Hey guys! Sorry for the really late update. It was a pretty hectic summer for me. I had to work really early in the morning so I had to actually go to bed at a respectable time and unfortunately, my best writing time conflicted with bed time. This isn't as long as I was hoping and it didn't go where I planned, but that's okay because I didn't really have a plan.
Also, this chapter is dedicated to Emma 3550 for her very motivating review.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Darkest Powers
After pulling everything out and shoving it back in four times, I finally managed to get my car to latch. My Teddy Grahams were getting a little crushed beneath the weight of Mila's, Matt's, and my bags, but sacrifices must be made. We were heading to Derek's grandpa's place for the weekend to blow off steam and seven people meant two cars. I was following behind Derek after he assured and promised not to let me get lost. Considering Derek's car had more leg room, he was taking Simon, Tori, and Liz. Matt would be suffering in my tiny backseat while Mila was in charge of the radio.
We had all agreed to meet at my place at 3:30 after school so we could arrive with enough sunlight to get the fire pit set up. Derek had stopped at the grocery store yesterday after school to pick up the vitals and drove out to the house to make sure everything was up to snuff considering it had been awhile since anyone had been there. Unfortunately the lake wasn't thawed yet so we couldn't push Simon in, but the snow was mostly gone and the ground was dry enough to sit on so we could have a fire.
"What's with girls and bladders the size of walnuts?" Simon asked, checking his phone for the tenth time while waiting for Tori to come back down from my apartment.
"It has nothing to do with our bladders," Liz said, leaning against Derek's car as Derek checked his fluids. "You guys can just pull over and pee next to the car if you need to. We girls have to think ahead."
"It's only a thirty minute drive," Simon argued, jumping when Derek shut his hood.
"And yet you felt it was important to get road trip food for that thirty minute drive," Derek said, walking over to my car and opening my door. "Which you cannot eat in my car."
He popped my hood and shut my door. I walked over and watched as Derek went through all my fluids and made sure everything was ready for a trip out of town, however brief the drive.
"You're handy," I said, leaning my elbows against the side of my car. "Like a free mobile mechanic. I think I'll keep you around."
He lifted his head, inches from my face. "I don't work for free."
"No, you work for burgers," I agreed.
"Then why am I the one grilling them tonight?" he asked.
"Because the only other person who volunteered was Simon and you didn't want him to burn the house down," I reminded him.
"I'm not the firestarter in the family," Simon called from where he was standing next to Derek's car. "Tori almost set the bathroom on fire when she left her straightener on."
"And we're bringing the wonder twins along because?" Derek asked, tightening my oil cap.
"Liz insisted."
"You'd be surprised what that gets me," Liz said.
The door to my building burst open and Tori walked out.
"Finally!" Simon said. "What the hell took so long?"
"I had to fix my mascara," she said. "It was clumping."
"I think we're ready then," I said.
"Everybody into Lucy and Ricky," Liz said.
I pulled out my keys and was about to head for my seat when I paused. Looking over at Liz, I said incredulously,
"Lucy and Ricky? You match-maked our cars?"
She smiled over at me as she got into Lucy. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Mila laughed behind me. "It is pretty fitting."
"What is?" Matt asked.
"Derek's and Chloe's cars are married," Mila said.
"How is that fitting?" Matt asked.
"Because Liz and Mila haven't taken their medication," Derek said. "Now everybody hurry up and get in. We're burning daylight."
"You heard the man," Simon said. "Into the Ricardos."
Derek closed his eyes and muttered something to himself before getting into his car. If I had to guess, he was probably telling himself to have patience. As we got settled in, my phone began to vibrate.
"Put me on speaker and don't hang up until we get there," Derek instructed. "And for God's sake, please don't turn on your radio."
"Why?" I asked.
"Because you have the music taste of a thirteen year old," he said.
"I take great offense at that," I said, settling my phone into the mount and hitting speaker. "And just for that, I will be playing nonstop Britney Spears until we get there."
Mila followed through by sliding the CD into the slot. Derek muttered something as it began to play.
"Hey, you know you love me," I said jokingly. "Just admit it."
"I just have to tell myself it's two months until graduation," he said.
I laughed and pulled out onto the road behind him. "Go ahead and tell yourself that. Just know that I plan on going to school in California, too, and if I get into UCLA, I'll just be five hours away. I can annoy you every weekend."
