Abby was sleeping beside me with my arm rested under her head. I could vividly remember the details of last night, though the hangover was as massive as I thought it would be. Rubbing my temple, I shut my eyes once again. I needed to take painkillers.

Abby's sudden movement swung my eyes open again, turning at her side to check on her. She gave me a lazy smile with her eyes partly open. "Are you okay?" I whispered, putting a kiss on her forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm good." She gave me a peck on the neck before she pulled herself up from the bed and put on my t-shirt. It literally looked ten times better on her—yes, this was my favorite t-shirt from now on as long as she was in it. "We slept in," she said as she turned at me. "What about ditching the rest of the plan? I want to take you somewhere."

I tilted my eyebrow. "Where?"

"Somewhere special," she replied. "On the way home." I nodded but the sudden growl of my stomach cut the conversation off. That made her chuckle as she settled back beside me. "But first, let's have brunch."

When we gathered our stuff and checked out, the owner told us to visit him again if we ever came back to Vegas. Though Abby was annoyed, he seemed lonely and I sort of felt sad for him. Instead of seeking around for a place, we decided to head back to the south, where the city was livelier and had much more diners. I wasn't in the mood for breakfast, so I went for a burger when Abby got herself a salmon salad.

"My father texted me," she suddenly said, looking at the screen. "He asks when we will be back."

"We would be there before midnight, right?"

"I'll text him so." Her face remained expressionless, though I bet she didn't want to return. The pregnancy thing put her off and she didn't want to face Susan after it. I leaned over the table to hold her hand so that she would know I was here for her no matter what. In the wake of our touch, she beamed at me, setting her phone. She looked as though she was about to say something but that never came.

We got back on the road after filling our stomachs. I was dying to know where she was taking us to, but I was keen on not pestering her about it anyway. She said it was a surprise and I was going to let it be. I was feeling so carefree, so relaxed. It was like the secret was out now and the bright days were onward.

When I turned the radio on to fill the void, she started humming along with a familiar song. I watched her tap her fingers against the steering wheel and steal a glance in my direction occasionally. She looked happy, and that looked so good on her.

"So, which place was your favorite on this trip?"

She considered for a minute and replied with a soft smile on her face: "Texas." It stunned me that out of all places, she picked Texas as her favorite, so I asked her the reason. It made all the difference to hear it coming out of her mouth. "It's where we reunited, and you know, at that moment when we resolved our problems and hugged, I knew things were going to be okay either way. I didn't know you liked me then, but I didn't care—I had you and it was all that mattered."

I hadn't thought of it that way. She had a good point because I totally went desperate the moment she texted me that she was leaving. Hopelessness was all I could feel, and I really wanted to make her stay—I'd tell her that I loved her if she didn't get convinced in the end. "I had a heart attack when you texted me you were leaving."

"And I was internally dying because I had no plans or no ticket purchased. What if you were asleep or you were like okay? I sent the message out of blue, mostly because I was so fucking angry at you."

I suddenly reckoned that possibility and burst out into laughter. "But like, imagine. I could be like yeah, cool and then what would you do?"

"Told you," she said, laughing along. "I relied on you want me to stay. Well, I got the right hook because you begged me to stay, huh?" She gave me a sleazy smile.

"Of course, I have—I'll always beg you to stay. I don't know what to do without you."

"Geez, Shaw. Save your romantic gestures for later, I'm driving. I'll kiss you when we arrive."

"Well, that's a promise."

Her response had been a heartfelt laugh. I settled back then, closing my eyes, and lost myself in the tune. I assumed we were going somewhere close to home, but I didn't know where.

I opened my eyes an hour later, after a nap that I hadn't initially planned. Abby smiled at me when I turned at her. "Are you tired?" I asked. My head was still dizzy after last night, but I was relatively better than before. She shook her head no. "How long do we have left?"

"Around one hour, I think." She'd been driving for three hours. So, I was right about my calculation. We were leading somewhere close to home—a place an hour away. I thought of the possibilities in my head, but I couldn't come up with an idea. As far as I knew, she didn't have any relatives in the inner parts of Cali.

"This place you're taking us," I started casually, "why is it special?" She peered at me briefly before she focused back on the road. Then, she gave me a silent treatment. "Come on, that's not a tricky question and you can tell me without telling where exactly we are going."

"Don't spoil the mood, Georgie. You'll figure out everything once we are there, okay? Also, don't keep your hopes high. It's a place that's special to me. Not one of the seven wonders."

