Not My Hero

“Do you want to go for a drive?” I ask her, thinking us getting out of the house for a little while will do her some good.

“Just to drive around?” she asks.

“Yeah.” Grinning, I add, “You can show me a couple more places around town.”

Brie checks the time on her watch. “It’s still early. We could go to Devil’s Bluff and maybe walk down one of the trails?”

“Sounds like a good idea.”

Brie gets up. “I just want to change into a pair of shorts and put on my sneakers.”

“I’ll do the same,” I say as I climb to my feet.

We dart up to our rooms, and once I’ve changed into my clothes, I grab my baseball cap and put it on. I also take a backpack from my closet and then go to the kitchen to put a couple of water bottles in it.

Mom walks into the living room, asking, “What’s the bag for?”

“Brie and I are going to Devil’s Bluff.”

“That sounds like a perfect idea,” Mom says as she lies down on the couch, then turns on the TV. “I’m going to watch Emily in Paris.”

“Enjoy.”

Brie comes down the stairs and waves at Mom. “See you later.”

“Have fun,” Mom calls out before her eyes focus on the TV screen.

Brie and I walk to the truck, and once I’ve reversed out of the driveway, she grins at me. “I’d like to show you the waterfall. Hopefully, there aren’t any students from school there.”

“From what I’ve heard, they’re all probably sleeping their hangovers off,” I mention.

I drive to the spot where I met Michael and park the truck. There’s only one other vehicle, so it looks like we got lucky.

Climbing out of the truck, I glance at the backpack. “How far are we going to walk?”

“Not far,” Brie points to the trail. “Ten minutes at most, then we’ll reach the waterfall.”

“Great. I’ll leave the water in the truck.” Shutting the door, I walk around the back to catch up with Brie. When I hold my hand out to her, there’s no hesitation as her fingers wrap around mine.

Walking down the trail, I glance around at our surroundings before looking at Brie. My feelings for her just keep growing, and I was hoping to talk to her about it this weekend, but with her mother dying, I’m not so sure anymore.

It feels like I’m never going to get the chance to ask her to be my girlfriend, and I’m scared we’ll end up being nothing more than friends.

“What are you thinking about?” Brie asks, her eyes flitting over my face.

“How nice it is out here,” I lie.

I can hear rushing water, and soon the trail opens up to a cove. The waterfall isn’t huge, but it sure is pretty, and the pool looks inviting.

We’ll have to come back in summer to swim.

“Do you want to sit?” Brie asks, gesturing at a couple of boulders.

“Sure.”

We each sit on a boulder, the sound of the waterfall filling the air.

“This is nice,” Brie murmurs, a peaceful expression on her face.

“It is.” With my eyes on Brie, I think about how much she’s changed these past few weeks. She’s no longer anxious and smiles more.

“What?” Brie asks when she catches me staring.

“I’m just thinking how much you’ve changed from the girl I saw on the first day of school.”

She gives me a shy grin. “Hopefully, for the better.”

“Oh, definitely,” I chuckle. “Are you happy?”

The grin turns into a soft smile, and then Brie nods. “Yeah.” She scoots off the boulder and walks to the edge of the pool. I watch her pick up a couple of pebbles, and she begins to toss them into the water. “I’ve never been so happy before.”

She turns her face up to the sky, and it reminds me of the sketch she drew of herself.

It also reminds me of the one she drew of her screaming, and it has me asking, “Have you ever yelled?”

“Huh?” She turns to look at me.

“Remember that sketch of you screaming?”

Brie nods.

I glance around, then explain, “There’s no one here. Scream.”

“Nooo,” she laughs, looking awkward.

“Why not?” I ask, climbing to my feet.

“Cause I’ll look stupid.” Her cheeks begin to turn pink, and it makes me smile.

“Have you ever done something you wanted to do?” Brie’s smile begins to falter, and it has me asking another question, “If you could do anything right now, what would it be?”

Brie’s eyes dart to mine, and I see her hesitate.

“Come on, Brie. What would you do?”

She draws her bottom lip between her teeth, still faltering.

“Okay.” I let out a deep breath. “What is one thing you really want to do?”

“Why?” she asks.

“Because I want you to do just one thing for yourself,” I explain. A nervous look flitters over her face, and it has me encouraging her, “Just once, Brie. Do something you really want to do.”