by H G Lynch
Dominic laughed delightedly, and Desmond glared at me, taking his hand back and shoving it into his jeans pocket. I frowned, blushing, and realising it was incredibly rude to insult someone who’d rescued me—or was at least part of the family who’d rescued me.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered ruefully. “I didn’t mean that. I’m sure you’re perfectly polite. It’s nice to meet you.” Actually, it wasn’t really, and my saying so seemed to make Dominic laugh harder.
Desmond whirled on him, bared his teeth, and stalked out of the tent with an impressive growl.
I sighed. “I’m sure I just made a great first impression,” I murmured, rubbing my eye.
“Don’t worry about him,” Dominic assured me, still grinning. “You were right. He’s not very polite, but he’s not a bad guy. He’ll probably have forgotten about it within the hour.”
I smiled again, and was about to reply, when the curtain-doorway rustled, and someone else came in. The woman was young, maybe mid-twenties, with long red hair and a bright smile. Sarah, I guessed.
“Hello there! Glad you’re finally awake. We were all starting to worry about you. I see you’ve met Dominic. I’m Sarah, by the way.” The woman spoke rapidly, crossing the room to my bed.
A little flustered, I nodded. Behind her, Dominic snickered.
Sarah paused, looking at me, and shook her head. She put her hands on her hips, and I noticed she was wearing a long, flaring skirt and a grey tank top. Her slender feet were strapped into beaded sandals. She eyed me with soft, green eyes, a darker, less startling shade than Dominic’s, before tucking her wavy red hair behind her ear and shaking her head again as she clucked her tongue.
“Poor girl. What did you do, pick a fight with a bear? It took me hours to clean you up and bandage all your cuts and bruises. At least you’re awake now. Come on. Get up. We’ll get you dressed and fed, and then I’ll introduce you to everybody else. They’re all very curious about you, you see, and….”
Sarah wittered on pleasantly, flipping back the blankets and hustling me out of the bed, leaving me standing there uncomfortably while she rooted around in a duffle bag by the end of the bed that I hadn’t noticed before .
That was when I realised I wasn’t wearing my own clothes; I was clad in an oversized pink nightgown and mummified in white bandages. I felt awkward and embarrassed, uncomfortable with my scratched legs and plaster covered knees showing under the hem of the nightgown. Especially since Dominic was still sitting on the other bed, grinning at my discomfort.
Sarah returned to me, carrying a bundle of clothes, and held them out to me. I took them with a grateful smile. “Um, thanks,” I murmured, “Not just for the clothes, but for, you know, bandaging me up and...everything.”
The woman’s smile crinkled the corners of her dark eyes. She moved as if to hug me, but stopped herself when I flinched in surprise. I bit my lip. Her smile didn’t waver though.
“It’s alright. You just get changed, and I’ll go have Kat rustle up some food for you. It’s supper time anyway. You’re not a vegetarian are you?” She pulled a face as if the idea of someone not eating meat was as ridiculous to her as the notion of a lion eating with a fork and knife.
I shook my head no and she gave a satisfied sigh, saw I wasn’t moving, and glanced at Dominic. He wasn’t grinning now, but he was watching me thoughtfully. Heat burned in my cheeks, and I looked down, toying with the bundle of clothes in my hands.
“Eh, Dom? Give the girl some privacy, will you? Not everyone’s as bold as you and the boys are,” Sarah said, slightly chastising.
I cast her a grateful smile as Dominic rose from the bed, looking puzzled and a little offended. I wondered if he’d actually thought I’d just get changed right in front of him—a teenage boy I didn’t even know. I supposed that maybe he’d grown up around guys, not a lot of girls, and privacy didn’t mean quite as much to them.
Once Sarah and Dominic were gone, I unfolded the clothes Sarah had given me and laid them out on the bed I’d been lying in. A black t-shirt that looked as if it might actually fit, a purple hoodie, which looked as if it wouldn’t, and my own knee length denim shorts with the ragged hems. They looked as if they’d been washed. For some reason, that touched me, and I found my eyes welling with tears. I blinked them away and hastily stripped off the nightgown, hopping into my worn denim shorts and doing up the button with one hand while trying to wrangle my way into the t-shirt. My flimsy trainers were by the bed, so I laced them on next. Then I shrugged on the hoodie and zipped it up, since it would at least cover the bandages around my arms. My knees, coated in blue waterproof plasters, were still visible, but I’d have to live with it. I hadn’t exactly had time to pack a suitcase before I had ran away from them.
