Chapter 6
Lucy
Horoscope Pisces
Saturn’s return offers the gift of transition. Everything you have been working toward is within reach if you’re brave enough to grab it. Be willing to release what’s holding you back.
So. Camping.
What a magical experience of connecting with nature and my inner self. I’d never felt so centered and confident.
Ha. What an absolute fucking lie.
The second I had an internet connection again, I was going to send a scathing message to that omega backpacker.
Not really. I could never do that, but I was thinking it.
The incredible spiritual experience I’d envisioned, the one that would allow me to return home with a sense of certainty of who I was and what I should do with my life, had ended up being slow, clumsy, and muddy.
I’d hiked half the distance I’d planned, the fading light forcing me to stop at a random flat area off the trail.
My skinned hands and knees stung as I struggled for over an hour to set up my brand-new tent.
The alpha at the outdoor supply store had said this tent was a breeze to set up.
He would also be the recipient of a vicious negative review I would never post. Although, he had warned me that my sneakers weren’t sturdy enough for the hike I was planning, and since said sneakers were currently completely soaked through, he might have had a point.
My visions of starting a campfire and making s’mores before writing in my new journal were replaced with cold, hard reality—huddling in my wonky tent, freezing as I shoved raw marshmallows into my mouth.
I pulled my brand-new sleeping bag tighter around me. Even sugar couldn’t improve this situation. I missed my nest with the piles of pillows, blankets, and cloudlike mattress.
I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. Why had I thought I could do this?
You have to think things through, Lucy. Use that little omega brain of yours.
My heart ached with heaviness. I was used to being underestimated and told I was too impulsive.
But a lot of times, my impulsiveness worked out.
Years ago, I’d been walking down Main Street and saw that the old record store was officially vacant and available for purchase.
I’d gone straight to Stanley, submitted an offer that same hour, and signed a contract the next day.
Everyone had doubted me, and their worried comments that I hadn’t thought my plan through felt like tiny paper cuts, but I’d forged ahead with all the confidence I could muster.
My store had opened a couple of months later, and I’d had a steady stream of tailoring clients ever since.
But maybe my exes were right. I’d been lucky so far, but I couldn’t go through life like a flighty airhead, expecting everything to work out in my favor.
A wet splat landed on the tent above me and I furrowed my brow. Surely that wasn’t…
The skies opened and rain pounded loudly on the tent, which quickly started sagging under the weight of the water.
Of course.
I groaned and threw my arm across my face. Screw this. As soon as I woke up, I was going back home.