As my senses were slowly waking, I began to feel her head placed right under my chin, her fingertips touching the left side of my chest and her body flush against mine. It was beyond my imagination how she managed to turn around in this small bed.

I slowly parted my eyes. The bed looked much smaller than last night, as I was standing on the edge of it. Our legs were tangled; hers trapped between mine and it seemed as if we were holding onto each other not to fall off. I retreated from my arms that were wrapped around her waist and rubbed my eyes.

I heard a sharp inhale next, and her head moved up from my chin. Her sleepy eyes met mine, the sudden tilt-up of her face bringing our faces closer. Her gaze momentarily drifted down onto her hand on my bare chest and back to my eyes. For a while, none of us said a thing, as if we were both afraid to speak up—like it would ruin the atmosphere. Or basically, we didn't even know what to say. We both knew last night would be leading up to this.

"I told you we could make use of this bed," Abby suddenly said, taking me off guard. Her voice was thicker and much more exotic. Propping herself up with her arm, she looked down at me with a smile. She wasn't embarrassed or nervous, as I deemed. She pushed her hair back, which revealed her bare shoulder since her t-shirt was now lopsided.

I bet she could see through me right now, how dumbfounded she rendered me, and that grin that formed on her lips was a consequence of it. I tucked a strand of hair beneath her ear before I also tilted up my body in order to level her gaze. "You didn't need to pretend,"—I traveled my fingers down her jawline—"to be afraid of the dark to get me in your bed. I'd gladly accept if you just stated so."

We were crossing the road without knowing what was on the other side, but at that moment, her eyes were a green light, so it was all that mattered.

"I only invited you to share because I was afraid of the dark. If I wanted you for a different reason, I'd tell you so." I tilted my eyebrow daringly, wandering my finger on her collarbone, following the line through the hole between them. Suddenly catching my hand in action, she pushed it back and stormed out of the bed. "You can't seduce me, Shaw," she said, walking toward the bathroom. "I'm not any girl."

"Yeah," I said airily, as she stood by the door to look at me. "You're Abby Whittaker—the nightmare of boys."

Shooting me a mischievous grin before she went inside, she said, "Only yours."

Though she meant an entirely different thing, it was great to hear that she was only mine.

Once we were out of the hotel, all the teasing and flirting were gone. As I started the engine, Abby read me today's plan, which sounded quite full. When we set off, she turned the radio on, and Hey There, Delilah came out. The lyrics spoke out to me as if this song was written for us—me miles away from her as she wandered the streets of New York. If I didn't tell her how I felt, even worse, she would maybe wander with someone else holding hands, laughing at their secret jokes, and steal one kiss or two. Even the thought was painful, rendering me speechless. I felt like, with each day passing by, I was digging a hole to bury myself.

"We are on day nine," she suddenly said, turning at me. "Can you believe it? It passed so quickly."

"Yeah," I murmured, keeping my thoughts to myself. "We are nearing the end."

"You'll make me sob," she said bitterly. My intention wasn't to make her cry but thinking about the end of this trip made me feel so miserable. We were on the right track, yes, but was I on the right track? I planned to confess to Abby by the first week so that we would spend the second week as a couple but only five days left and I was nowhere close to that. Besides that, I didn't even know if I would confess to her by the end.

The idea of her leaving without knowing my feelings wrenched me.

Abby stared at her screen for a while before locking it and looked out of the window as if something had bothered her. "What's going on?" I asked, sparing her a glance. "Is it about that thing you don't want to tell?"

Shaking her head, she replied, "It's my father."

"What did he say?"

"Sent me a photo from their appointment with Susan featuring their little baby."

"Which happens to be your sibling," I added slowly. "I mean, what's wrong with this?"

Abby let out a sigh, turning at me. "I thought Dad would get bored, you know. That we would be just two of us. When he introduced her as his girlfriend, I had hope. When he married her, I still had hope—even if a little. Now, it's all ruined."

"You'll be off to New York," I stated. "Don't you think your father needs someone by his side? And apparently, he loves her—and I know you won't believe it, but I think Susan isn't after his money either. You're his Abby, and that will never change, okay?"

"When you're talking sense, I feel like I'm the worst person in history but I know, once we are back, I'll be the same."

"You're the worst person in the history, then," I said. When she looked at me, I couldn't keep my laughter inside, which earned me a nudge from her.

Off to Rio Puerco, the road went really smoothly. There weren't many things worth seeing but we halted at a preserved bridge built in 1933. Abby wanted to take some pictures there as I looked around. Then, we drove straight off to Mesita.

"George," Abby suddenly yelped, causing me to brake as we were passing through an enormous weird-shaped rock. "Stop here. This is the Owl Rock." Pulling over, I left the car along with her. "It really looks like an owl, look at that," she said as we looked from a closer view.

"To me, that looks like a St. Bernard."

"The dog?"

Under her shocked gaze, I just shrugged my shoulders. But it was really there, the huge mouth and its eyes right above it. I couldn't see an owl there at all. The rock was really huge though, looking out of the place on the uninhabited hillside.

