The day buzzes by in a relaxing, and incredibly amazing day. Who would have known that hanging out in the woods with nowhere to go would be so great? Tully and I escaped the boys and followed the little creek for a good twenty minutes and found that it came out into a huge pond or lake or whatever the hell it’s called. All I know is that it had crystal clear water with perfect pebbles along the bottom. The sun glistened off it and it was simply radiant. We ended up going back and getting the boys before taking a swim and hoping to God that there were no weird creatures hiding within.
We gathered wood for the fire, we made ourselves a really shitty lunch, and we laughed. It was an incredible day. It gave me hope that maybe our little group could go back to normal. Tully and Rivers didn’t fight from the second they stepped out of the car. You know, there were the normal little stabs here and there, but they came from a good place. It wasn’t the ugly taunting and hating on each other that they’ve been doing lately.
The day has been incredible…until now.
The sun went down a little while ago and the chill has started to seep into the air. I pull my blanket more firmly around me, despite the fact that the fire has been burning strong for the past hour. I mean, it’s doing a great job of keeping my legs warm, but the rest of me is starting to feel the cold. I’d brought my blanket and pillow over here purely for the whole comfort factor, but now I’m wondering if I should go and start rifling through my bag for a hoodie.
I pull my stick out of the fire before dunking my melted marshmallow in a cup of Bailey’s and devouring it. Mmmm, now that’s perfection. I thought Tully was going insane as I watched her dunk a marshmallow into the cup of Bailey’s, but she insisted I try it and now there’s no way I can go back to eating them plain. It’s freaking delicious.
Rivers lays on the ground in front of the fire, propping his head up on his elbow, watching the flames before him as they light up his face. Noah sits beside me, hand held in mine as he plays with his phone in the other. A second later, he tosses the phone aside as music comes pouring out of the speakers, making the night that much better.
Noah looks up at his sister from across the fire. “You never told us how your date with Rocko went?”
My eyes shoot down to Rivers who hasn’t moved an inch. His eyes are still focused on the fire, but something tells me he’s listening intently. Tully pushes another marshmallow onto the end of her stick before hovering it over the fire. “I didn’t think you’d want to hear about it,” she murmurs in a nervous tone, her voice barely audible over the soft crackling of the fire.
The fact that this is a dangerous topic isn’t lost on anyone.
“Of course, I want to hear about it,” Noah says. “You’re my sister. I need to know if the guy is going to be hanging around and if I have to play nicely or if you realized what a fucking tool he is.”
“He isn’t a tool. He’s actually kind of…sweet,” she muses. “I mean, he’s a bit rough around the edges and a bit cocky, but apart from that, he’s ok.”
And just like that, we all have our answer. Rocko won’t be hanging around for long. She might try a few more times, see if she can build a connection with him, but looks like he’ll just be mindless fun for now.
“Just ok?” Rivers murmurs.
“Just ok,” she confirms, neither one of them looking at each other.
A breath escapes Noah and I glance over to see him struggling with whatever he’s wanting to say. I squeeze his hand and his thumb instinctively rubs back and forth over my knuckles. He watches his sister silently for a moment. “Why are you dating him?”
“What do you mean?” she questions cautiously as Rivers sits up so he can read her expressions more clearly.
“Rocko. You don’t like him. So, I don’t understand why you’re wasting your time with him when you’re clearly in love with Rivers.”
My mouth drops open as the four of us sit in silence, not one of us knowing what to do or say. It’s like Voldemort. It’s the topic that is known but not talked about. Never talked about. Especially in this company.
Tully’s breath comes in deeper as her eyes flick across to Rivers, both looking equally as shocked that Noah would say that or that he even knew how she felt. “It’s true though, right? You love him?”