“She likes it,” said dad.
“It’s good she has a name before your trip to the Rockies,” he added. “I wouldn’t want to take care of her not knowing what to call her,”
Amber’s eyes widened, and her only focus was on dad.
“What trip?” she asked.
“Please tell me you already knew,” he said.
“She didn’t dad!” I screamed. The surprise was ruined, but Amber seemed eager to visit the Rockies.
I packed everything a day before and was ready for Mr. Sanders to pick us up. Nick wasn’t ready, and he had me help him pack the rest of his stuff as he took a shower. I heard Mr. Sanders and dad talking in the living room, but all I could hear was Mr. Sanders thanking dad for his generosity.
Nick came out of the shower and he told me his plan to ask Grace to be his girlfriend.
He had everything planned out, and it surprised the amount of thought he had put into it.
“You should do the same with Amber,” he suggested.
“Maybe she likes you too,” he added. That got me thinking, but I knew it was just my imagination playing tricks on me. I loved her, and I wouldn’t risk ruining her trip by trying something I knew couldn’t end well.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Amber: I couldn’t wait to shoot my camera all over the state of Colorado. Words couldn’t describe the amount of excitement I felt.
When the day finally arrived, I was more than ready. I made sure I had packed everything I needed to take the best photos I could. Dad picked up Noah and Nick while mom, Grace, and I got everything else ready.
Noah looked at me as he stepped inside and offered himself to help me with my luggage. I carried my camera and its equipment while Noah helped me with my bag and pillow. Dad complained about our luggage, saying we were only camping for a couple of days.
It was a much longer flight since our last one to Toronto. Noah sat next to me and from the corner of my eye, I saw how he began leaning on my shoulder to eventually fall asleep. Grace and Nick who sat across from us bugged me making heart figures with their hands, placing me and Noah in between them.
The landing made Noah wake up, and Nick and Grace bugged him as well for sleeping on my shoulder. We had lunch at the airport, and dad called in a taxi to take us up to the Rockies. Dad said our camping zone was one of the best. He had done some research, and the zone was great for any type of activity. It had opened spaces that were perfect to get enough lighting for a good photo. The first photo I took had mom carrying her luggage into the woods, some pine trees in the background, and a wide blue sky above.
Mom and dad got the campsite ready, while the rest of us explored the wilderness. It was hard to walk for me. The others seemed okay, but I was exhausted. It was hard for me to catch my breath, and I couldn’t stop drinking water. Noah was the first to notice. He asked if I wanted to go back every five minutes. Grace and Nick were way ahead, and it was nice to have some alone time with Noah. I saw him stare at me several times, and I did the same when he wasn’t looking. I wanted to go back to camp and rest. My feet felt much heavier now, and I began feeling dizzy. It scared me to faint and finally asked Noah to walk back.
“Maybe we should walk back, I don’t want to get lost,” I lied. Noah nodded and turned around towards camp.
The campsite was set in place once we returned. Mom and dad sat in the middle trying to make a fire. I took a seat next to mom and tried hard not to fall asleep. Being so close to nature was great, I grabbed my camera and took several photos of Nick and Grace as they walked back to camp.
Dad had a hike planned for tomorrow morning and it was great to know we would do a different thing every day.
We had smoked sausages and hot chocolate for dinner and toasted some marshmallows for dessert. Dad started telling us all about an encounter he had when he was a boy, and before any of us knew it, we were all sharing our paranormal experiences in front of the fire.
Dad had placed three tents. I shared the biggest tent with Grace. While mom and dad shared the smallest.
A few minutes inside our tent, I heard Grace snoring and I thought about going out to wake up Noah, I wasn’t sleepy and I wanted him close to me.
I woke up to Grace and Nick laughing inside my tent.
“Where’s Noah?” I asked Nick.