I shut my mouth until the rest of the journey. We had passed towns and towns, driving closer to the places I was familiar with, but I couldn't help but frown when she took an unexpected turn, heading north instead of south. I wanted to tell her that she was on the wrong way, but she seemed quite knowledgeable about the direction she was heading. Soon later, we started climbing a road up to a hill, quite deserted.

When I was trying to solve where this road headed, a house maybe, on the top of the hill, nothingness welcomed us. Literally nothing. There were only huge stones everywhere and grass surrounding them, nothing special.

Abby noticed my state of shock once we pulled over and motioned her head by means of telling me to get out. I obeyed her, wondering about her explanation and where exactly we were. Speechless, she walked forward and sat down on one of the stones, facing the cliff. I went and plopped down beside her. There was a moment of silence that felt beyond me, beyond us, and I remained it that way until Abby broke it herself.

"My mother used to bring me here when I was a kid," she said, her voice faltering. I glanced at her to see the tears in her eyes, but I didn't touch them. She missed her mother, so crying could do her good. Instead, my hand found hers, squeezing it firmly to show that I was here. "She used to tell me that this hill, we call here Nothing Hill, has the best sunset in the world. We used to watch it in silence and I really didn't witness this beautiful sunset elsewhere. Maybe it was the magic of hers, but even after...she was gone, this sunset kept its magic. It soothed me—and at earlier times, we used to come with Dad and talk about Mom."

That was when it sank in that she brought me here by the time the Sun was about to set. It was slowly going down, rendering the sky slightly orange. I waited for her to continue, pouring down her heart. "After Susan, we didn't come here again. I never requested, either, because this place was ours. There is no place for Susan here. I just vowed to bring someone here only if I feel like they are worth it. If I love them enough."

Her eyes met mine and my breath stopped. "I love you," she said, tears running down her cheeks. Her tears were my undoing, so I just enveloped her in my arms, letting her cry on my shoulder. It was the moments like these that united people—it was something no words could suffice. Heart to heart. I wish I could do something to ease her pain but all I could do was offer her my comfort and love.

Then, she raised her face. "I love you more," I whispered, wiping off her cheeks. "I've loved you even before I knew what it means, Abby." I held her gaze long enough to see the change in them—the love, the appreciation, everything I could dream of and beyond. It was a sunny day after lots of rain and clouds. I could see through her and I knew she could see through me.

In the wake of our confrontation, words failed, eyes failed, and therefore lips talked.

I kissed her with all I had, trying to convey my emotions through my lips. She responded just as passionately, holding onto me like I was her lifeline. When we pulled back, I rested my forehead against her and she suddenly whispered, "I promised you a kiss."

As if she remembered something, she looked around with searching eyes and stopped by a stone larger than the others. "Look," she said, catching my attention. I saw two initials carved on the stone and it wasn't hard to guess that it was the initials of her parents in a perfectly drawn heart. "My mother carved this when they first came here with dad. She believed that this thing brought luck to their love." After a pause, she grabbed a sharp stone from the ground and started carving an A and, then, G. A+G in a heart. That was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen—and I hoped it also brought luck to us. A love that never died.

Then, we lay on the grass, hand in hand, watching the sunset before us. It was really as she described. Here, you could see all shades of orange as the Sun disappeared between the hills, blinking at you with all its glory. It freshened my mood and reminded me of that time I'd dreamed of lying on the grass with Abby.

"I've dreamed of lying with you under the sky full of stars, but this is beyond my imagination." A smile appeared on her lips. "I'm so lucky. You don't know how grateful I am that you picked me—to love and to bring here."

She kissed me again.

In the middle of nowhere, I was happy with the girl I loved. I wish time stopped here forever, so we could stay in this moment as long as we wanted. "So, this is now somewhere only we know," I suddenly said.

"Somewhere only we know," she repeated along. "I like that."

As she slowly shifted and put her head on my shoulder, I wrapped my arm around her to pull her closer. We stood like that regardless of time and murmured sweet nothings to each other.

This trip ended on the best note ever.

***

Are you gushing? Because I do. It's been like three months since I've written this but rereading this gives me the exact same feeling as before.

A story built on this scene. Literally. I had only this scene in mind, where the girl takes the guy on a hill that's special to her and they have some romantic moments. Never thought it would lead me to extensive research about Route 66 and two dorky teenagers.

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❤️❤️❤️😉

Sev xx