"Joint effort," Simon said. "Chloe and I will get an apartment together in L.A. and we'll call you every night to make sure you've been a good boy and taken your vitamins and did all your homework."
"You realize Chloe's getting away with the mocking because I can't physically reach her right now, right?" Derek said.
"I did just realize that, yes, and I am a firm believer on keeping both hands on the wheel," Simon said.
There was a brief silence before Simon yelped.
"Dammit, Tori!" Simon said. "What the hell was that for?"
"Derek's driving," she answered. "Someone had to do it for him."
We drove the thirty miles to Derek's grandpa's house in just under an hour, courtesy of the asshat in a large truck hauling a boat who cut me off and completely blocked my view of Derek. I ended up missing the turn and Derek had to backtrack to find me. Not my proudest moment, but we met up at a gas station and Tori did have to pee again, so it worked out. Derek went down five miles an hour to make sure I didn't get lost again, to which earned him many a mocking comment from Mila over the phone. We did eventually make it, though, which is all that mattered.
Derek turned into a long driveway that was more than a little overgrown. The only sign that anyone had been there in years was the fresh tire tracks in the grass from Derek dropping off the supplies last night. After a minute, we broke through the trees and ended up in front of a large, blue house. Ivy was definitely becoming an issue to the outer walls, but it didn't seem to have fared badly from years of disuse. Of course, I had no idea what it looked like when Derek's grandpa was alive, but I could take a guess.
Derek stopped his car in front of a large, detached, two-car garage and got out. I waited to see what he was doing before I did anything. He pulled a key out of his pocket and I watched as he unlocked the door and went inside. After a moment, there was a slight groaning noise and then both doors went up. Derek gestured me around his car and then drove into one of the spaces. I took the hint and pulled into the second spot.
"That took forever," Tori complained, getting out of Derek's car and stretching her arms out. "Who let Chloe drive?"
"Hey!" I argued, opening my back.
"Ignore her," Derek said, walking up next to me and pulling my duffle bag from my car.
"Harder than it sounds," Simon said, "I've known her seventeen years and I still can't ignore her."
Derek lifted my duffle higher on his arm and swung it around on his back before pulling his own out of his car and heading toward the house. I opened my mouth to object but closed it when I figured it would probably just be a waste of breath. As everybody else was pulling their own bags from the cars, I followed Derek up to the house. As soon as we got to the door, he struggled to pull the keys back out of his pocket while holding onto the two bags.
"Here," I said, pushing his hand away from his pocket.
I reached into his front jeans pocket and pulled out the keys, only realizing after I had my hand all the way in that I could have just taken my bag from him instead. He didn't say anything, though, and only commented on which key it was. When I had the door unlocked, I pulled back and let him lead the way.
The first thing that hit me when we got inside was the dust. A sneeze escaped me before I knew it was even coming. A second one soon followed and I tried to stifle it when Derek turned around. He set both bags down along the wall and walked over to a window, opening it all the way.
"Sorry," he said. "I opened all the windows last night when I got here to get some of the mustiness out, but I wasn't here long."
"It's okay," I said through my shirt that was pulled up over my mouth. "I'm not allergic, it's just a lot."
"Holy crap," Mila said, walking in behind me. "When's the last time this place saw a duster?"
"I think you need to fire your cleaning lady," Matt said, followed behind with both his and Mila's bags, to which he set down next to Derek's and mine.
The rest of the gang soon followed and we filed into the kitchen, where grocery bags were sitting on the counter.
"This place has electricity, right?" Mila asked.
"I turned on the rest of the breakers when I got here last night," Derek said, pulling a root beer from the fridge.
"Good," she said. "Cause I'm not washing in the frozen lake tomorrow morning."
He ignored her last comment and looked at me. "If you guys want to sort through the bags and get things organized, we'll get the grill and bonfire set up."
"Sounds like a plan," I said.
Derek and the guys headed out and left us in the kitchen, which I think had a lot to do with allowing himself a break from Tori. We went through the bags and pulled everything out, putting them away in cabinets where Liz said they would remain the rest of the summer for more weekends spent here. A lot of it was summer replenishment that Liz had put down on a list for Derek to get, but clearly he had thrown in a few of his own choices. I smiled as I put away a box of cinnamon teddy grahams.
