Chapter 30
Gwen
“Hey, Gwennie?” Faith said, tapping my shoulder and pulling me away from my book.
I hadn’t been reading it anyway. I’d just needed something to look at so the rest of Flower Moon cabin would leave me alone.
I was grateful for the busy day of relay race training for the camp games.
Only one more week and camp would be over, and I’d start my new life in Maple Hollow.
Faith had agreed to move there with me, and we were going to start our coven-organized apprenticeships together.
It all would’ve been incredibly exciting if I didn’t feel like my heart was being tossed around a cement mixer.
At least I was physically exhausted enough that I wouldn’t be crying myself to sleep anymore.
I rolled to the edge of my bunk. “What’s up?” I tried to sound lighthearted, but it came out just as grumpy and morose as ever.
As soon as I looked down, I saw that my other Flower Moon bunkmates all stood behind Faith.
Celeste pressed her lips together to keep from smiling while Ivy bounced up and down on her toes.
I climbed down from my aloft bunk, planting my feet firmly on the floor and wondering what on earth they had done to be looking at me like that.
“Here,” Faith said, handing me a friendship bracelet woven in orange, purple, and black thread. “We made this for you.”
I sat a little straighter. “What’s this for?”
“Strength,” she said simply.
My eyes misted again. I slipped on the bracelet, my gaze sliding to the one that Sabine had given me on the first day of camp. I wanted to rub those stones, to force her to come to me and take back everything that she’d said. Could we just reverse time and redo the last week?
“Thanks.” I could barely get the word out as I stared down at my wrist.
“It’s not just strength,” Aveline added from the corner. “It’s a swapping charm. It means that you can lean on whoever is wearing a matching bracelet. So you can use their strength when you feel like you have none.”
I looked from my wrist to see the rest of my bunkmates move their hands from behind their backs and reveal that they all were wearing matching bracelets.
“Curse you all,” I blubbered as more tears fell from my eyes, and they all rushed over and surrounded me in a big group hug.
I wept like I had never wept in my entire life, and my bunkmates all seemed completely unbothered by it, even honored somehow, like my display of emotion was a show of me trusting them.
I’d never had this in my life, not once.
I had loving parents who always had my back, but I’d never had a friend group like this.
I’d never had people who would still be there for me, even after summer’s end.
But I knew no matter where I moved or however long we didn’t speak, this group would always be there for me like they were in that moment.
I finally had the community I’d always longed for.
And even though letting go of Sabine had shattered my heart, even if falling for her so quickly had been nonsensical, I knew I’d have my friends to pull me back together again.