Outside the tent, there were people everywhere, running between more large tents and the trees. Little kids were playing a game of Tag, and older kids lolled about, laughing and keeping an eye on the younger kids. There were adults too, of various ages, scattered around. Most of them were either scolding the little kids for pulling each other’s hair, lining a plastic foldout picnic table with plates and cups, or tending chunks of meat sizzling on the portable grill. I stared, amazed.
I’d thought it was just one family on a camping trip, but it looked like at least four families—maybe more. I couldn’t count the number of people, because everyone was moving around, busy. I stood where I was, unsure of what to do, and then someone touched my arm. I jumped, whirling, and came face to face with Dominic, holding up his hands in surrender.
“Whoa! You’re jumpy, aren’t you? Relax. Nobody’s going to hurt you. I promise.” He gave me a reassuring grin, and I relaxed just enough to smile back. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he looked me over swiftly and nodded approvingly. “Sorry about your t-shirt. It was kind of wrecked, so Sarah tossed it,” he said.
I just shrugged. I didn’t much care about the t-shirt. I’d gotten away with my life; a wrecked t-shirt was a small price to pay for that.
Dominic led me around the campsite, introducing me to everyone; it turned out there weren’t nearly as many people as I’d first thought. A little over a dozen, including Dominic and Desmond. There were three toddlers: Polly, Ben and Emma. There was little seven-year-old Annie, eight-year-old Chris, blonde thirteen-year-old Marissa and her just-as-blonde twin brother Justin, and pixie faced fourteen-year-old Laura. Then there were the adults, red-haired Sarah who turned out to be Annie’s big sister, Kat who was Chris, Polly and Ben’s mother, Jane who was Dominic and Desmond’s mother, John who was Kat’s husband and Graham who was Emma and Laura’s dad. Nobody had claim to Marissa and Justin, as far I could tell, but I guessed they were just tagalongs for the camping trip. Honestly, it was a lot to take in, and I doubted I’d remember everyone’s names, let alone how they were related.
During our tour of the camp, Dominic and I bumped into Desmond again, who seemed to have forgotten about my insulting him earlier, just as Dominic had predicted. He turned when Dominic called his name.
“Hey, do you know where Spence is? You’d think he’d at least want to meet Tilly,” Dominic asked his brother, looking as if he already knew the answer and was just a little exasperated by it.
Desmond shrugged. “Probably where he always is. What makes you think he’d want to meet her?” He cast his green gaze over me again, and I scowled at him. Oddly, it made him smile.
Dominic sighed and shook his head, chestnut curls bouncing. He didn’t respond to Desmond’s question, just gave him a warning look and said, “If you see him, tell him I want to talk to him.”
He turned, and taking my elbow very lightly, led me back to the centre of the camp, where more tables had been set up within the circle of the tents. Most of the people had taken a seat already, and were chatting away loudly when Dominic tugged me into the clearing and sat down at the nearest end of the closest table. When I hesitated, he patted the seat next to him, and I carefully sat down, making sure not to bang my knees or elbows.
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nbsp; I looked around and saw that the only people missing from the gathering were Polly, Emma, Laura, and whoever Dominic had been looking for—Spence. Annie was sitting a few seats away, playing with Ben, who was banging a spoon on the table. Sarah was keeping an eye on them, and Jane was trying to shush Marissa from crying—from what I could tell, Justin had pulled her hair. Kat was filling plates with hamburgers and steaks, and Graham was tending the grill, prodding the meat every so often with shiny steel tongs. Desmond dropped down in the seat opposite mine, and exchanged a coded glance with Dominic, who frowned in response.
Before I could ask what was wrong, Kat leaned over my shoulder, her long dark braids brushing my arm, and piled a hamburger on top my plate, asked if I wanted steak as well, or bacon, and I shook my head. The hamburger was big enough that I doubted I could even finish it, let alone a steak, too.
