Chapter Fourteen #3
Not to mention, I’m keeping secrets from everyone in the family, including her. She’s been nothing but helpful to me, and I’ve just been a fraud, making her think I’m a moderately wealthy and successful restauranteur.
A flock of geese flies ahead in the distance in an iconic V shape.
I wonder where they’re going. I doubt they have to deal with love problems like this.
Maybe if I believe hard enough, I can grow wings and fly away from all my responsibilities.
I tilt my head back and watch them slowly fly away.
I swish my hands in the water, leaning back on my tube to feel the cold river against my fingertips. Maybe I’ll turn into a fish instead.
“Oh, my sweet, sweet cousin,” Sofia says, patting my head. “You don’t know Valentina at all. She’s not some sort of player. Sure, she puts on a facade, but she’s the most hopeless romantic person I know. She’s also my best friend, and I can tell when she likes someone. And you, prima, she likes.”
I double-check Valentina’s tube to make sure she hasn’t been awake this entire time, listening to our conversation.
“So what should I do?”
Sofia laughs. “Are you serious, Isa?”
“No, no. I’m not.” I shrug, making Sofia laugh harder.
“Oh my God, you two are perfect for each other,” she says, rolling her eyes.
Sofia lays her head back against the inflated pillow on the tube. I can’t help but laugh at the penis standing up on the top of her head. I lie back on my pillow as well.
My eyelids start to feel heavy. Each time I blink, it feels like I’m adding half a pound to each one. The soothing sounds of the river flowing and the birds chirping, combined with the knowledge that I’m safe with Valentina and Sofia, is the perfect recipe for a quick nap. And so I do.
* * *
“Isabella! Wake up!” Valentina shouts as she shakes me awake, startling me.
“What the hell, Val? I was having the best nap.”
“We’re approaching the rapids!”
I immediately perk up. Suddenly, the river doesn’t feel as safe as it once did.
We all look ahead like meerkats, trying to see when to brace ourselves.
I can see the part where the water begins to get rocky, and it is quickly approaching.
If I were by myself, I would be terrified.
But since I’m with Val and Sof, I somehow feel better.
As if we are on this adventure together, and we’re going to go out together.
Everyone else has gone through just fine, so why won’t we?
Just as quickly as it approaches, we start getting rocked by the choppy waves, shaking us up in every direction.
We hold on to the handles on the edges of our tubes and keep our legs inside for extra stability.
The river is creating a ripple effect between us.
When Sofia gets pulled away, Val and I follow suit.
When Valentina gets jerked to the left, Sof and I follow suit.
“Ow!” Valentina yelps.
“What happened?” I shout.
“I think this area is a bit shallow. Watch out for rocks!”
I look down into the water and notice the taller rocks passing by.
It is only a matter of time before we all get bruised butts from hitting so many of them.
But, for the most part, we are able to navigate through the rapids.
We start to settle down, feeling more confident in our abilities.
Valentina laughs, enjoying the ride now that it isn’t as scary.
Her amusement makes me laugh too. Then Sofia joins in.
It isn’t so bad and certainly isn’t like Splash City.
“Iceberg, straight ahead!” Valentina shouts.
A large boulder begins to make an appearance, and it is heading right toward us. If we don’t move out of the way, we’ll slam right into it and get stuck between the rushing water and the rock.
“We need to move!”
In unison, we all start to paddle away from each other, but we can’t seem to move. The boulder continues to be in our path. Now I am beginning to panic.
“Why can’t we move?” I shriek.
“We’re still hooked!” Sofia screams.
We forgot Daniel’s instruction to unhook ourselves before entering the rapids—the most important rule. Sofia quickly unsnaps herself from Valentina and starts working on unsnapping from my tube.
“It’s not unlocking!”
“Let me try mine,” Valentina cries out.
I watch as they both desperately try to unhook from my tube.
The boulder is too close at this point. It is time to brace for impact.
Within a second, my tube smashes into the boulder.
The sheer force breaks the hooks and sends Sofia and Valentina flying down the river.
I try to push off, but the river pins me into the rock.
This must be how the Titanic felt. I try again to pull away, this time managing to slide around it slowly.
When I reach the edge, the water pressure shoots me out and causes me to flip over, off the tube and straight into the water.
“Isa!” they both yell.
I alternate between having my head above the water and being fully submerged.
The river is deep enough at this point that I am not too worried about slamming into another rock, but my legs keep bumping into smaller ones, giving me nicks and scrapes.
I need to get a grip on something. I don’t even know where my tube is anymore.
The river looks completely different from this angle.
The water begins to slow down, which helps me calm down, knowing the rapids are nearly over.
However, I still can’t seem to keep my head above water and continue bopping up and down like a hopeless buoy.
“Isabella!” Valentina shouts, her voice sounding close by.
“Val!” I try to shout but choke on the river water and dip back into the water.
As I float underwater, for a moment, everything is still. I feel peaceful. As if I have nothing to worry about anymore. Something in the universe is telling me that everything will be okay. Or it’s my brain preparing for my untimely death.
Just as I have those thoughts, I feel an arm slide around my waist and another grab my arm and pull me out of the water.
When my head reaches the surface, I take a deep breath and cough up river water.
I rub my eyes and frantically look around.
Valentina saved me. She is hanging off the outside of her tube, using it to keep herself afloat so she can easily rescue me.
