Twisted (20 page)

Maddie stole her eyes away from the lean, piece of meat,
hooked beneath her.  "What took you two so long?" she squealed, eyes
narrowed at me.

"What are you talking about?  Your ice cream hasn't even
melted yet, so we couldn't have been that long," I argued.

"Abby, what would you like?  I can get it for you,"
Tanner offered, as Jay tossed him a ten dollar bill.

"I'd love a scoop of moose tracks on a cone, if they
have it."

"They do," Maddie said, holding up her half-eaten
ice cream.

I smiled at her and nodded.  After a short, but heated
exchange of looks with Aliah, I sat on the wooden seat next to her.  Before
long, Tanner returned with my ice cream cone, and not a minute too soon.  I
could use the refreshment, the sun still beating strong.

Tanner handed me the cone, noticed the pile of bird poop on
the only vacant seat across from Aliah, and then moped over to the empty table
next to us.  "I guess I'll just sit over here all by myself."  He was
being sarcastic, but feeling for his situation, I shoved tight up against Aliah
to make room for him.

I slapped the bench beside me.  "You're not sitting
alone when there's plenty of room right here," I said.

Tanner happily slid into the small place, right next to me,
nearly flipping the small table.  "Such a nice girl," he teased, giving
me a wink.

Aliah gasped and nearly swallowed her cone in one gulp.

In the close proximity, and since Tanner was mocking me, I just
couldn't help myself.  I bumped his hand intentionally and his ice cream
blobbed on his nose.

He grabbed both of my wrists playfully and nudged his nose
toward my face.  "Now you have to lick it off," he teased.

Aliah let out another gasp, but I was too busy squealing and
scuffling to get away from his grip to notice.  Jay and Maddie were laughing
too, as Tanner tried to force his nose in my mouth.  I pressed my lips together,
fighting off a smile, when I noticed Aliah's continued horror.

Intuition flaring, I shoved Tanner off of me and he backed
away, realizing something was up.  Once he leaned back, I glanced around him
and saw that Hunter and TJ were already stopped next to the table.  Edwin was
walking up, and had clearly caught the whole scene.  Everyone else had fallen
silent, Edwin’s anger fueled by my nonchalance.

I gulped back my nerve and managed to draw my eyes up to meet
Edwin’s.  Bad idea.  His furious dark stare was sparking with anger.

"Hey, what's goin’ on?" I said casually and took a
lick of my ice cream.  I was in for it.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Edwin
snapped, his features sharp and edgy.  He shook his head at me in disgust. 
"You know what?  I don't want to know.  I'm outta here.  You do what you
want."  He stomped off toward the cabins and my heart shattered into
pieces.

"Wait Edwin!  I can explain."  I shoved Tanner
aside and clambered away from the table.  My ice cream dropped from my hand,
but I just left it there to chase after him.  He was too fast.  "Edwin,
please," I cried.

He stopped long enough to shoot me the coldest look from his
frosty aqua eyes.  "Don't bother wasting your time.  You don't owe me
anything," he said snidely, then waved me off.  He left me standing there,
frozen in place, as our relationship flashed before me.

Tears stung the back of my eyes and I closed them to keep
them at bay.  One of the guys dared to confront me.  He placed his hand on my
shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"Don't touch me."  Throwing his arm off of me,
anger my driving force, I scowled at him.

"I'll go talk to him," Hunter said, ignoring my
overreaction.  He had done nothing wrong.

"I'm coming with you," I said.  Looking back to the
crowd, all eyes were still on me.  "I'm sorry," I said, glancing at
everyone but Tanner.  "Thanks for the ice cream Jay."

"Any time.”

I hurried to catch up with Hunter, panic twisting my insides
and worry striking my heart.

"So what
is
going on?" Hunter said, so
accusatory.  "Or do I want to know?"

"
Nothing
is going on Hunter.  It was just a
misunderstanding.  We're friends, that's it," I explained.

"Then I'm sure Edwin will get over it.  But it'll
probably take some time; as in not now.  Maybe you should head back."

I huffed with disappointment, at him and at myself.  I
couldn't turn back.  "He's pretty pissed, eh?"

