Chapter 49

There were too many possibilities of what King would do with the college research project but I didn't think much about it. It wasn't my headache. I had to tell him and I told him.

He was on his phone for a few minutes while the car continued to drive through the unknown grounds of the city. I wrapped my fingers into a fist and turned my head to the window, watching the scenery pass by me. It was a whole new world.

Long treacherous buildings and tress passed by me in a flash as the driver sped. I never remembered traveling out of the town or driving for so long, even when I was a child. There were a few memories of me being with my parents in random cars but that was all. Most of my childhood memories were wiped clean from the trauma I had to face that one evening, when those men killed my parents in the living room of my old home.

Their deaths took a heavy toll on my life, from moving one place to another and starting a few life while being forced to forget everything I knew about my past. Whilst Aunt Carol did take complete care of me, I still found myself often remembering my parents and what would have happened if they were killed.

They were good people...

I yawned in the silence as the never-ending continued. We passed the Ingav Woods, a popular camping area in the city and kept driving further until we reached a long, stretched empty field where the sun shone brightly over the grass. I had done my fair-share of research about the city before getting on the plane with King but I didn't know where the driver had stopped.

He pushed on the brakes, coming to a complete halt in middle of nowhere. My heart thudded hard slightly as I stepped off the vehicle and took a glance around my surroundings.

"Where are we?" I questioned, curiosity and fear in my voice at the same time. A chill slid down my back. It was cold out here, just as it was cold in the town. The fumes from the cars warmed up the city a little bit but being on the outskirts was colder than I had thought.

"It's a surprise..." He trailed off before his head turned around, eyes seeking for something. "Although, we should be going a little more up." He continued, this time speaking to Arnold.

Arnold gave a nod to King before returning into the car. I sat back inside, still curious to where we were heading. Behind us, there were the woods where a dozen people came for camping and catching a fresh breath of air. Ahead of us, there were mountains, tall as the sky, the clouds floating between the cold peaks.

I looked a bit terrified and King caught the fear on my face, "Don't worry, it's not as cold as you think it is."

I turned my head to him and shook it, "I'm not a fan of heights."

"Is that so?" He looked surprised.

"A little. I fear falling, rolling and dying."

His teeth flashed and he laughed. His arm fell over my shoulders, looping behind my head while he leaned closer to me. "Memento Vivere. You have nothing to be worried about. If you do fall from a greater height, you can just close and you'll land on your feet, completely same."

"Promise?"

"I promise." He traced his finger across my face, tucking a few strands of hair behind my ear. "You're stronger than you think you are, Eos."

I believed him. It was different—I was different. I was no longer the weak woman with drug and alcohol issues, instead, I had grown into something good and I liked the feeling.

Arnold drove up into the unstable roads leading up to the mountains and I continued to wander where we were heading. The city was only a twenty minute drive away from the mountains, it was not too far.

We didn't drive for long between the mountains. Just a few minutes in, the car slowed down near a camp and I poked my head of out of the window to find hot-air balloons in the air, a dozen of them, sliding around and moving in a direction of the wind.

My heart jumped in joy while my lips parted. This was it? It had to be. Seeing the colorful balloons fill up the cloudy sky was a beautiful view to stare at.

"Come on. We are here." King said, opening the door for me and stretching his hand out toward me.

I placed my hand over his and stepped out while my heartbeat raced. It was exciting, a thrill I had never done before.

"Don't be scared." He quickly whispered in my ear, lowly before taking my hand and walking me toward the camp settled in the mountains.

I supposed the camp was in-charge of the colorful balloons floating in the sky. I stopped gazing at the sky when a man working here approached us and greeted us.

He guided us toward the colorful hot-air balloon booked for us and we headed straight in as soon as it was inflated and expanded into the air. The size of the balloon was large than anything I had seen before.

A flame burned above us as I stepped inside with King. Panic settled inside me quicker than usual and I held his hand as the ropes on the side became undone.

It took only a few minutes and we were floating on the air, drifting through the mountains and the thick clouds. The wind wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but the ride became a lot more smoother when we floated away from the mountains and near to the city.

It was a unique experience and while I found my nerves jumbled up, I still enjoyed everything minute of it and leaned closer onto the basket to take in the beautiful view from up here.

"Wow. It's beautiful." I whispered in the silence.

"Isn't it?" King wrapped his arm around my lower back and neared me. "I suppose I couldn't show the entire city to you in twenty-four hours but you could see as much as you want to see."

Oh...

I placed my hand over my chest, feeling my heart throb at his words. It was sweet.

The wind took the hot-air balloon toward the city. I lowered my eyes when we brushed past the woods and entered the city. For miles, I could see everything including all the tall buildings, the roads, the parks, the mall and every other little detail.

As the sun began setting down, the sky changed colors into beautiful shades of orange and red and rays of the sun fell over the glass buildings and reflected back, turning the entire city into a canvas painted with flames of several hues.

I rubbed my arms while oozing myself into the beauty I had never seen before.

When I turned, I found King's eyes catching the color of the sunset before meeting with mine. It was just him and me in the hot-air balloon along with pilot who began bringing the balloon down slowly.

"Thank you." I breathed out. This was more than I could have ever imagined.

He cupped my face, "I can't bear the thought of losing you, Eos." He said, his voice low as the sun.

"You won't lose me." I rubbed his wrist and gave him a smile, a smile of defeat from my side and a win from his.

There were still a good six hours left before I would return into my normal life but I no longer wanted to.

King had won.

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