Dominic got two burgers and three strips of greasy salty bacon on his plate, and I wondered at the amazing ability guys had to put away massive amounts of food in one sitting. Then I looked around the tables, and saw that everyone else had just as much on their plates as Dominic and Desmond, even the younger kids and women. It was like a feast. I’d never seen that much food in one place.
The smell of cooked meat and warm buns made my mouth water, and I lifted the burger off my plate and bit into it. Meat juices, soft bread, and crispy lettuce made paradise in my mouth, and I nearly moaned in bliss. It tasted so good. The only thing they had ever fed me was dry fish with a disgusting white sauce or baked potatoes with cheese and tuna. I used to sneak beef stew or burgers in school lunch, though, before they took me out of school to home school me.
“Wow. Someone’s hungry,” Dominic commented, nudging my elbow on the table with his.
I chewed the chunk of warm meat in my mouth, swallowed it, and hoped I didn’t have ketchup on my chin or anything. Dominic was already halfway through his second burger; he’d taken off the top half of the bun and was lining up strips of bacon inside. He put the top bun back on and grinned at my look of disgust before taking a massive bite and making an exaggerated noise of delight. I snorted.
Desmond shot him a challenging look, put down his own burger, stuck the extra-rare-still-bleeding steak into it, and showed it off to his brother. “Beat that, Dom.” He bit into the steak burger and red juice spilled onto his fingers.
I wasn’t sure if it was ketchup mixed with meat juice, or actual blood from the barely cooked steak. I made a face as the boys engaged in some sort of eating competition.
The noise of several conversations going on, the sizzling of the grill, kids squealing and laughing, reminded me of the school canteen. Only, when I’d been at school, I’d always sat at a table on my own. Now I was sitting with two cute guys, Sarah, and little Annie. Annie had moved along a few seats, so she was right next to me, picking at her burger with her fingers. Sarah attempted to ask me about myself, how old I was, what I was doing in the middle of the forest, over the din of the group.
I feigned deafness over her last question. I couldn’t tell her why I was out there, or who I’d been running away from. It would put her in danger, and anyway, she’d never believe me. None of them would. They were all so friendly and welcoming, though, that I wished I could stay there with them instead of running again, no destination in mind except for away.
“Spence! Knew you’d show up for dinner!” Dominic’s happy voice snapped me out of my thoughts, and I turned, blinking in surprise when I saw another boy sitting next to Desmond across the table who hadn’t been there a minute ago. I hadn’t even noticed him arriving. God only knows how I missed him showing up, because he was downright stunning. I think I might have actually gaped, until Dominic turned to me and introduced the new boy. I slammed my jaw shut, trying not to blush.
“Tilly, this is Spencer. He’s our half-brother. He’s also the one who found you and brought you back to the camp.”
I glanced at Spencer, at his shadowed face and hunched shoulders. Sleek black hair fell into his eyes as he prodded at a strip of bacon on his plate before picking it up with his fingers and snapping off a bite savagely, as if the bacon had personally offended him.
“Oh,” I murmured, unsure what else to say. I supposed I should thank him, but somehow he didn’t look like he’d appreciate it. In fact, he looked like he wanted to get away from the table and the noise as fast as possible.
At my small noise of surprise, Spencer glanced up at me, his jaw stilling as he paused in his chewing, and blinked as if he hadn’t noticed me there until then. I bit my lip, shrinking instinctively under his powerful blue gaze. It was as if he was trying to figure out what I was doing sitting at the table next to his friends. I swallowed nervously, growing more and more uncomfortable as he continued to stare. The muscles under his black t-shirt swelled, his fingers tightening around the strip of bacon in his fist, and I started to think he might actually hit me. What for, I didn’t know, but he certainly didn’t look happy that I was there. Surely, he couldn’t have been the one to take me back to the camp, to rescue me? He looked more like he wanted to kill me himself.
Dominic whistled suddenly, a sharp sound that pierced the tension, and Spencer finally looked down. I snapped my gaze to the cooling half burger on my plate, suddenly no longer hungry in the least. There were knots in my stomach, and a tightness constricting my lungs. I took a deep breath, and realised that everyone around me had gone quiet. I looked up slowly, and found many pairs of eyes on me—everyone was looking at me, except for Spencer. My gut clenched and I felt fingertips touch my arm lightly.