"Yeah, but wouldn't you be?  I know if I saw Aliah
sitting next to that guy, I would've been pretty pissed too, and we’re not even
exclusive."

It hurt my heart to hear him say that, mostly because I
couldn't imagine the pain I would feel if Edwin had done the same to me. 
"It probably looks way worse than it is," I said, but it didn’t help.

"Yeah, try telling him that right now, you'll get nowhere
fast.  Why don't you look at the situation from his perspective?"

Edwin was nearly at the cabin when I finally called out to
him again, ignoring Hunter's advice.  "Edwin, please.  We need to
talk."

He stopped at the door and I closed the distance between us. 
"No.  There's nothing to talk about," he boomed.  "Why don't you
go back to your little boyfriend?  You two looked pretty cozy together until I
walked up."

I stepped even closer to him, but stopped a few feet away. 
The way he looked at me, with such hatred in his eyes, it was like he was
stabbing an icy javelin into my heart.

"Edwin, stop talking or I know you'll say something
you'll regret," Hunter insisted.

"No, I have to talk to him," I cried.

Edwin fixed me with a cold, hard stare.  "I told you I'm
not talking to you.  Forget it.  It's over."

AFTER
RETRIEVING THE ICY javelin from my swollen heart, I stared at the door slammed
in my face.  I surrounded myself in the sounds that were real to me: birds
chirping, flowers swaying, and the leaves rustling in the late afternoon
breeze, heart pounding, people laughing and the oxygen draining from my lungs.

"Maybe you should go," Hunter suggested, as he
headed for the door.  Before he went inside, he turned back and looked at me
with concern in his eyes.  "I'll do what I can."

"Thanks," I breathed with a whisper.

Edwin was inconsolable.  I was in shock. 
What am I going
to do?
  Lost in my own misery, tears built up in my eyes.  I made slow work
of the flagstone path, my knees weak with regret.  Panic set in as my watery
green gaze returned to the direction of the crime scene.  The clan was heading
my way.  But I can't face them.  Not now.  In fact, I prefer never to see
Tanner Bradshaw's handsome, honest face ever again.

A dreadful tear leaked from my eye, as I hurried behind the
cabin.  My breath ragged, my insides twisted in a desolate knot of frustration,
I dashed through the trees until I reached the trail that Edwin and I had taken
the night before.  I ran and I ran, as fast as my legs would carry me.  Edwin's
cold aqua eyes haunted me, driving me faster and farther away.  Perspiration
mingled with my tears, a steady stream flowing from my cheeks and dripping down
my bare neck.  As long as I was running then my body was in control and so I
ran until I couldn't run anymore.

When my body gave out, I stepped off the trail and bent over
sobbing, holding my side with one hand, a tree in the other.  My chest heaved
from exertion.  I was spent, but I was alive.  Sweat poured from my forehead
and my body screamed with ache as loud as my heart.  I tried to fight the
imminent despair and depression, but it washed over me like a cold November
rain.  I choked on my emotions as my unsteady breathing steered my tattered
thoughts.

I fell to one knee, just catching myself before I crashed
onto the forest floor.  Worried that the few hikers on an intersecting trail
might catch up with me, I decided it best to distance myself from this trail
and the life attached to it.  They would definitely ask me if I was okay. 
I
am so not okay.

I clawed at the nearby tree, draining what was left of my energy
to pull myself to my feet.  Drawing on that last reserve, I darted into the
wilderness to find a thinking rock.  I didn’t want to get lost, but I didn’t
want to be found either.

My blurry eyes scattered franticly across the forest floor, as
red eyes loomed fresh in my memories and startled what was left of my rational
thoughts.  A collection of large boulders were dispersed close by and I decided
that one of them would have to suffice.  I chose a huge one with a flat face,
far enough off the trail that no one could see me, but close enough that I
wouldn't get lost if I decided to go back.  I lied back on the rock with a hand
over my wet, scalding forehead. 
Right now, I can't imagine ever going back.

I knew it wouldn’t be long before the bugs came out and I was
wearing nothing but a skimpy bikini top and thread-bare jean shorts. 
Eat
me.  See if I care.