“Asleep, he was up all night looking at the stars,” he answered. I went inside Noah’s tent and sat next to him as he slept. I sat down for a while. His snoring made me laugh. I opened the tent’s door in an attempt for the sun to wake him. It didn’t. The lighting inside the tent was perfect. I ran to my tent for my camera. I took a couple of photos before he woke up and hid the camera behind my back so he couldn’t see it. He finally opened his eyes and smiled.
“Wake up,” I said, leaving his tent.
Mom and dad began cooking breakfast, and it smelled great. It took Noah some time to come out of his tent. He opened the tent and looked up at the sky. He yawned three times before he sat to have breakfast.
“Good morning,” he said to all of us. He still looked sleepy, and for some reason, I couldn’t stop looking at him. I saw the way he ate and the way he drank his coffee. I looked away when he looked at me so he wouldn’t notice.
After breakfast, dad pulled out a map that would lead us up to a mountaintop.
“It’s nearly an hour hike so take bring lots of water,” he warned. The hike began, and I stayed behind the group so they wouldn’t notice if I got tired. Noah was in front of me and I could see him looking back to check on me. Dad wasn’t wrong. It was more of a hike than it was a walk. Fifteen minutes into the hike. I wanted to stop. My breath was going away and it was hard for me to breathe through my nose. I pretended to have twisted my anklet to get some rest, and Noah turned back to help me.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I answered. “I stepped on that rock, I just need to tie my shoe,” I lied. Noah helped me down and looked up to see where mom and dad were.
Noah moved closer to me, and for a second I thought he’d kiss me. His eyes were inches away from mines. I tried catching my breath in case he tried something, but he didn’t. He wiped something off my face and smiled. I closed my eyes for a brief second, expecting something else, something that now I wanted. Part of me wanted to kiss him. My chest started beating faster and something inside my head told me to kiss him, Noah backed away before I could make a move and I ended up getting helped up by his left arm. I didn’t know what had happened to me, but I wanted to kiss my best friend. I felt something inside me that I had never felt before. It was eating me alive.
I followed Noah up the rocky mountain and asked myself if this had been the way he had felt when I told him I only saw him as a friend. I was confused, and the hike gave me enough time to think.
I felt sorry for dad; he carried most of the heavy stuff up the mountain. The mountaintop was great; it had a big open space and an incredible open sight.
I found the perfect view and couldn’t stop shooting photos with my camera. We spent an hour taking photos, but dad and mom wanted to go see the river that dad had on his map. It was much easier walking down; the river was thirty minutes away according to dad’s map, but we reached it sooner. The weather was great, but I never expected mom and dad to jump into the river as if it were a swimming pool. Nick and Grace did the same and by the expression Grace made, the water wasn’t as warm as she’d expect. Noah took his shirt off and jumped into the water, landing on top of Nick.
“Come on!” he screamed from inside the water. I took a minute to admire my family and Noah having fun. Grace had started a water war, mom and dad were splashing water at each other, and so were Nick and Noah. I changed behind a tree and placed my camera in a position to record the river. I hit play and jumped inside.
Chapter Thirty
Noah: Mr. Sanders was a man of few words when he wasn’t around his family. He said nothing to me and Nick while he drove. It was an awkward silence that finally ended when Mr.
Sanders turned up the radio. My dad and he were two worlds apart, I couldn’t blame Mr. Sanders, his daughter had cancer, and I knew he tried his best not to show what he really felt. He became a different person as soon as he stepped inside his house. His long face became brighter, and he smiled at all times.
“Can I help you?” I asked, seeing Amber struggling with her bags.
It surprised me the amount of bags Grace and Amber had packed. It was nearly twice as mines and Nick’s. Mr. Paxton complained since he’d probably have to pay extra for the luggage. It was a much bigger plane and a much longer flight. It was my second time flying to Denver and for some reason, I felt sleepy. Amber sat next to me and her shoulder seemed comfortable enough for me to sleep on. I focused on staying awake, but eventually, I fell asleep on her shoulder.
I woke up to Grace and Nick teasing me. They were making heart figures with their hands fitting me and Amber inside them. I felt embarrassed and pretended to look for something underneath me.
