15. Elouise
Elouise
Holding a hand over my mouth, I try to muffle my cough.
Why did I bring vodka? I should’ve brought a bottle of wine. Or a few cans of hard cider. Or literally anything other than straight vodka. But it seemed the most compact and discreet option when I was packing.
I plug my nose and take another sip.
“Don’t sip it. Gulp it.”
Rebecca’s voice startles me so bad that I end up inhaling half a mouthful.
“Christ, woman!” I cough out. “What the hell?”
She laughs and crawls over to where I’m sitting, “Gimme.”
I hand her the bottle and watch as she takes a pull of the clear liquid like a pro.
“Thanks,” she hands it back.
“You’re welcome,” I screw the cap back on and set it in my bag. “You sick of Bob’s moves already?”
Rebecca shakes her head, “Not yet. I just came for my blankets. It was freezing in there last night.”
“I bet,” I grumble.
She eyes me as she bundles up the blankets in her arms, picking up on my displeasure. “You okay in here? Did you want me to stay?”
“No, no.” I wave her off. “I’m fine. ”
“You sure?”
“Totally sure,” I nod. “It’s just been a day and I’m ready for sleep.”
She smirks, “I’ll be ready for sleep in about 30 minutes.”
I wrinkle my nose, “Ew.”
Rebecca laughs and makes her way back out. “You know what they say… If the tent is a rockin’…”
“Ohmygod, get out!” I look for something to throw at her, but she’s zipping the tent shut before I can find anything.
As silence settles around me, so does the cold.
I glance at the bag with the vodka, wondering how much I’d need in order to not feel it when I freeze to death tonight. But on the off chance I survive, I don’t want to drink so much that I have to get up and pee.
With nothing left to do, I reach over and turn off the lantern, allowing darkness to descend upon me.
I know that I’m not the last one to fall asleep, but the space between the tents must act like a sound buffer because the eerie quiet makes me feel like I’m all alone in these woods.
After trying to get comfortable for several minutes, I finally accept defeat and sit back up.
Since I had to use my normal sleep shirt as a towel this morning, I was left with just my thin tank top to sleep in.
So I thought I’d layer on my sweatshirt for warmth, but try as I might, I just feel too restricted to get comfortable.
Add that to the small sized sleeping bag and I’m about ready to scream myself to sleep.
With minimal struggling, I get the sweatshirt off, straighten my tank top and shimmy back down into my sleeping bag. Then, feeling like a genius, I lay the sweatshirt over my sleeping bag like a mini blanket.
There. Better.
Silence answers me.
Go to sleep, Lou.
My eyes stay open, staring at the ceiling of the tent.
Sleep. You want to sleep.
Still open. Still staring.
Oh come on, Lou. It’s not like anything is going to come get you .
I almost laugh at myself.
Of course nothing is going to get me. This isn’t a horror movie. Or any sort of movie. It’s just me, alone, but surrounded by dozens of people.
Sleep, Lou.
I’m finally forcing my eyes closed, when a soft sound has them popping back open.
What was that?
The sound comes again and this time it’s unmistakable. It’s a zipper.
My zipper!
Someone is opening my tent!
I spring up and scramble to reach for the lantern.
“Rebecca?” I whisper, as my fingers brush against the base of the light. “Is that you?”
She doesn’t respond.
My fingers tremble, and I tell myself it’s from the cold and not fear.
Finally, I find the right button, and I depress it.
Light illuminates the space.
I blink against the sudden change and find bright blue male eyes staring back at me.
Not Rebecca.
I pull in a breath to scream.