"Samantha"
"Fine, I'll just text dad!" I say as I tug my phone out of my back pocket and fumble with my buttons.
Hey dad, do you know what the surprise is? Chris won't tell me…
I wait and hear the quiet jingle of a message,
You'll see. Lol, don't worry. It's nothing you won't like, Chris told me so.
I groan loudly in frustration. Chris looks at me with an amused look "No luck? Too bad, I like the way you look when you're confident. Now, it's just a sneer." he says casually putting his arm around my shoulders, hugging me against him. I stuck my tongue out towards him, scrunching my nose in the process. He laughs poking my nose and we arrive at a meadow, which is showered in snow. He pulls me towards a checkered blanket, he sits across from me. Holding my hands in his. Looking at me with a sincere look in his eyes.
"I want to tell you something, but first promise me you won't be stubborn." A lump forms in my throat, I clear it,
"Okay, but I won't promise to be mad if it's something that I don't like…" His mouth turns slightly up in a smile, his eyes never leaving mine.
"I'm leaving tomorrow." He explains quickly before I say anything,
"Not because of you, I got a college scholarship in Wisconsin. My parents told me I have to go. Or I can't get into engineering. We could meet twice a month or something… I hope you can understand why I need to." He squeezes my hands slightly, I don't really feel it as my mind races like a racehorse. Chris? Gone...?
"Wha….." I struggle to say, I can't breathe, I look into the trees trying to clear my thoughts and the panicking feeling inside.
"I know it's sudden but we can adapt to it. Please just say something. I need to know what you think about this change." His voice is desperate. I hold my breath and look at his brown eyes. I try to smile but my face betrays me,
"You're leaving, and you want to know how I feel?" I say, cautious. He looks at me with earnest eyes.
"Yes, I need to know before I leave you here alone…" Tears threaten to spill over, I try to blink them away but it's too late, a warm tear runs down my cheek. Chris rubs his thumb, drying that tear, and wraps his strong arms around me. I can't help myself, I cling to him, my body shivers, my emotions building up inside me.
He just holds me there until I'm better, I look at him, wiping the snow from my face. He rubs my arms, making sure I'm okay.
"I don't want you to go, but I understand why you have to. I'm happy for you but it's going to be very lonely here. With all this snow and the forest, maybe I'll go crazy and start talking to the trees." I smile, trying to lighten the mood, getting up walking towards the treeline looking over my shoulder. He gets up and slowly follows me, taking the bait. I walk behind a tree, once I'm there, I bolt, I look over my shoulder to see if Chris's coming. He's gone, I look around me into the trees. A hand closes on my shoulder, I spin around and meet Chris's face, he has a smirk that tells me he knows what I'm gonna do next, but he's not ready for it. I rip out of his grasp and skedaddle into the brush, I giggle. I hear his heavy footsteps not far behind me, he was always much faster than me but I was always the nimble one. I dash behind a tree when I'm certain that he won't see me and wait quietly panting.