The lunch in the airport was great; a huge van picked us up and took us deep into the Rockies. It was a reserved area only for camping, which only meant not much wildlife lived inside.
We made our way into the camping zone, far behind us walking the opposite way from us I saw a family setting up their camp. I was glad Mr. Sanders was going to set up camp closer to the closest mountaintop. The stars would look extra bright at night and I was planning on spending the entire night looking at them.
We had a nice campsite and Mrs. Sanders sent us off to explore while she and Mr. Sanders placed the tents.
Nick and Grace led the way into the woods while Amber and I followed behind. I heard Amber breathing harder just a few minutes into the woods. I looked back to check on her and every time I did she was drinking water; she finished her water bottle in a matter of minutes and she looked exhausted when we reached a big slope.
“Maybe we should walk back, I don’t want to get lost,” she said. I knew she was lying, she wasn’t afraid of getting lost, she was afraid of falling or not being able to keep up with us. It hurt me to see Amber struggle, and it hurt me, even more, to know her condition was only getting worse. I knew I wasn’t the only one who believed Amber could survive. I thought about it every day, and I was sure Mr. and Mrs. Sanders believed the same thing. I knew dad did. He had made it really clear. Everyone who knew Amber believed she could survive, although all odds were against her.
Mr. Sanders had all three tents up, and they all looked great and cozy.
I helped Mr. Sanders set up a fire where Mrs. Sanders would cook dinner for us; we had smoked sausages and hot chocolate for dinner. It was impressive the way Mrs. Sanders cooked; I asked for three more sausages and another cup of hot chocolate.
We gathered around the campfire and it was Mr. Sanders who started first with the spooky stories. I didn’t have a paranormal experience, so I just listened to the rest. Nick and Grace had more than one, so they did most of the storytelling.
Nick and I slept in the furthest tent from the campfire. I was glad that Nick went to sleep fast, that way I could sneak out to look up into the sky. I opened the tent’s door and looked up in the sky to see thousands of stars on top of me. They looked so close. I lay under the sheet of stars and stared at them, wishing Amber was by my side.
“What are you doing?” asked Nick an hour later.
“Admiring,” I answered.
“Are you crazy? Get back in here!” he hissed.
“Aren’t you afraid of the wilderness?” he asked.
“This is worth it,” I said, pointing up. Nick insisted for me to go back inside, but I wasn’t listening. It was a waste of time sleeping having the stars shining the way they were. The wilderness never slept. There were noises all night long, I wanted to stay awake but my eyes had begun to close, and eventually, I went back inside the tent and fell asleep.
I was the last to wake up; the sun hitting my face and Amber sitting inside my tent was a great way to start the day.
“Wake up,” she said, exiting my tent.
I felt like I had only slept a couple of hours. It took me a few minutes to get ready and exit my sleeping bag.
“Good morning,” I said as I reached the fire.
They were almost done having breakfast, so I had to eat as fast as I could. Mr. Sanders had a small hike planned for the day. He described it as a rocky flat top over to our left where the stars and open wild would be great for Amber’s photos.
“A river is just ten minutes away from that zone and we can go take a swim today,” he told Nick and I.
“It’s nearly an hour hike so bring lots of water,” he told the rest.
Nick and Grace led the way for a second time while Amber and I stayed behind. I felt tired and apparently so did Amber.
I kept walking slower each time so Amber could keep up. I felt horrible when I saw her twist her ankle and fall to the ground.
“Are you okay?” I asked, dropping my backpack to help her up.
“I’m fine,” she answered. But she wasn’t. She couldn’t keep up. I bent down and saw something close to her chin. Our faces came to be inches away, and for a second my instincts told me to kiss her. “Now,” I thought. I cleaned the dirt off her face and helped her up. I couldn’t believe I was barely able to control myself. The desire to kiss her built up inside me as I tried to think of something else that would keep me from thinking such things.
The silence during the rest of the hike told me it had been awkward for Amber. We said nothing to each other until we reached the top, where Nick and Grace seemed to be having a great time.
