Chapter 21 #3
It wasn’t long before we’re parked the car and started on foot. The temperature is beginning to drop, but thankfully, all the trees block the wind from hitting us. “Shit!”
“Be careful. It’s hard to see now, but this is all slick rock.”
“Have you been here before?” He talks about this area as if he knows it like the back of his hand.
“All the time.”
This must be where he goes off missing for hours. I don’t understand why, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out sooner or later.
“Can I ask you something?”
“You just did.”
Rolling my eyes, I continue on with my question anyway, “What happened to your parents?”
A long stretch of silence answered, and I began to feel like I was prodding too much.
He inhales deeply and sighs. “I was eight. I had a sister too, she had just turned three. Our parents tucked us into bed like they normally did at night, read us a book, and after my sister fell asleep, they would carry her to her room across the hall. My parents’ room was downstairs.
I remember waking up to loud bangs, which I quickly learned were gunshots.
I ran to my closet and hid like a little bitch.
After a while, when it got silent, I ran out.
I thought it was safe since it was silent. ”
He bites his lip, and pain flashes across his shadow-obscured face. My heart aches already knowing where this story is going. I reach out, laying my hand on his forearm as we continue walking. “Hayden…”
“I went to my sister first, and that image will haunt me the rest of my life. Seeing her lying in her bed, I thought she was safe and asleep, until I called her name over and over and got no response. Two bullet holes. Two. One in her chest and one through her temple.”
“Fuck,” I say on bated breath.
He nods slowly. “I ran downstairs screaming for my mom and dad—nobody answered. I found my mom in a puddle of blood on the wood kitchen floor, and my dad was hunched over in his recliner as if he was trying to get up. I called the police, but it’s been over seventeen years without any information on who did it. ”
“Hayden, I’m so sorry. It wasn’t your fault. You were just a little kid.”
He nods silently, walking faster ahead of me. “We’re here,” He announces. My feet ache from the hike, and I wish I had packed water. Now I understand the need for tennis shoes and comfy clothes.
“Holy shit!” I exclaim under my breath. “A cave!?”
I have never seen a cave before, never even knew we had them this close to us.
It’s not a huge opening. We have to duck down to go inside.
Hayden flicks open his lighter to light the way.
The cave walls illuminate in an orange glow, lighting the dampened walls all around us.
There’s a drastic change in humidity inside here compared to outside.
“What’s that sound?” A trickling sound reverberates around us, and a chill sweeps over my body as the temperature continues to decline the further we go.
“You’ll see. Patience.” He glances over his shoulder at me pointedly. I wrap my arms around me, trying to warm myself from the biting cold. The trickling sound turns into more of a steady flow of water as we creep further into the cave.
“Watch your step up here,” He warns, pointing his flaming lighter down at the ground. There’s about a foot drop in the path. I brace one hand on the cool, damp wall and hold Hayden’s hand with the other as I step down. The ground is slippery with mud and mineral deposits.
“You come all the way down here by yourself?”
“Every week.”
“Why? Aren’t you afraid of… Cave spiders or something lurking down here?”
Hayden barks out a laugh, “Cave spiders? This isn’t Minecraft.”
I smack his arm playfully, “They’re real!!”
“Well, to answer your question, no, I’m not afraid, and I come here because it’s peaceful, I can escape reality for a while, and…” He trails off.
“And?”
“It’s nothing, but we’re getting closer.”
I don’t miss his lousy attempt at changing the subject, but I’ve already butted into his business enough for the time being, so I let it slide…for now.
As the rushing water gets louder, it finally clicks where we’re headed. “Is that a waterfall?” I squeal, forgetting just how loud everything echoes around us. Moonlight glistens off puddles of water at the end of the cave. It’s absolutely stunning.
“It’s so beautiful. I see why you come down here.”
“Just wait,” He winks at me, sending butterflies skittering through my belly.
The cave opens up at the end, with a massive waterfall flowing over the cave opening.
My breath is lost as I gape in awe at the serene scene before me.
The large open area is furnished with two chairs, a folding table, and blankets folded and stacked on each chair.
A cooler sits off to the side, it’s not large but not small either.
My eyes widen in surprise, “Did you set all this up?”
A shy smirk plays across his face, and his cheeks turn an adorable shade of pink. “I’m not good at surprises, but I wanted to show you my safe place. To let you know, you can come here as your escape, too. I know you’ve been going through a lot and…”
I don’t let him finish before I launch myself at him, embracing him in the biggest hug.
He grunts on impact, but catches me nonetheless, returning the hug.
“I’ve never had a friend put this much effort into me as much as y’all do.
I love you!” The last three words slipped out before I could stop them.
I freeze. He freezes. Both of us thrown off by my blurt out.
“I love you too,” He replied hesitantly, and that took some of the pressure off my soul. “Come here, I wanna show you the best part.”
He takes my hand and tugs me towards the cave opening, my nerves go into overdrive the closer we get. I have a terrible fear of depths. I love waterfalls from a distance, but getting up close and personal behind one on the side of a mountain slope is not my cup of tea.
There’s a ledge that extends out over the mountain’s steep slope, and at the very edge, Hayden is able to reach out and touch the water. “Stop before you fall over and die!”
“There’s worse things in life than dying.”
“Mhm, so I’ve heard.” I sass.
“It’s okay to live a little on the edge.”
“You’re living a little too close to the edge right now.”
He moves closer to me, which relieves my nerves slightly. He points out and up at the sky shining through the waterfall. Stars twinkle about the sky like glitter. “Wow,” I breathe. “Is it always like this?”
“Sometimes. Other times it’s foggy, or when it’s snowing, everything shines so bright you can hardly tell when it’s night.”
