Chapter 7
August
“O h my God, August! I was so afraid! So worried about you!” May wraps her arms tightly around me, causing me to gasp for breath. I pat her back to get her to release me. Then harder when she doesn’t get the hint. Now she does.
“I was fine the whole time,” I say as I walk gingerly through the small living room to the kitchen, where all important conversations happen. Her kitchen table was my aunt’s, her mom, and when I sit there, I feel both my aunt’s and my mom’s presence. It’s comforting, even if my heart aches a little at missing them, especially mom.
“Fine? You didn’t come home. Didn’t call or text. I had to call Search and Rescue, and be told by the orc captain that you are hanging out with an ORC. An ORC, August! Can you imagine my surprise and disgust? What would our moms say?” She pauses long enough to take a deep breath and gulp some water. Shuddering, as if the thought that I would hang out with the person who rescued me is physically repulsive to her, her eyes bug at me before she starts again.
“You would never believe what Chad said about you and the orc!” She laughs that awful laugh she only makes when Chad says something she’s pretending is funny and not at all offensive or stupid (when, in fact, many times it’s both).
“Stop.” I hold my hands up. “I don’t want to hear what Chad said. I can’t believe you’re upset. I was shook up, almost hypothermic, and I strained my ankle. So yeah, I forgot to call you. It was a shitty day. But I wouldn’t have been up there if it weren’t for Chad’s taunting about not being independent.”
“It was your choice.” Now her voice is quiet, almost meek. She runs her hand through her hair and I see the crease between her eyebrows that wasn’t there a few months ago. The dullness in her eyes. She looks ragged, which I hadn’t noticed before. An exhaustion that has nothing to do with being worried for her cousin yesterday, and has everything to do with something or someone stealing her happiness and energy from her.
Carefully standing, I limp to her and wrap her in my arms, gentle but steady. “I love you, May. Thank you for calling Search and Rescue. They took excellent care of me, even though I insisted I could do it myself.” She snorts into my shoulder. We continue to stand like that until I realize her body is bouncing a little. May is crying. “What’s wrong?” I whisper.
This is my cousin and closest friend. My sister from another mister. Our lives have been intertwined our entire lives. Holidays and lazy summer and cozy winters—our lives don’t exist without the other. Visiting was always a highlight for mom and me. It’s hard to untangle those childhood memories and emotions from the present.
Since my mom died, and she started dating Chad, we’ve fallen away from each other. I’ve been filled with grief, unable to verbalize or actualize the black pit inside me. And she’s been caught up making a major asshole happy. Neither of us has been able to help the other. Is this what growing up means?
But I can’t stand to see her in pain. Gathering reserve, I grapple to find words to get us through this—together. Before I can open my mouth, her confession spills out.
“Chad said the orc kidnapped you. I freaked out. I went to search and rescue and demanded the name of who you were with. I called the police. I called the mayor’s office. I—I called the newspaper.” She bursts into aching sobs. My shoulder quickly goes from dry to drenched.
My heart stills. My breath stops.
All I hear is a squealing whirling in my head. May called the cops on me. On Bjorn. She tried to get the government to...what? Have the mayor ask Bjorn to let me go?
Bjorn. His brothers. Even Brann. My heart pounds loudly as the screechy whirling gets louder in my head. This town lives in a delicate peace with our neighbors. I know it won’t take much to set chaos and vitriol into action.
“What exactly did you say to the police?” My mouth is dry and the words are hard to utter.
The screeching is outside. On the street. Louder and then quieter again as car after car race down the road under us.
“Brann gave me his name. Chad helped me find his address. His brothers’ names. I told the police he kidnapped you and was keeping you captive against your will.”
“Chad found his address, but didn’t come get me himself?” I mean, I wasn’t in danger, but it’s nice to think that if I were in danger, May and Chad would have my back.
Except, they didn’t.
Tamping down my anger is an effort in futility. Asshole is too kind a word to describe him.
“Too dangerous,” she whispers. She’s pulled away now. Her face is red. She won’t make eye contact with me. Shame covers all her movements as she smushes her palms against her eyes. And she should be ashamed—that she hasn’t dumped his ass yet.
Scrubbing my face to shake the cobwebs from my brain, I turn away and grab a root beer from the fridge. May follows, shuffling in her ridiculous bunny slippers. The sweet fizz gives me courage. “Look, May, I love you. I think Chad is an asshat you need to dump; I wasn’t kidnapped. The only time I was in danger was on the mountain with a twisted ankle and the sun sinking below the horizon, with the temperature dropping below freezing as I hobbled down. That’s also the only time I was scared. I had a lot of time to think—lots of quiet on a snowy mountain with a mountain goat. Chad is using you. And you deserve better. And if you can’t dump him right now, at least think for yourself.
“I’m going to leave now. I’ll be staying with Bjorn. Apparently, you know where to find me.”
Hopefully after today, he’ll still want me. Otherwise, I really will have nowhere to go.
Outside, I breathe in the crisp, cold air. The perfect accompaniment to my bubbly root beer. Now, I need to find Bjorn before the cops do.