Trust the Focus by Megan Erickson Read Free Book Online Page A

thinking of you.”
    “Cool.” I shut my eyes, the lids too heavy to keep open anymore.
    The laptop clicked shut, then the bed dipped and Landry’s body thudded onto the mattress beside me. I was too tired to be turned on. Right now, it was me and my best friend. And that made me smile.
    “Jus?”
    “Yeah?”
    Pause. Rustle of blankets. A sharp heel nailed me in the calf, so I grunted.
    “Sorry,” he muttered under his breath. Once he got settled, he continued, “I’m proud of you, Justin. This trip can’t be easy on you, but Charlie would have loved this.”
    I managed to turn my head and crack my eyes open. His irises glowed so blue in the moonlight. “Thanks, Lan.”
    He nodded. “That’s all. Good night.”
    “Night.”
    I was just drifting off to sleep when I heard him whisper. “Tomorrow’s gonna be so great.”
    ***
    May 13
    [Picture]
    As you can see, Mount St. Helens was beautiful. No elk or any cool animals or anything, but we saw a hawk circling overheard, and I walked into a spiderweb. We sprinkled Charlie’s ashes, took a lot of pictures, and stood in silence with our memories.
    Thanks for the comments on our first post. Please share with anyone you think would be inspired by our journey. I’m really proud of Justin. For those who have asked, he’s doing well.
    Our next stop is in Wyoming. We have a drive ahead of us, but I think I convinced Justin to stop at an amusement park for a little fun. Wish us luck and I’ll check in in a couple of days.
    1 Down
    11 To Go
    —L
    Comments
    Mia: Looks beautiful! Good luck!
    Amy: Mia told me to check out this blog. Looks great, Landry!
    Trenton: Don’t be a pussy, Akron. Go to the fucking amusement park.

Chapter Four
    Landry stood next to a six-foot-tall fiberglass block about double his width. Vertical measurements ran up the side, separated by four blocks—pup, cub, wolf, bear.
    The ugly, cheap gas station sunglasses covered his eyes, but I knew they were twinkling behind the black shades. He held another foot-long Twizzlers, chewing obnoxiously while children sidled up to get measured. The block they measured into let them know which rides they could go on. I thought it was effective. Rather than have the kids get measured at each coaster, the sign at the beginning of the line designated which “animals” the ride was appropriate for.
    Of course Landry couldn’t stop giggling at the animal names.
    “Will you get away from there?” I whisper-shouted in a lull of measuring. “Parents are trying to measure their children.”
    Landry popped his lips out and cocked a hip. “I’m kinda sad. I wanted to be a cub.”
    “Landry!”
    “You’re right, you’re not hairy enough to be a bear.”
    “For God’s sake—”
    “Little gay for Idaho, don’t you think?”
    “Landry, seriously, let’s move or I’m not doing the old-fashioned photos with you.”
    That got him moving, because he’d said in the parking lot that those photos were what he was looking forward to the most, so he could dress like a Wild West gunslinger and ask, “Is that a gun, or are you just happy to see me?”
    I told him I would not respond to that line of questioning. Then he asked me if I was looking forward to squeezing into a corset and I elbowed him in the ribs. I’d show him a badass shooter.
    We filed into line at the first coaster we encountered. It was called the Trailblazer, and the sign proudly announced that it was the first roller coaster built at the amusement park. It was wooden, patched, and sounded rickety as hell.
    A grin permanently stretched my lips and my skin tingled, anticipating the rush of air and the belly-flipping drops, as I reveled in the screams of the current riders.
    Landry was eerily quiet beside me, and when I focused on him, his eyes were wide, brow beaded with sweat.
    “You’re still freaked out about roller coasters?”
    Landry had a weird relationship with the machines. He practically came out of his skin with excitement about