That sounds incredible, and I’d love to see all this in all those elements. I’m so thankful for Hayden and all he’s shown me these past few months. He’s taught me that there’s so much more to life, you just have to put yourself out there and find it.
“I brought up some snacks and drinks,” He points to the corner where I saw it when we first came in. “Over in the cooler.”
Opening the cooler, I find subs and an array of my favorite fruits. My stomach growls, so I grab the sub first. Opening the wrapper, I find it made the way I like it. “Whoever you marry one day is going to be one lucky woman.”
“What makes you say that?”
I shrug, mouth full of deliciousness, “Because you’re so thoughtful.”
“Only with you.”
My brows scrunch. It’s hard to picture Hayden being anything like Ryder. He has such an airy aura around him, like a breath of fresh air on a spring day.
Before I can respond to his weirdly sincere comment, a low rumble echoes through the cave—deep, like the earth clearing its throat. Hayden stiffens beside me. The sound fades, trailing into the steady rush of the waterfall again.
“What was that?” I whisper.
He shakes his head, lips twitching. “Probably just thunder. Storm’s supposed to roll in tonight.”
I narrow my eyes. “Why do I feel like you’re lying to me?”
“Because you assume I’m always up to something?”
“Because you are always up to something.”
He laughs softly, brushing past me to sit in one of the chairs. The glow from his lighter casts warm light across the wet stone. I take the seat next to him, pulling one of the blankets over my legs. The air grows colder the longer we sit near the waterfall, and goosebumps rise along my skin.
For a moment, we eat in silence. Peaceful silence.
Not awkward. Not tense. Just… calm. I’ve never really had that before the Langley family.
Before Ryder. Before Hayden. Before Jessie and Teegan and this entire illegal, chaotic, unexpected life that somehow fits me better than the safe one I had before.
“Can I tell you something?” Hayden’s voice cuts through the hum of the water.
I glance at him, “You wanna tell me something?”
“In my defense, you’ve talked nonstop. I haven’t had the chance.” He smirks, but his expression softens, shadowed by the moonlight filtering through the waterfall. “I’ve never brought anyone else here besides Ryder, and that was a decade ago.”
That hits me in the chest with more force than I expect.
“Really?”
He nods. “It’s the only place I have that feels untouched.
Mine. After… everything. I didn’t want anyone messing with it.
Didn’t want memories added to it that’d feel heavy later.
” His eyes drift toward the cascade of water.
“But with you, it doesn’t feel heavy. It feels… ” He hesitates, swallows. “Right.”
I grip the blanket tighter, my heartbeat thundering in a way I can feel in my throat.
“I’m flattered, Hayden,” I say quietly. “Really.”
He doesn’t look at me. “I know Ryder is your person, or for better words, he’s claimed you. I’m not trying to change that or step on something that isn’t mine to step on.” His jaw tics. “I just… wanted you to know I care too.”
A warmth spreads through my chest—unexpected, confusing, but genuine.
I reach out and nudge his knee. “I know you care. You don’t have to prove anything to me. You’ve already done enough.” I motion around us.
He breathes out a shaky laugh. “Good. Was kind of losing my shit over that.”
We sit like that for a while, the sound of the waterfall masking every thought that tries to creep in. But the mountain air grows colder, sharper, and I shiver despite the blanket.
“You cold?” he asks.
“No,” I lie through chattering teeth.
He rolls his eyes, gets up, and wraps the second blanket around my shoulders like a cape. Then, unexpectedly, he rests his forehead against mine for a brief moment. A heartbeat. Two. Like he’s steadying himself.
I inhale sharply at the contact. The sincerity. The closeness, but before I can ask what that was about, he steps away and clears his throat.
“Come on,” he says. “I want to show you something else.”
“More?” I blink. “Damn, how long have you been planning this?”
“Two weeks.”
My chest tightens.
He leads me toward the far wall, where a narrow passage branches off the main cavern.
It’s small, barely wide enough for a person to slip through, and the ceiling is low.
The air is warmer back here, the sound of the waterfall muted.
We squeeze through until the passage opens into a tiny alcove carved naturally into the stone.
Embedded in the rock are faint carvings. Weathered symbols, initials, and shapes that look like someone tried to leave a mark on time itself.
“What is this?” I whisper.
Hayden’s fingers graze the stone reverently. “I don’t really know, but we think they’re ancient markings, possibly thousands of years old.”
Hayden walks along the walls, hands brushing out and tracing some of the carvings. Everything about him has changed since being here. As if he can let loose and he’s safe doing so. Not having to watch over his shoulder every few seconds.
“You brought me here,” I say softly. “Why?”
He finally looks at me. “Because you deserve a place that feels safe, too.”
My throat thickens. I blink hard, fighting the burn behind my eyes.
The rumble from earlier booms again, this time louder. The ground beneath us trembles. Dust sprinkles from the cave ceiling, and Hayden instantly grabs my arm.
“Okay, that is wicked thunder,” I rasp.
“I agree. Let’s go.”
He steers me quickly back toward the main chamber, flashlight from his phone cutting through the shadows. At the cave mouth, the waterfall looks thicker…heavier. Like the downpour above is feeding it faster.
“Storm must have hit already,” Hayden mutters. “We should head out before the water level rises.”
I nod, pulse racing. He hands me my blanket, helps me climb the muddy incline, and keeps a steady arm around me as we navigate the slick path.
When we finally reach the cave entrance, the sky outside is a churning mass of black clouds. The wind whips violently, tearing through the trees, rattling the branches like bones.
“Well,” I say on a shaky laugh, “guess this is one way to end a surprise.”
Hayden smirks. “We’ll come back another night. When the mountain isn’t trying to murder us.”
He takes my hand—steady, warm—and leads me back toward the trail.
And for once, despite the storm, the darkness, and the chaos of everything in my life…
I don’t feel as tense.
Not even a little.