"Wake up, Chas."
"Don't wanna."
John pushed the boy, receiving only a grunt in return. "Come on, kid, sun's up. Let's go."
"Few more minutes."
"I've given you a few more minutes, to the tune of 45 of 'em. Now get up."
When he received no reply, John grabbed onto the blanket and sheets and yanked them off the bed. Chas curled up like a roly-poly bug, ducking his head and shivering.
"Jooooohn…"
"I'm leavin' without you, kid. You're walkin' home."
Well, that certainly had the desired effect. Chas was out of bed and scrambling to the bathroom on John's first step toward the door, and John only had time to smoke half a cigarette before the kid was ready to go.
"How far do you wanna make it today?" Chas asked, pulling on his jacket.
"Where are we right now?"
"Three hours from Vegas."
John took a drag off his cigarette, averting his gaze as Chas stretched and unintentionally showed a flash of smooth skin on his stomach.
"Let's try to make Denver tonight. Maybe we can cut this little joyride down to three days."
They headed out to the car, throwing their bags in and waiting a few moments for John to finish his cigarette.
"Hey John…"
"Yeah?"
"Our route goes really really close to the Grand Canyon, you know."
John quirked an eyebrow. "Only if you get us lost."
"I'm serious, John! It's one of the seven wonders of the natural world, you know."
"So is your mouth, evidently, cause it never stops running."
"Joooohn…"
John sighed as Chas's whining tugged at him. "Chas, if we take a side trip, we'll be lucky if we make it to Salt Lake City before dark. We'll lose a day on the trip."
"But I've always wanted to see the Grand Canyon, John! We won't stay long, I swear. I just wanna get outta the car and take a look."
"No, Chas."
"Please?"
"No."
"Pretty please?"
"NO, Chas!"
-------- 12 hours later ------
Chas pulled up into a parking space, and then he practically leapt out of the car. John sat there and fumed for a few moments before following suit, get out and lighting up a cigarette.
"I can't believe you talked me into driving all the way out here to see a big hole in the ground," he muttered to Chas as they walked.
"Hey, it's like a two billion year old hole in the ground. Have some respect."
"I can't believe you got lost twice getting here."
"I was trying to practice my Spanish by following the Spanish road signs! I had good intentions!"
"Because 'Peach Tree Road' in Spanish is so damn similar to 'Grand Canyon This Way'."
"Hey, I didn't say my Spanish was perfect, I just said…"
At that moment, Chas trailed off. They'd just walked past the row of buildings, and in front of them was the 'big hole in the ground'.
"Oh my God…" Chas whispered, and John blinked in surprise. He'd never seen the kid was awestruck, in all this time with the kid as a driver.
Chas took off at a sprint, and John chuckled and followed him at a walk. Chas skidded to a stop ten feet from the edge, the stiff breeze tousling his curls and the setting sun highlighting his features.
"Isn't it amazing, John?"
John's eyes didn't move from his young apprentice. "Sure is."
Chas stepped forward to the edge, and John felt his stomach do a flip. He stepped forward, reached out, and grabbed Chas's shoulder, and Chas looked over his shoulder at him.
The wind was perfect, flipping his curls toward his face. The light was perfect, making Chas's skin glow and his eyes reflect intense color. And placed in front of that amazing backdrop, that intense void, right on the edge…John was taken aback.
"John, I won't fall," Chas said, smiling. John was about to argue, but then he forced himself to let go.
Chas took the remaining few steps to the edge, looked down, and then sat down and let his legs dangle into the Grand Canyon. John stared after him for a moment, debated, and then took a seat beside him.
There was at least a 500 foot drop to the nearest ledge below them, and that seemed to fascinate Chas. When he wasn't looking at the sheer drop-off, he was arching his neck to try and see the river down at the bottom of the canyon, or just taking in large breaths of the fresh air.
"Can you believe this place?" He said, his voice distant, distracted.
"It's interesting, kid," John said with a chuckle.
"I've always wanted to come here. I mean, when I was little I saw an ad for cigarettes in a magazine, and this was in the background. But I never thought…"
He trailed off again, and sighed heavily. John looked out at the canyon, and then back at Chas. The kid was so enthralled, so entranced that he couldn't bear to let that go, not yet.
"I'll tell you what…you stay put, and I'll go reserve a room here for the night. I'll come back and get you."
Chas looked over at John, his eyes wide. "Really?" He asked with child-like enthusiasm.
John snickered. "Chas, even if we started off tonight, we would hardly make it to the Utah border, and that's so desolate we'd be lucky to find a roach motel. At least here we'll have hot water and a nice view."
John got up and headed to the nearest hotel, a huge lodge with a very old west feel to it. It was like a huge hunting lodge in the inside, and he hesitantly walked up to the desk.
"Welcome to the El Tovar Hotel, may I help you?" The girl at the desk said, looking John up and down with amusement. Suits were obviously out of place here.
"Yeah…I know this is short notice, but I'd like a room just for tonight. Two double beds."
The girl bit her lip. "I'm pretty sure we're full up, sir. It is the high season for tourists. But I'll take a look," she said, tapping away on the computer keyboard. John waiting patiently as she studied the screen, scrolling down.
"Oh, you're in luck! One of our guests left earlier, due to sickness. But he was in the master suite."
"Expensive?"
"I'm afraid that's an understatement, sir."
John was about to say no, but then he thought of where Chas was used to living. One night in a very expensive room would far from hurt his wallet, after the recent boom of expensive relics he'd come across and sold.
"Sure, sure. I'll take it."
She typed a little more. "It's a one bed suite, sir, a king sized. Is that okay?"
"Can you bring up a roll-away bed?"
"I think they're all taken, sir, but I'll see what I can do."
"You do that. Thanks."
John paid for the room, got the key, and quickly walked back out to where Chas was still sitting transfixed on the edge of the canyon. He walked out and gently nudged Chas with his foot, and the boy smiled.
"You get a room?"
"Sure did. Come on, let's get the bags. You can come back out here once we've got the stuff in the room."
This is gonna be one helluva long night if they can't get that extra bed, John thought, watching Chas excitedly start back toward the car.