Sofia is not too far ahead, paddling against the current to stay close.
For the first time in my life, I am the damsel in distress. And I have a knight in shining armor.
“Isa, are you okay? You scared me half to death.” Valentina wipes my hair out of my face and grabs my chin to make me look at her. “You can go on, Sofia—she’s fine!”
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” I say in between coughs.
Valentina starts to inspect all of my limbs and then gasps.
“What?”
“Isa…you’re bleeding!”
I look down at my forearm to see a long scratch going down toward my elbow. It isn’t deep at all—just a surface wound.
“Val, I’m fine.” I chuckle. “I promise.”
Valentina paddles closer to the river’s edge, where the water is still and shallow, so we can catch our bearings.
“Thank you for saving me. I don’t know what would have happened if you weren’t here to rescue me.
I don’t know if I would have come out of that water.
It just…kept holding me down. I was getting so tired.
It was terrifying. But you were there for me.
You managed to swim against the river just to save me. I’ll never forget that.”
“I’m just glad you’re okay. Let’s get you patched up. I have a first aid kit in the cabin.”
As we step clumsily out of the water, we finally make it onto the riverbank.
Up ahead, I can see a dirt path. I pick up my foot to get past a section cluttered with branches and debris from the river but lose my footing and begin to fall.
Then, like a supernatural instinct, Valentina swings around and catches me, resting my back against her forearm. I look up at her, completely shocked.
“Be careful, Isa,” she whispers as she pulls me back up to stand. “What am I going to do with you?”
The question intrigues me.
Since we didn’t make it to the end of the route where the van is, we begin our trek back to the cabin, and it seems to take forever.
We’re barefoot, wearing these silly T-shirts Valentina made, and somehow the fucking penis hat survived the crash and stayed securely on my head.
Valentina has several glow stick necklaces around her neck and the same hat on her head. We look ridiculous.
The dirt path is surrounded by the lush, green vegetation winding alongside the river.
The trail is narrow and well-trodden, with soft, brown earth packed tightly underfoot.
The dirt is rich and fragrant, scented with the smell of the surrounding forest, and damp from the nearby river, making it soft against my toes.
The path is engulfed by tall trees that reach toward the sky, their branches providing dappled shade to the path below. Sunlight filters through the leaves, casting its warm, golden light on the path.
“That was fun,” Valentina says. “Besides the whole you almost dying part.”
“Yeah, sans drowning, it was awesome. It would have been nice to get to the end with the rest of the party. I heard there was going to be sparklers and goody bags.”
“I like this better, though.” Valentina smiles.
“It’s nice,” I agree. “Nice and quiet. I wish I lived somewhere where there were trails I could hike through like this. Makes me appreciate nature a bit more.”
As we continue to walk, our conversation trails off, and the only sounds are the crunch of the dirt under our feet and the gurgling of the river. I am lost in thought, thinking about how much I enjoy just being near Valentina, even in silence.
“So,” Valentina says, breaking the silence.
“So,” I repeat.
“You like me, huh?”
I turn my head so quickly I nearly give myself whiplash.
“What?” I cough, choking on my saliva.
Valentina chuckles. “I asked if you like me.”
“Were you awake the entire time?” I groan.
“No, I woke up right around the point where I heard you and Sofia talking about me loving her and you liking me.”
“Oh my God, Val. I’m so sorry. I—”
“You don’t need to apologize. Weirdly, I feel relieved. Relieved that she knows—or has known—and like I can finally relax knowing I don’t have to figure out how to tell her anymore. It can just be this unspoken truth between us we never mention.”
“Still,” I say. “That must have been hard to hear. I’m sorry.”
She smiles. “Thanks.”
A critter runs through the woods, breaking tiny twigs and rustling dry leaves along its path. I can’t see it, but even the sound is cute.
“So, you never answered my question.”
I shrug halfheartedly, which only makes her laugh.
“You told me not to fall for you,” I say.
“But did you?”
“Maybe I did.” I shrug again.
She shakes her head, amused. “Even though I specifically said not to.”
“Yeah, well. You don’t control me. I have free will, you know,” I retort.
Valentina stops. Our gazes lock as we stand on the dirt path.
“I’m happy you’re here, Isa. This week, I’ve had more fun than I thought I would.
I know I’ve been pessimistic about this entire thing.
I just wanted it all to be over…tired of feeling this unrequited love.
Forced to be near Silvana again. Pretending like everything is okay.
Then you came along. This bright light in my gloomy life.
I’m glad you didn’t listen to me, because I can’t handle another unrequited love again. ”
She moves toward me slowly, and I find myself holding my breath. Valentina takes my hand in hers, and I look up at her. Her eyes shine with emotion.
Slowly, she leans in and presses her lips to mine, our kiss soft and tender at first. Her lips warm against mine. She wraps her arms around my waist, pulling me in close.
The world around me fades away, and all that remains is the two of us, lost in a moment of pure, unbridled bliss. My kiss is filled with all the emotions I’ve been holding back, and I pour all of myself into it.
As she finally pulls away, I feel breathless, my face flushed with the moment’s intensity. She pulls me into her embrace, and I can hear her heart beating fast. I don’t want this moment to end. Forget the wedding. Forget the puzzle. Forget the investment. She lifts my chin and smiles.
“Do you want to make some s’mores with me?”