Chapter 10: Chapter 10

"And you're sure you've packed everything?" Charlie asked for what must've been the millionth time.

"Yes dad, I have everything." Juliet nodded. "Triple checked and everything."

"Good, good." Charlie nodded. "I just don't want you girls getting stranded and not having enough supplies."

"We'll be fine, dad. We're gonna stock up on food when we get to Vancouver anyway." Charlie still looked unsure. Juliet was honestly surprised when he agreed to let her go on a month long road trip around the state with Leah. Course, she was nearly 18 now, and he had to start letting her out on her own more often. She called it good practice for when she was an adult.

"And you remember how to use that sat phone right? I can show you again." Juliet cut Charlie off with a small laugh, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"Dad. You taught me how to use one of those when I was five. I'll be fine." Charlie still looked uneasy. "I gotta go, we wanna make some progress today."

"Right, yeah." Charlie nodded, and she dropped her hands. "And you'll call when you stop for the night?"

"Every night, I swear." She nodded, pulling open the drivers side door. "Love you, dad."

"Wait, wait, wait." He said, and she stopped before she could get in. "You're not leaving without giving me a hug." She rolled her eyes playfully, dropping her keys on her seat before going around her door, wrapping Charlie in a hug that he quickly returned. "You two stay safe out there. And keep an eye on your gas tank."

"I will." She insisted as they pulled away, and she took a few steps towards her truck. "Bye dad, love you."

"Love you too, Jules." He nodded, watching as she got in. As she was backing out, he waved. "Have fun!"

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"So." Juliet climbed into the truck bed, the net laying flat behind her. They'd set up a mattress in the truck bed to sleep in, covered by the hardshell she already had for her truck. Juliet had also homemade a mosquito net that would cover the back for when they wanted some air at night. "How was the first day? Not too boring?" Leah snorted, pushing the bag of chips towards her.

"How could being stuck in a car with you and a ton of 80s cassettes ever be boring?" Juliet pushed her lightly while digging around in the bag. "It's a pretty sunset tonight."

"I know right?" Juliet nodded, looking out. They'd driven down the 101 to McGowan where they could park on the beach for a night and not get a ticket. "So tomorrow, do you wanna go straight to Astoria? Or do we wanna head back North to Chinook for breakfast and then cross the bridge?"

"Let's just get food there." Leah lounged back against the pillows. They'd both brought every single pillow they had in their rooms, leading to nearly 20 being stacked up behind them. "We should get to Vancouver by lunch, that'll probably give us enough time to go up to Mt. Saint Helens in the afternoon."

"I'll probably be dark if we decide to drive all the way up to Yakima." Juliet frowned, looking at the map Leah had spread out in front of them. "It's probably better to go to Kennewick if we want to go to Walla Walla too. If not, then we could go to Yakima before going up to Moses Lake?"

"Eh, forget Walla Walla, Moses Lake is way prettier." Leah waved her hand. "We really should've planned this out before hand." Juliet snorted.

"I wanted to, but you insisted on winging it." She reminded, earning a soft punch on the arm. "Anyway, that'll keep us busy for a few days. We'll probably have to start doing some doubling back if we want to see Leavenworth, Chelan and Winthrop. But we could hit Seattle on the way back so I'm not too worried about it." Juliet leaned back, trying and failing to hold back a yawn. "I still wanna go up to Baker, too. And maybe Rainier if we have time."

"You do realize all these mountains are covered in snow right? They're gonna look the same." Juliet rolled her eyes.

"It's called experience, Leah." She sighed. "Besides, I bet you won't be saying that when we're standing on top of a snow covered inactive volcano."

"Which one?"

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"God, look at that!" Juliet laughed, looking out. Sure, the past few weeks hadn't been the easiest, but what's a road trip without a few hiccups? Popped tire, nearly running out of gas in the middle of a mountain range-the typical road trip problems. But, they'd finally made it as far North as they were going to go. Mt. Baker stood at over ten thousand feet, while the ski area parking lot Juliet and Leah found themselves in was just shy of five thousand feet. Despite it being the middle of July and extremely sunny out, thick snow still covered the mountain, as a fresh layer had fallen the night before. Juliet was standing at one end of the parking lot, looking out at the mountain range that extended out, far up into Canada.

Leah stood a ways back, one of Juliet's 35mm cameras hanging around her neck. Juliet had insisted that Leah try to doing some art while on the trip, as that's really what this was-an excuse for Juliet to paint more than the reservation and things she saw on tv. So, Leah agreed to take pictures. The sun made the snow around them glitter, and Leah joked that Juliet's skin nearly did the same. Raising the camera, Leah adjusted the focus slightly before taking a picture, Juliet's smiling side profile being contrasted with the stark white mountain behind her.

"It's so beautiful up here, Leah." Juliet turned to her, and Leah stepped closer. "Don't you just wish you could live here?"

"You're telling me you want to live on the top of a mountain?" Juliet nodded excitedly. "Jesus, this trip has really driven you crazy." Juliet rolled her eyes, looking back out.

"How do you not?" Juliet asked. "I mean, first of all, have you ever breathed air this fresh? It's so nice, not all salty like it is as home. Second, look around you. You're telling me that you wouldn't love a little log cabin nestled up in some trees in the snow? Come on, that's a dream."

"Well, you can have fun being eaten by bears and mountain lions in your dream." Leah snorted.

"You're no fun, you know that?" Juliet joked. "Anyway, even you can appreciate how pretty this is. Imagine how many people will never see something like this in real life, and it's a few hours from where we live. That's crazy."

"Ah, this again." Leah snorted. "Washington's natural beauty, you're never leaving, I've heard it all before." Juliet pouted at her. "But yes, I'll give you this one. It's not everyday I find myself standing in a mountain range, is it?" A smile spread across Juliet's face.

"Lemmie take a picture of you." Leah frowned almost immediately. "Oh come on, Lee! Just one? Please?"

"Why?" Leah sighed.

"Because! We've been on this trip for nearly a month and you haven't let me take any of you yet!" Juliet whined. "Please?" Leah sighed, pulling the camera off and holding it out.

"Just one." Leah crossed her arms over her chest.

"Come on, at least pretend like you're having fun." Juliet joked. Leah rolled her eyes, unable to help the smile on her face. The loud, mechanical 'click!' sounded and Juliet lowered the camera. "Thank you."

"I don't see why you wanted that so much." Leah huffed, taking the camera back. "Because, dummy, memories. That and I don't nearly have enough pictures of you. You're too camera shy."

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"Ah, Seattle." Leah smiled, and Juliet's face scrunched up. "I really don't get why you hate it here so much, it's not even that bad."

"It's a city, Leah." Juliet frowned. "Bleh. Too many people, too much stuff." She shook her head lightly. "No, the only good thing about Seattle is that it's famous enough that sometimes we get some good concerts."

"Well, I can't argue with that." Leah nodded, glancing at the Space Needle. "That blown glass museum is pretty cool, too."

"Ooh, yeah." Juliet nodded. "Are we going?" Leah chuckled at her excitement.

"Sure, sure." She nodded, and Juliet squealed in excitement. "As long as we can go to the aquarium too."

"Of course." Juliet almost sounded offended at the suggestion that they wouldn't have gone there anyway, making Leah laugh.