My eyes burned.  I squeezed them shut, my worries dancing
around like zombies in my head.  A loud cry echoed through the wilderness. 
I
did this.
  How can I make Edwin see that it's him I love?  If I could only
read his mind, know what he was thinking.  I scowled at myself. 
Yeah,
because I can read minds.

From the haunting look in Edwin's eyes, I knew he wouldn't
forgive me.  He has never delivered such a cruel eye in all of our years. 
Hunter didn't stand a chance.  Aliah would only make matters worse.  Maddie was
only thinking of herself right now. 
I’m doomed.

What were they thinking bringing Tanner and Jay back to our
site?  Do they want to witness a blood bath?  I knew one thing for sure: when
Edwin was done with Tanner, he'll finish me off next; as if his words weren’t
already enough to crush me.  My tears boiled over and I sobbed.  My sight was
near blind again, when I delivered myself some soul destroying news. 
What
if Edwin refuses to forgive me?
 
Will he move out when we get home? 
Will he expect me to leave?  This is all my fault.

After hours of lonely torment, I could feel the strain from
behind my sockets.  It hurt just to open my eyes.  I lowered my head and
pressed my fingertips into my skull hoping to alleviate some of the pain.  It
didn't work.  I lied back against the warm rock, my face now shadowed from the
dropping sun, as the hot day in hell dragged on.  I wondered if it would ever end,
or if I had been banished there for life.  Miserable.  Alone.

My stomach growled, but that was the least of my concerns.  Instead,
I wished I could just close my eyes and it would all be over.  But I wouldn't
be so lucky.  Instead of being faced with Edwin's painful stare, I was forced
to confront red eyes glowing in the shadows of my darkest memories.  My eyes
were squeezed shut and I fought the need to open them.  Anything was better
than Edwin's pain.  I knew it could only be a figment of my imagination, but
the memory was so real.  Plastered to the rock in fear, I dared myself to face
my inner demons.

Holding onto that terrifying image, I relived the moment when
the monster approached me, frozen beneath her hot, penetrating stare.  But this
time Edwin was not there with me.  I looked everywhere, thrashing about, but he
did not come to my rescue.  I was alone.  Almost.  I glared confidently at the
entity and it stared back into my soul.  I could smell the end of my mortality
on its breath, as I swallowed my own, hoping the monster would just relieve me
of my life already.  As it dominated my strength, it pierced my broken heart. 
I
give up.

My sister Aubrey’s voice rang loud in my ears:
Winners
aren't people who never fail, they're people who never give up.
  As my life
flashed before my eyes, and a poisonous burning flowed through my veins, I
changed my mind. 
I'm not ready to die.
  A crying baby startled my
thoughts, reminding me of my purpose in life.  A baby.

My eyes burst open and I forced myself to sit up, as I
listened to the echo of my own screaming voice in the empty darkness.  Having
fallen asleep from exhaustion, the day had passed me by.  Daylight was fading
fast, but the fact that the sun hadn't yet disappeared flooded me with relief,
the only emotion left in me.  It wouldn't be long before I was surrounded in blackness,
alone in the wilderness with my wild imagination.  I got to my feet, surprised
that my physical pain had subsided, and rushed through the brush toward the
path.

My pace was steady, but I had nothing left in me to move my
limbs any faster than that.  Darkness ushered in around me, though my weary
nerves didn't seem to take notice.  The hot night fell before I reached the
resort.  It wasn't far now.  I could see a cabin in the distance, though it was
obscured from the combination of my exhausted eyes and the black night.  I
stopped in my tracks, but the wind kept blowing behind me.  I'm not ready to
hear Edwin say those words again. 
It’s over.
  My ears rang, my eyes
dripped, as I turned down a narrow sandy path toward the beach. 
The beach. 
Where it all began.

The boardwalk creaked beneath my feet, the mosquitos stole my
blood, goose bumps devoured both of my arms, and still I was dead to the
world.  The leaves danced with the trees, the waves lapped against the sand,
the crickets chirped their mating call and there I walked alone.  I tugged off
one sandal, then the other.  I sunk my toes in the sand begging to feel
something.  Anything.  Nothing.