CHAPTER TEN
- THEN -
Four years ago
I WAS HOT AND sweaty. I also needed to use the bathroom, but was putting that off until it was absolutely necessary. Needless to say, I wasn’t having the greatest time of my life.
This wasn’t my first time camping. We used to go all the time when I was younger, and I’d really enjoyed myself. In fact, I’d loved going camping. This time though... not so much. I didn’t know what it was, but I remained in a constant state of irritation. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Kellan and Dad had built a fire last night, but Dad had made me step back when I’d tried to help. Or the fact that they’d both just left to go fish by the lake, and an invitation hadn’t been sent my way. I didn’t even like fishing and Dad knew that, so I wasn’t sure why I was annoyed.
It was supposed to be a family trip, but it seemed to me that this weekend was turning into more of a male bonding excursion. I hadn’t minded so much at first. I’d hung out with Mom. She’d been fine yesterday, laughing, and glowing from the light of the fire at night. But she was feeling tired today and had just gone to her tent to take a nap.
I sighed, and debated heading into my own tent for a nap. It would help the time pass, but I wasn’t tired at all. After flipping through a magazine I’d brought along with me, I grabbed my iPod dock, and got up to find Dad and Kellan.
It was a short walk to the lake. We weren’t in the middle of the wilderness like Dad would like us all to think. Instead, we were at a popular campsite a few hours away from home. A lot of people came out here to camp out by the lake, but so far, we’d only seen a handful of other people.
It was kind of like a holiday resort without a hotel. The camping ground really just gave the illusion that we were out here at one with nature. There were communal bathrooms and electricity. A path decorated with small electric lanterns led the way from the campsite towards the lake, the bathroom areas, and back towards the highway. There was a shop where you could rent fishing gear and purchase other food and supplies.
I found Dad and Kellan sitting in two deckchairs near the lake, talking amiably to themselves.
I had no idea how Dad had managed to convince Kellan to come along on this trip. It didn’t exactly seem like his kind of scene. I remembered the kids he’d used to hang out with in high school and could only imagine the things they used to do for fun. Still, he was here, much to everyone’s surprise.
I sat down in the shade under a large tree, and switched the iPod dock on. It was wireless and had been a Christmas gift from Dad.
Dad turned around as music poured through the small speakers, looking surprised to see me. “Everything okay, sweetheart?”
“Yeah, Mom’s just taking a nap. So I thought I’d come down here and keep you company,” I told him, leaning back against the bark of the tree.
After almost an hour of sitting under the tree, just listening to the music, the tranquility of the lake and the serene atmosphere began to lose its appeal and got really freaking boring. Dad and Kellan seemed content to just sit there and wait all day. They were in their own little world, looking relaxed and drowsy from the sun blazing down on them.
An old song that I’d danced to all the time back when I took Ballet began playing on my iPod. I’d been sad when the school had cancelled the after school Ballet classes, but excited that I’d get to hang out at Dad’s school and maybe bump into Kellan. The music sent waves of memories through me – most of which were not pleasant at all. Mom had been at her worst when I’d been taking those lessons, and fear had been my constant companion back then.
Feeling antsy and curious if I could still do any of the moves, I stood up and began going through some old stretches.
Listening to the music, I moved into one of the most practiced poses I could remember, the Arabesque position. I stood on my toes, and carefully lifted my left leg up. Keeping both knees straight, I extended my left leg up behind my body as far as it would go, my right hand raised in the air. I stilled, seeing how long I could hold the position.
‘Legs straight, head forward, don’t frown...’ I could recall my Ballet instructor’s words clearly.
I heard some clapping and opened my eyes to see that Dad had gotten up and was facing me. “You look good, sweetheart,” Dad said. “I don’t know why you ever quit.”
“Thanks.” I smiled as I let my arms and legs relax, and rolled my shoulders. I’d forgotten how much they could ache after practice.
“I’m going to check on your mom and make a start on prepping dinner.”
“I’ll cook it,” I offered quickly. Dad had hovered near me last night whenever he’d thought I was too close to the open fire – as though I’d trip and fall in. He was way too overprotective at times, and it had exasperated me increasingly as the night wore on.
“I think I can manage. You just enjoy yourself. We don’t want you to burn yourself,” Dad said. Seeing my exasperation, he added, “or our dinner.”
He kissed me on the forehead before he disappeared back towards the trail leading to our tents.
I sighed and started the music back up from the start. I resumed my earlier position, and then let my leg drop. Standing on both my toes, I brought my hands together on top of my head in a circle. I paused, holding still.
“Don’t pull a muscle, precious, or we’ll have to rush you straight to the emergency room,” Kellan said, imitating Dad’s voice.
I huffed as I dropped my arms and glared at him. “Screw you.”
“Don’t let your Dad catch you talking like that.” He smirked, amused at my annoyance. I always seemed to be amuse to him. I hated it
I grabbed my iPod dock, ready to head back to the campsite. He turned back around to face the lake just as something tugged on his fishing line. He bent forward to untie the fishing pole, and began to quickly reel in the rope. Curiously, I moved up behind him.
“Have you–” I began.
Kellan jumped forward, seemingly startled by my voice. He lost his footing and fell right into the lake.
I blinked at him for a second, before breaking out into loud laughter. Kellan came up to the surface of the lake, spluttering. I clutched at my stomach, doubled over from laughter.
He glared at me, but the vehemence in his face was lost by his hair plastered to his face, making him look very much like a drowned rat.
I would have killed for a camera.
* * *
I turned over later that night, trying to get comfortable. Though the days were blazingly hot, the nights tended to get cold. Dad had fixed up a space heater in my tent for me last night, but it only had one setting. Having it switched on made my tent too hot, but turning it off left me freezing. Finally, I unzipped my sleeping back and stuck a foot out of it.
That felt better.
I finally began to doze off when I felt something tickle my foot.
Something wet.
And slimy.
Looking down, I saw a small, green lizard on the floor by my foot.
I screamed bloody murder, scrambling out of the sleeping bag as fast as I could. I fumbled with the zip on my tent, desperate to get out of the small, enclosed space and as far away from the little green monster as I could.
I scrambled out of my tent, still screaming as Mom and Dad shuffled out of theirs.
“What is it?” Mom asked, alarmed. “April?”
“Lizard,” I gasped.
Dad looked confused. “What?”
“There’s a lizard in my tent... it was right next to my sleeping bag,” I said, my voice wavering.
“Oh, you poor thing,” Mom said soothingly. She put her arm around me, and I relaxed into her hold.
Dad shook his head, the alertness in his expression fading drastically now that he knew I wasn’t being attacked by an axe murderer. “I’ll get rid of it.” Dad rubbed at his head and yawned.
“I won’t be able to sleep in there!” I protested with a shiver, my mind conjuring up images of more lizards creeping into my tent as I slept.
Dad sighed. “I’ll sleep in here tonight. You can share with your mom.”
Mom rubbed my back as Dad picked up the lizard and walked into the forest to deposit it far far away from the campsite.
I turned, only then realizing that Kellan had been sitting on a log near the campfire in the middle of our campsite. He looked up at me, not at all sluggish or bleary-eyed like Mom and Dad had been. He looked wide awake, his eyes glinting mischievously in the light of the fire.
My mouth dropped open. Had he...?
He had.
The crazy asshole. A lizard in my tent? That was a hundred times worse than startling him into the lake – which had been purely accidental on my part anyway.
I let Mom usher me into the tent, already planning my revenge.
However, I’d ended up twisting my foot the following day, and Kellan had carried me all the way back to the car. An unspoken truce had been formed.