The view was amazing. The city of Denver was visible to our left while the rest of the Rockies were visible to our right.
“Amazing,” I told myself, thinking how great the stars would be seen from up here. Amber wasted no time and got at least ninety photos taken.
Mrs. Sanders wanted to descend to the river. It was much easier coming down than going up. We reached the wide river within minutes. I’d expect the water to be icing cold, but Mr. and Mrs. Sanders didn’t care. They jumped inside and played like little inside a swimming pool. Nick tried pushing Grace inside and within moments they both did a cannonball into the river. I didn’t wait for them to tell me to jump in; I took my shirt and pants off and jumped inside with only my underpants. Inside the river, we all realized it had been a stupid idea. The water was close to freezing.
“Come on!” I shouted, trying to get Amber inside. She smiled and contemplated the water war that Grace had started. I swam away and started splashing water at my closest enemies. I saw Amber go behind a tree and she now wore a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. She placed her camera on top of a rock and jumped inside.
Chapter Thirty-One
Amber: It was a bad idea to jump. I realized it when the river’s current pushed me much easier than the rest. My feet wouldn’t stay in place for long. I pretended to be having a good time, but I was struggling to stay in place. My feet were getting numb and the water seemed much colder each second. I headed for the edge but Grace intercepted me, intending for me to stay in the river.
“It’s too cold,” I whispered, trying to not be heard. I tried staying in the water as much as possible, but every minute was harder. I felt a pair of warm hands touch my back.
“Need some help?” asked Noah.
“You’re so warm,” I said, wondering how his hands could be so warm underneath this freezing water.
“You’re freezing,” he said. I was glad to see mom and dad out of the river. It was the perfect time for me to do the same. Mom pulled a towel for each of us. We sat on a hot flat rock to dry off and tried to get warmer. My feet couldn’t stop shaking and neither could mom’s.
“We should set camp up there,” said Noah, pointing to the mountaintop.
“I was thinking the same thing, but it will be hard getting the rest of the camp up there,” said dad.
“Maybe just for tonight,” insisted Noah. “You won’t regret the view we’ll ha
ve at night with all the stars above us,” he added.
“Sounds good, just for tonight,” said dad, looking at mom for her approval. We dried off and changed into warm clothes and made our way up again to where dad, Noah, and Nick would prepare camp.
Noah wasn’t wrong. Before seven, the stars above us looked bright, and the sky seemed to be filled with them.
“Wow!” I heard mom say as she contemplated everything above us.
“I’ve only seen this in movies,” she said.
Noah gave us a class on constellations and talked about the number of stars visible. Dad was impressed. He was the one to ask Noah most of the questions. I knew Noah liked to be questioned about astronomy. He knew all the answers to questions and his answers were extensive.
Dad, Nick, and Noah headed down for the rest of the camping stuff, while mom, Grace, and I stayed in the open mountaintop to serve dinner.
I saw Nick and Noah carrying the rest of our stuff while dad carried more wood which clearly wouldn’t be enough for the rest of the night.
I wanted Noah close to me. I moved a chair purposefully for him to sit on, but dad took it. I tried everything to get his attention, but he was too focused explaining mom the Virgo constellation. The fire was slowly being consumed by dad’s stories about his childhood. It was great to hear him express himself the way he did. Everything was going great. Noah listened carefully to what dad had to say, and he ignored me, trying to make some room for him next to me. I was glad the fire was almost out. That made mom and dad go back down and look for more.
It was Grace’s idea to play a board game inside our tent. We placed a small wooden table in the center and Nick and Noah prepared the Jenga tower.
“Whoever loses has to be dared,” warned Nick. We all agreed, and the game began. I had to lie if I said I didn’t want me or Noah to lose. I figured Nick’s dare would have something to do with something Noah and I hadn’t done before. I was too distracted to pay attention to the game. My only focus was Noah and his smile. The flashlight glowed in his face as he approached to take a small wooden block.
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