Chapter Four

2118 Words
                                                                                           Samantha             It has been one full week since I last heard from or had seen Levi. Landon was spending as much time with me as he could, which I was sure he was doing to make sure I was okay. I’ll admit that the first few days were extremely hard. The first day was nothing but crying and regretting my last words to him. My words were true, but I could have been a little kinder in the delivery. I’m sure him seeing Landon and I together like that wasn’t easy for him either, though nothing was going on between us. Even now, Landon and I were close friends. He hadn’t tried to make a move on me still other than expressing his feelings.             Out of the days spent apart, I would have to say the worse day was day number three. Day three was when I lost my appetite completely and couldn’t eat for another two days afterward. Everywhere I looked reminded me of him. At that point, I wasn’t even sleeping. It made it even harder to pay attention in my classes. The job at the clinic was the only thing that kept me sane. Taking care of the helpless animals coming in every day was what kept me from totally falling apart.             Today was day number eight, and it was the best I had felt all week. Maybe it was because I was going on a mini-vacation with Landon and his mom, Clara, for the weekend. I told them I wanted to stay at home and study, but Clara insisted that I come with them. I had to admit that getting away from everything if only for a weekend felt freeing.             “Landon, are you going to tell me where we are going now?” I asked as I punched him lightly in the shoulder. We were boarding the plane, but they had yet to divulge where it was that we were going.             “Why would I tell you and ruin the surprise? Just know that you will absolutely love it where we are headed.” Landon made we were seated next to each other in first-class while his mother off to the right of us, a few rows away.             I scrunched my nose up at him and playfully hissed at him as I folded my arms over each other in a pouty kind of way hoping it would make him want to spill the beans.             “Nice try, Sam, but I’m still not telling you where we are going.”             “Fine. We can make a game out of this. How about I ask for clues and if I guess it correctly you confirm or deny if I am correct.”             He shifted in his chair a little so he could see me better. “Sure, okay. That sounds like fun. First question?”             As he asked me that our plane took off. I grasped at the armrests on my comfortable seat. This was my first time flying and I will say that it wasn’t quite like I had imagined it would be. I absolutely hated it. It made me appreciate Robbie all the more for driving me the full twelve hours from Arizona to California when I moved.             Landon placed his hand over the top of mine. “Nervous flyer?”             “I guess so. This is my first time flying.”             “No way!” He seemed genuinely astounded by my admittance. “It isn’t so bad. You get used to it the more you fly. The best thing to do is to keep your mind off it. Back to our game then. What is your first question?”             Hmm…what should my first question be? I had to make this a good first question because I needed it to lead me to a good enough question to give me some answers about where we were going. “Is it located anywhere within the United States?”             “No.”             A quirky smile spread across my face. I had never traveled outside of the states before. On the inside I was a nervous wreck, not knowing where we were going. I was normally a calculated person, always needing to know what I was doing. It was important to always be ten steps ahead of myself.             “I will give you a little hint.” Landon leaned over close to me until his lips grazed the outside of my ear. “It is one of the most beautiful, romantic, and marvelous places to ever visit.”             Now I was confused. I could think of so many places just as he described. Most of them I had never been to, but the books I have read gave me a good insight into what it was like. My books often took me to a place that helped me to imagine the place in every detail, even without ever having to visit. That was one of the best things about books. You could live a different life, every single day if you wanted. You could be a different person and put all your worries behind if it were only for a moment or two. Thinking of my books made me miss reading terribly. With spending so much time with Levi, I lost track of one of the few things that made me happy.             Landon was now looking at me with amusement playing behind his serene eyes. “What is going on in that beautiful brain of yours?”             “Just missing my reading. It has felt like ages since I last picked up a book.”             “Good thing the place we are going has inspired some of the best-read books around the world.”             I started going through in my head, all the novels I have read. Who they were written by and what had inspired them to write. The only place that struck out to me that was outside of the United States was Paris. Paris was a hotspot for some of the world’s greatest talents, especially when it came to writing. If I were to write a novel, I knew Paris would bring me an endless supply of inspiration.             “By the look, you have on your face, I think you may have figured it out.” Landon eyed me with a sparkle behind them.             “Is it Paris?”             “Oui,” Landon responded, which meant yes.             I nearly jumped out of my seat. Paris was one of those places that girls like me only ever dreamed of going to. Why would they be taking me on a trip to Paris with them, though?             “Why bring me with you? Don’t get me wrong, I am more than excited to be joining you, but this place is expensive, so why bring me with you?”             “Money isn’t an issue, Sam. The reason I brought you along was that you have been going through so much lately, that I figured you would like to have a break. A break from everyone and everything around you in your everyday life. Paris can give you that escape.”            After falling asleep, the time seemed to speed up, and we were landing in no time. I wanted to respond to Landon, but I felt like he might have been using this as more than just a simple invite. Not that he would ever try anything on me, but I would be foolish if I didn’t think there was something more going on here. I knew the way Landon felt about me, and honestly, the more time I spent around him, the more feelings I began to develop for him as well. These feelings weren’t anything compared to how strong they still were with Levi. Why in the moment I woke up was I seeing Levi sitting beside me, waking me up instead of Landon? After eight long days, I thought I was over this, over him.            Before long, we were walking into the place, I assume we were staying for the weekend. It was overlooking the Eiffel Tower, and it was stunning. The modern feel was strange seeing as where we were. I almost expected it to have a more historical feel to it. Clara headed off, leaving us to get settled in. Landon led me to a room that had a balcony. From it, I could see the Eiffel Tower perfectly, and it was almost so close I could reach out and touch it. Landon walked around quietly beside me as I examined every part of the room. When I was done, I walked back over to the balcony, resting against the railing.            Landon appeared beside me, finally breaking the silence. “What do you think?”            “It is mind-blowing. Is your room as fancy as this one is?”            “I will be staying with you. They had no other rooms available.”            My eyes nearly popped out of my head. “Um…there is only one bed.”            “There is a recliner and a sofa that I could just as easily sleep on.” He shifted uncomfortably beside me. “I tried to get another room; believe me, I did. There were other places we could have stayed in, but I knew how much you would love being this close to one of the most iconic pieces of Paris. If you are uncomfortable with the idea, I can always share the room with my mother.” He rolled his eyes, which made me giggle.            “No, it's okay. You can stay. We can work out the sleeping arrangements later. For now, I would enjoy getting out to go sightseeing. Would you like to accompany me?”            “Of course, I will be accompanying you. There is no way I would leave you alone to explore this place all by yourself!’’             We made our way out onto the crowded streets. The first destination in mind was to see the Eiffel Tower up close. Even closer than it was from the view of our hotel room. After spending quite a bit of time at the tower, we also visited the Seine river, Musee du Louvre museum, and the Notre-Dame Cathedral. The most mesmerizing of the four was the Seine river. It was breathtaking. Upon seeing it, it reminded me of my love for Levi and made me miss him terribly. The only thing I wanted to do was to pick up my phone and call him. Thinking about him, I realized it was his birthday today. Oh my god, how could I forget?             Landon had left to go and get us a bite to eat, so I quickly pulled out my phone and hit call scrolling through to his number.             "Samantha?"             "I just wanted to call and tell you happy birthday."             "Thank you. Where are you? It sounds pretty noisy."             He wasn't going to like the answer, but I was done with the secrets and lies. "I am in Paris with Landon and his mother."             Everything got eerily silent between us, but to my surprise, he didn't flip out on me like I expected him to do. "Oh, well, are you having fun?"             I smiled brightly, trying to figure out who this was I was talking to because this didn't sound like the same Levi I had last spoken to only eight days ago. "Yes, very much so. This place is astounding. I was just out overlooking at the Seine river, and it made me remember you and your birthday. It was stupid to have called. Texting you would have probably been a lot better, huh?"             "f**k no. Hearing your voice is the best damn birthday present I could have ever asked for. I just wish it was me you were there with instead of f*****g Landon."             His anger was on the surface, ready to come out, but I knew he was restraining that side of himself. Landon started walking back over to me and for some strange reason, I didn't want him to know I was talking to Levi.             "I have to go. I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday. Hope it is everything you dreamed it would be."             "It's not, but after hearing from you, it is starting to look up. Thank you for the call. Will you call me soon?"             "Maybe, I'm not sure. For now, I have to go. Goodbye Levi."             "Goodbye, baby, I love you."             Before I could respond, he ended the call.
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