gaze. "You can take the hostility and," I hold my pointer finger and thumb up in the air between us, "dial it down a notch." I make the motion of twisting the imaginary dial with my fingers and Nate only sighs before running a tired hand down his face.

"Sorry, I just—" He scratches the back of his neck before flinging his hand out in my grandma's direction. "Does she do this a lot?"

"I—uh." My eyes flitter back and forth between my grandma and Nate before I fling my hand out. "Maybe, yes, I don't know!"

His gaze finds mine again as his hands clench at his sides. "Avery James—"

"Yes, that is my lipstick, and yes, I could stab you with it, but I won't because cherry red is the best red. Oh, pardon me." My grandma stumbles around the lawn chair I was sitting in before. Her eyes are sewn shut and her movements are sluggish, but my brain gets more caught up in trying to decipher her words. "You can take your definition of beautiful and shove it up your—ah."

I blink and blink only to find a blurry pointer finger only seconds away from jabbing my nose.

My head draws back at the thought, but before I know it she's shuffling past me as her mumbling continues. My neck hurts from the strain I've put on it since my shock has left me only gawking at her over my shoulder. That is until I catch a glimpse of the moon and the grey light it reflects in the lake water. I'm momentarily in awe because of it, but that awe quickly transforms to utter shock.

"Grandma, no!" I wouldn't be surprised if my shout woke up the other people still sleeping in tents around us, but I could care less. Instead, my feet propel me forward until I'm walking backwards in front of my grandma in attempt to prevent her from plunging into the murky lake water.

I put my hands on her shoulders in attempt to get her to stop walking, but then quickly retract them at the thought that I once read something that said it's not healthy to wake up a sleepwalker. My mind continues to whirl with the possibilities, but it's when my flip flop sinks a little heavier into the ground below us that I'm aware that the water is only steps away and if she doesn't stop both of us will be going in it.

"Grandma." The word is laced in panic and uncertainty, and my arms flail around in front of me since I'm unsure of what to do.

"Get that dog away from me!" My grandma's hands begin swatting at me, and I immediately duck away from her movements all the while feeling water skim the back of my heel.

"Mrs. James." Nate's voice rings out over the sounds of my heart erratically pounding inside my chest.

His hand clamps down on one of my grandma's swatting wrists, and just like that she's frozen in her spot. I slowly stand back up to my full height just as my grandma's other hand slowly trails along Nate's chest, up the side of his face, before settling on top of his head.

"We're going to help you back to bed." He enunciates each word slowly as if dealing with a child, and I can almost see a content look pass over my grandma's face.

Then, her hand flings out as she swats at me again and I all, but cower away, but Nate is quick to lock his other hand around my wrist to ensure I don't land in the water located behind me. His grip is hard at first with the cool metal of his flashlight pressing against my wrist before he slowly loosens it as he drags me forward until I'm standing behind him. With our arms now raised high in the air Nate looks over his shoulder, and it takes me a second to find his eyes in the darkness, but I do.

"Okay?" He says the word as he holds my gaze and waits for my nod before he finally drops my hand. He gives me the flashlight before turning back around. "Okay." He repeats, this time more to himself, before turning to fully address my grandma. "Ready, Mrs. James?" He doesn't wait for her answer, but instead gently grips the tops of her shoulders as he ushers her back in the direction of the cabin. Although she continues to mumble about inequality and lipstick she doesn't seem to protest.

I wait until he has her a good distance from the lake before I try standing beside her again. I shine the flashlight ahead of us and light the way to the cabin. A strike to my lower arm has my head whipping in my grandma's direction, but the 'ow' I wanted to emit in response dies on my lips. Instead, my eyes widen at the wink I see contort my grandma's left eye. I quickly shake away the image, though, with a shake of my head, deciding it was probably just an image conjured up by my sleep deprived imagination.

Once we reach the back deck, my grandma stumbles up the three steps and I reach out to help her, but find she grips the front of Nate's sweatshirt instead. Nate lets go of my grandma to open the sliding glass door and I swirl the flashlight around his form. I almost let out a shriek when a hand clamps around my wrist, but the sound gets stuck in the back of my throat when my eyes lock with my grandma's. I don't have time to even register the fact that she's leaning over, or the whisper she leaves in my ear.

"You've got yourself one hunk of a man." I blink and she's back to a stoic statue. "I need my bathing suit."She mumbles when Nate's standing in front of her again, but he ignores the comment and gently pulls her inside.

I watch from the door as he lays her down on the couch and it's when her hands slide down from his shoulders and then over his biceps before falling limp at her sides that my mind finally registers the reality of it all.

My grandma just totally played us.

My grandma just totally played me, so she could feel up Nathaniel Graham.

I shake my head at both her for doing it, but mainly at myself for falling for it before Nate is standing in front of me again, closing the door behind him. I hand him back his flashlight before we both turn to start walking back down the deck.

"So, she's something." It's more of a statement than a question, but I still snort in response.

However, it's not a cute laugh snort, nor a brief sarcastic snort. Instead, it's a full-blown pig snort that has me staring straight ahead as we walk down the stairs back towards the tents. Once I'm in front of my tent I lean into it only to be greeted by snoring once again. Nate mimics my actions before standing back up to his full height.

"She's still at it?" Once again, it's more of a statement than a question, but at this point all I can do is shrug and unzip the tent door because exhaustion is finally settling in, and I can't seem to think about anything else, but sleep. Nate starts walking the few steps back towards his tent before I see him turn back around in my peripheral vision.

"Hey, Avery?" He clears his throat and I cast my gaze back on his as he tosses the flashlight up and down in his right hand. "If you want you can come sleep in my tent. I mean, you can still hear her, but it's not as bad."

I blink a few times to ensure I heard right and I reach for the stable grip of my own tent zipper only to find air. Just like that I'm falling forward into my tent. Mikayla groans being the one to cushion my fall. My body is awake once again as I quickly roll off her only to hear Nate's chuckles from outside the tent.

"Goodnight, Avery James." He whispers loud enough for me to hear, and I only sigh as I lean my head in my hands.

"Girl, what are you doing? There could be bears out there." Mikayla's groggy voice is followed by her zipping up the tent.

I only shake my head as I flop back down onto my own air mattress. "No, apparently, just grandma."