Distorted, and Beautiful?

Sahallie and Wyatt's hope for their trip was simple: get to the summit at Nehalem Bay, and set up camp before the darkness limited visibility.

But, things hadn't been the best between the two of them, and lately, Sahallie had wondered if Wyatt even found any interest in her still.

It was something to be said that a woman's intuition often foreshadowed a horrible event, and most of Sahallie's thoughts had been full of the possibilities.

As if she could feel the palpable distance between the two of them, even as he reached over to put his hand on her knee and gently squeeze it. She forced a smile to her face, and he winked at her as she glanced Wyatt's way.

In the distance, the distorted colors of the summer forest flew by - bright green and red, and a few blossoms of wild blackberry filtered past her vision so fast that she almost couldn't identify the plants.

However, being a native to the Pacific Northwest, Sahallie had even been named after a road between Tillamook and Astoria - and she knew the terrain well enough to make some healthy guesstimates.

The Red Baneberry was the most notable even as they flew down the road. The messages in between, as her mind wrestled with her nervousness and uncertainty about their relationship, seemed to be a warning that she wanted to brush away from her mind. Surely, this was just the result of her anxiety, and why would Wyatt go through all the trouble of taking them on this trip if he didn't want to spend time with her?

And yet, as Wyatt suddenly hit the fuck it button when his phone began to ring off the hands-free stand on his dash, Sahallie felt a strange emotion that hit her like a sledgehammer in the stomach. She choked back the sensation, knowing that her thoughts and feelings didn't substantiate thinking the worst of him.

"Who was that?" she asked, hoping her tone didn't defy her courage by revealing the suspicion that now coursed through her mind.

"Who was what?" Wyatt asked, flipping to Spotify and turning the volume up as he grinned back at her.

"Whoever just called?" she asked, perking her brow.

"I thought work knew you were going off the beaten path and you wouldn't be bothered for the whole trip. Isn't that what you said?" she finished.

"Well, I didn't answer so, they're stuck with it, aren't they? It was probably the new manager looking to staff a no-show, but I gave them the heads up on this weeks ago. I'm damn sure not driving all the way back three hours home when we're practically there. I'm honestly surprised there was even service through here." Wyatt explained. Sahallie pursed her lips, but instead of vocalizing, she pondered inwardly on his eerily calm demeanor, while her internal dialogue sensed something was just not right.

"Hm, I guess...does it seem like the visibility out here suddenly got a little off?" Sahallie asked, trailing her words as she glanced above at the suddenly darkening sky, and the eerie mist that seemed to float just above the treeline.

"I mean, it's the coastal mountains. It's a rainforest, really, Sah." He explained, his eyes never once moving from the road as he wound about a chicane and sucked in a deep breath.

"What does Nehalem even mean?" She asked, her voice steady as a neutral as possible, as if she felt obligated to be gracious rather than take the moment to ask him about the distortion of their relationship, and the beauty of what she thought they once had, but somehow felt strained and unnatural - even as they traveled to what should've been a romantic getaway where they could reconnect?