Setting off, we headed south next, stopping by the Dead Man's Curve. This was a curved road, and there was a sign saying that a worker died in the construction of this road, hence the reason for the name.

"You know what?"

I turned at her briefly. "What?"

"Death is so sudden." That sentence rendered me speechless. "I mean, I'm thinking what if we miss the chance to do things we dream of?"

"Well," I replied, "We can't do everything on our minds."

"Probably but major things, I mean."

"What's on your mind?" I asked finally, amused by her sudden worry. "Let's make them happen today. Here."

"Today?" She asked in disbelief. "Oh no, not today." I was about to ask why but she turned her back to me and released a sigh. I didn't really know what was going on in her pretty mind—but she was right about one thing. There were things that we shouldn't miss in life and confessing to her was one of them.

Not today, maybe tomorrow. This had been my motto since the beginning of this trip and that brought me here. Maybe changing my aim would be nice but I didn't feel confident enough to do that at the moment. Maybe later.

The detour led us to the famous Sky City—the oldest continuously inhabited community in North America. This ancient complex was so different from what I was used to, and the fact that it was old made it even more exciting to explore. As Abby walked beside me, I noticed the energetic mood in her, which I hadn't seen in days. When she looked at me, there was a smile on her face, but finally shaken by my stare, she asked, "What?"

I shrugged my shoulder, looking ahead. "Nothing."

"What?" She asked again. I could see that my stare sparked a curiosity in her and she wouldn't stop until she got her answer. When I gave her silent treatment, she scooted closer, nudging my arm. "Why are you laughing at me? George!"

"You look great is all." She shot me a skeptical glance. "I'm serious—you look great. Lively. Fine. You've been down for days."

"I slept well last night," she replied, which formed a grin on my face. The sudden blush that colored her face showed that she was thinking the same as me. After a dead pause, she added, "The bed was comfortable."

"Technically, you slept on my chest."

With a very much fake gasp, she yelled: "Look. What a wonderful view, Georgie." However, it really was. We were standing on a hill where you could see the entire city below your feet. It made me feel so powerful and insecure at the same time. It was amazing to see what humankind was capable of even centuries ago. But it was also pitiful how less I was capable of.

Her way of distracting me worked in the end, for she threw me into a train of thoughts. We explored the ancient city a bit more, walked down the places, and took lots of photos. Sky City was indeed the correct name given, and I really wanted to stay the night here and watch the stars in the sky. With no city lights present, lying down on the ground with Abby, the stars would look dreamingly beautiful. In the wake, a resigned sigh left out my lips but Abby was gazing around so that she didn't notice my daydreams.

By the time we bid goodbye to Sky City, it struck two. I didn't want to leave this beautiful place, and spend the night as I wished, but offering such a thing would be so selfish—and probably forbidden—since we had a long day ahead. Abby seemed done with the place, though, and she was really blabbering about how this city changed her perspective in a good way. She was amazed to meet Native American people and how protective they were about their heritage from their ancestors.

After we climbed inside, I pulled out a cigarette from my pocket and lit it. Rolling down the window, I blew the smoke out not to disturb Abby. I pressed on the pedal and started to get going. "I thought you quit smoking," Abby solemnly commented beside me.

"Nope."

"George," she sighed. "That thing will kill you one day."

I laughed. "Well, don't we all die in the end?"

"I just care about you," she huffed, at last, leaning back. "I'm sorry."

"Abby." I looked at her in defeat. "I smoke much less now, and my aim is to eventually give it up but it's a slow process. I'm trying." Her eyes were marred with disbelief. "Honestly. Thank you—for caring about me." Throwing the butt out, I rolled the window up and turned back at her briefly to take her hand. "I won't smoke again today. Are you happy?"

She slowly nodded, meeting my gaze. Then, her eyes lingered on our holding hands and, confidently, I squeezed it a little more to ensure her. I was actually looking for a reason to linger in this position, to keep her hand in mine just a little longer, and she didn't seem to mind it as she linked her fingers with mine.

Last night was different. It showed me another side of Abby, and now, in her eyes, I was seeing the same spark. This planted a seed of hope inside me, but for it to grow and surface, I needed her to water it. If she just looked at me the way she did now, I'd have a forest within days.

"I'm hungry," she suddenly said, lifting her gaze back at me. "I think we can find a diner in Cubero."

"Okay," I replied with a smile. "We are almost there."

***

Hello,

Fridays are my favorite. I mean, they always have been. But ever since I set Friday as SOWK update day, it makes me look forward to this day to share a new chapter with you. I'm eagerly waiting for your opinions and try to keep my mouth shut not to spill the rest. Not an easy task, if you wonder. 👀

I want to thank you for 35K reads. That's amazing. I'm really grateful 💜💛

❤️

Hmm, lastly, I'll shoot a question: what are you reading at the moment outside Wattpad? I want to stock myself with some new books for 2019. I'm currently reading the Odyssey, and it's so good. I totally recommend it if you're into Greek mythology.

Please your thoughts with me and don't forget to ! 💛⭐️

Until next Friday,

Sev xx