They put a few blankets down on the cold ground and took out the food and wine they'd packed. They brought four extra blankets to cover up with. They would have to share.
They all laughed when they realized that Adrian and Peter would have to share one of their own since the rest had coupled up.
Aria lay down on the ground, and Lex followed, bringing the blanket with him to cover her up.
They drank and talked to their friends until Grace told them all to shut up; it had started, that she'd seen the first one.
Little bits of debris flew across the sky. Tiny shards of light so bright in the dark night sky, making their way across it in the blink of an eye.
Aria was in awe. She'd never seen a meteor before.
"Hey," Grace said. "Mara and I are going to get tattoos? Do you guys want to join?"
"Tattoos? Tattoos of what?" Peter asked.
"We haven't decided yet," Grace said, shrugging.
"Hey," Aria said, sitting up. "Why don't we all get the same one?"
"Seriously?" Lex asked.
"Yeah, why not?"
"Never pegged you for the tattoo type," he said, smirking at her.
"Well, like you said, there's a lot you don't know about me," she said, smirking right back.
"Can you guys do your weird flirting somewhere else? Like...when the rest of us don't have to watch?" Brent said.
The rest of them laughed and nodded in agreement.
She and Lex looked at one another. He shook his head, half-smiling as he laid back down.
"So, what were you saying? About the tattoos?" Grace asked.
"We should all get matching ones," Aria said, smiling at her friends.
"Why?" Adrian asked.
"Because," Aria said, looking around at all of her closest friends. "We're a family."
Grace and Mara looked at each other, smiles on their faces.
Aria turned to look at Lex, lying beside her on his back.
"What should we get?" he asked.
They all looked around at one another in silence, thinking about their options.
"The infinity symbol," Adrian said.
"Why that symbol?" Martinez asked.
"Because nothing can tear us apart. We’ll always be a family," Adrian said, looking around.
Everyone was silent, thinking about what Adrian just said.
It was true. They all shared a bond now that could never be broken. Coming here had indeed been the best thing that happened to all of them. And they wanted something to mark their life-long bond.
"Then it's settled," Grace said. "We're getting matching tattoos."
The next day, they decided to head to the village to get their tattoos. Grace claimed she knew a woman who did the best tattoos in the entire village.
On the way to her home, they discussed where they should put their matching tattoos.
It was decided that Mara would draw a small sketch of what they wanted so that the woman had a reference. An idea of what they wanted the tattoo to look like.
Aria thought about the best place for them to put them. But the ideas coming from some of the others didn't really speak to her. She didn't want to put it on her foot, the back of her neck, or behind her ear.
She looked at her hands. "Our wrists," she said, holding her own wrist up.
"Our wrists," he said, smiling at her.
"Maybe now that he got it, we should all just pick something else," Adrian said.
They were all huddled around Lex and the woman who was going to do their tattoos.
"Very funny," Lex said, looking at his wrist. He was the first one to go. "It's beautiful," he said to the woman. "Thank you."
The woman nodded and asked for the next person.
It took a while, but one by one, they all went and got their own tattoo.
Aria stared at her tattoo, now covering an ugly scar that reminded her of even uglier times. But now, the beautiful tattoo would be there to remind her of all the things that happened after she'd gotten that scar.
When they were all finished, Aria asked them to put their hands in a circle.
It was a little childish, but she couldn't help it. She wanted to remember this moment.
They each put an arm forward.
The color of their skin varied; there were freckles and scars and smooth and rough skin. Some skin was pale, some brown, some in-between. But the tattoos were the same, the same drawing in the very same spot; out in the open for all the world to see just how similar they were.
"Thank you guys," Aria said.
"For what?" Mara asked.
"I know..." she began, feeling a little embarrassed but unable to stop herself from finally telling her friends just how much they meant to her. "I know our time here has been hard. And I know that you let me be your leader. But I couldn't have done this, any of this, without you guys. So thank you. All of you."
The others looked around, smiling at one another.
They were her family.
They always would be.
Hours later, she sat on the couch in her room, sketching. She decided to try her hand at drawing them with their tattoos.
She had just finished the final touches to her drawing; eight arms extended in a circle, an infinity tattoo on each when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Ready to go to bed?" he asked.
He'd gone to bed as soon as they'd gotten home. She stayed up, drawing the picture while it was still fresh in her mind.
She placed her hand on his and leaned her head onto it.
"Yeah," she said, "I'm ready."
She got up and crawled into the bed, waiting for him to follow before she settled down.
"I can't believe everything is over," she said.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, my life has been nothing but chaos for the past year. Centered around survival. And it finally feels like it's over. Like I can breathe again."
He wrapped his arm around her waist and leaned his head on her shoulders.
"What now?" he asked.
"Now," she said, turning a little so she could look him in the eyes. "Now, we live.
The End
About The Author
Adrianna