“Don’t be scared. Ignore them,” Dominic said quietly in my ear, his breath stirring my pale hair.
I shivered, ducked my head, feeling the eyes burrowing into my skull. “I can’t ignore them when they’re staring at me,” I whispered back to Dominic.
He rubbed his knuckles against my wrist. “Just pay attention to me and they’ll stop. Look, I’m a walrus!”
He nudged me, and I glanced at him to see he’d stuck two plastic straws in his mouth like walrus tusks. His chestnut curls bounced into his bright eyes and his cheeky grin made him look like a little boy. I smiled weakly, despite the uncomfortable butterflies in my stomach.
Then something small hit Dominic in the side of the head, and he yelped, the straws falling out of his mouth. I reached down and picked up the thing that had been thrown at him—a pinecone.
Desmond snickered. “Idiot,” he muttered at his brother, and Dominic bared his teeth playfully.
Half the table laughed in response, and the feeling of eyes on me broke. I wasn’t sure, but I thought I even saw Spencer’s lips twitch. I let out a breath of relief and my stomach unclenched. I still didn’t think I could eat, but I picked up my half-finished burger anyway and forced myself to take a bite, chew it, swallow, and relax.
Nobody’s going to hurt you.
“So, Tilly,” Jane spoke up.
I tensed, waiting for everyone to turn their attention to me again, but they didn’t. Everyone kept their eyes on their own plates, but I knew they were listening.
“Where were you trying to run to, all the way out here?” Jane asked gently.
I frowned. I didn’t want to talk about it. Not in front of everyone else—not to anyone.
I shrugged, keeping my eyes on my hands on the edge of the table. “Nowhere specific.”
“You were running away, not running toward, then?” Jane sounded concerned and motherly.
How my mother had sounded when I was very little and I’d fallen off the swing set at the park; that was one of my only memories of her. She’d died in a car crash when I was little, both my parents had. Then I’d been adopted by them, and they had been nothing like my parents. They were cold and cruel. They forced me to do things I didn’t want to do, and when I didn’t do them, they locked me in my room for days without food or water. Or worse.
“Tilly?” Dominic murmured.
I realised there were tears in my eyes. Some people were looking
at me with sympathy and pity on their faces, and others were tactfully not looking at me at all. Annie, next to me, tugged on the sleeve of my borrowed t-shirt and I glanced down at her. Her little heart shaped face was tipped up to mine, her brown eyes sad. I blinked back the tears and touched her hair lightly, awkwardly.
I cleared my throat, and forced a smile to my face. “Thank you,” I said, directing my words to Jane, but meaning them for everyone assembled. “Thank you for finding me and helping me and everything, but I think I should go now. I’ve imposed enough–”
“Oh, no! No, sweetie, don’t you worry about it! You’re welcome to stay as long as you like,” Jane offered kindly.
I noted that several pairs of eyes flickered sharply to her and away again, and I got the message that me staying hadn’t been discussed yet. I shook my head, opened my mouth to say that I couldn’t possibly, but Jane interrupted me.
“Have you got anywhere to go to?” she asked pointedly.
I shut my mouth. Hesitantly, I shook my head.
“Then you’re not going anywhere. You’ll stay with us. At least for now.” Jane’s tone brooked no argument, and her gaze slid over the rest of the crowd as if daring them to contradict her. Nobody did.
I felt uneasy and embarrassed, as if I was intruding, but then Dominic turned to me and grinned, his white teeth flashing and the dimple in his cheek flickering. He was clearly pleased.
“It looks like you’re staying. You’re not getting away from us that easy.” He winked.
Spencer was gone—he must have left while Jane was talking to me. It was kind of freaky how slyly he just appeared and disappeared.
I smiled at Dominic. Of course, he couldn’t possibly understand just how little I wanted to get away from the friendly crowd. He also couldn’t know that I would have to leave very soon, if I wanted to keep from bringing down my monstrous adoptive family on him and these wonderful people. After all, humans were no match for the witches who owned me.