By the time we'd finished getting everything put away, it was almost six o'clock. I helped Liz pull everything out that we would need for dinner and left Liz and Mila to slice and chop while I went to check on the status of the manual labor outside.
"How's everything going?" I asked Derek, walking up next to him.
We both glanced over to where Simon and Matt were arguing over proper log placement for a bonfire.
"Groundbreaking," Derek said, dryly.
"Is the grill at least working?" I asked.
He gestured to the slight smoke coming from the edges of the grill lid.
"It's heating up," he said. "Everything civil inside?"
"For the most part," I answered. "We put everything away and Liz and Mila are prepping. Tori excused herself when we started to fix her makeup and we haven't seen her since. I'd head back inside to help, but I think that might overcrowd the people with knives."
"You want to help me dig through the shed for the marshmallow sticks, then?" he asked. "The grill needs more time to heat up and the bonfire won't be ready for hours at this rate."
"Sure," I said, smiling.
I followed him around to the side of the house to a small shed with the door wide open, I'm assuming because it had housed the grill. As Derek dug through the big stuff to move it out of the way, I glanced around and my eyes settled on a group of clouds moving toward us.
"The weather guy didn't say anything about rain, right?" I asked.
"No," Derek said, his voice muffled through the walls of the shed. "Just overcast tonight."
I nodded. "And your confidence in his predictions?"
"Your definition of helping isn't in Webster's," he answered.
"Sorry."
I poked my head back into the shed. He was shuffling around boxes, not really making much progress because he took up too much space. I stifled a laugh and reached forward to take the box he was holding. Between the two us, we managed to clear out basically the entire shed before we found the sticks.
"We're ready!" Liz called from the house.
We both glanced over to where Liz was waving from around the corner of the house. Derek nodded towards her and handed me the sticks. I waited as he repacked the shed and started walking toward the house as soon as I heard the click of the door latch. Liz had everything laid out for Derek when we walked inside and she took the sticks from me to wash.
"The fire is all set to be lit," Simon said, walking inside. "When's dinner? I'm starving."
"Just starting," Derek said, carrying the plate of burgers outside to the grill.
"Need a hand?" Simon asked.
"Nope."
Simon shrugged his shoulders and dodged past Mila to the sink to wash the dirt off his hands. Liz threatened to poke him with one of the newly washed sticks when he splashed water at her. Mila and I ducked outside and found Matt dragging over a large log to the fire.
"I don't think we're gonna be outside that long," Mila said.
"It's not for burning," Matt bit out as he huffed from the effort. "It's a backrest."
We looked to where he had two already pulled out to the fire, close enough to feel the heat and roast marshmallows, but far enough to not end up kindling. He lugged the third one into place so that the three logs formed a triangle around the pit.
"Um," I said, "Aren't you missing a few?"
"Nuh uh," he said, slightly out of breath. He brushed his hand across his forehead to wipe away the bead of sweat forming on his brow. "Two per log. Tori's not coming out for it."
"Why not?" I asked. "Does she not feel welcome or something?"
He shook his head. "Something about it taking too much work to smell that good and smoke would screw it up. Or something."
I shared a look with Mila and we laughed. It was true that campfire smoke tended to stick to you like a second skin, but that was just part of the fun. Matt took one last look at the pit and then glanced down at his hands. He nodded to Mila as he walked past us and toward the house. Mila nudged me with her elbow and leaned in to whisper,
"Two per log."
"Huh?"
"Two per log," she repeated. "Guess who you'll be sitting with?"
I glanced over to where Derek was pushing Simon away from the grill.
"So?" I asked.
She rolled her eyes. "You are so dense sometimes."
"I'm not dense," I argued. "You're just finding conclusions when the question hasn't even been asked."
Derek announced the burgers were done and we all filed into the house to fix our plate. Over dinner, Matt and Simon argued over an upcoming math exam, only ending when Derek deemed them both idiots and both wrong.
"You guys are just lucky your teacher is laid back," Mila said, "Our new one is too uptight. They need to put together a search party for the stick up her butt or something because she keeps marking me off for stupid things."
I glanced over at Derek from the corner of my eye, but he didn't look up from his plate as he kept eating.
"She knocked off half the points from the last homework because I didn't format correctly," Tori agreed. "She's such a bitch."
I tried to subtly get Liz's attention for help changing the subject, but she was too focused on Simon and their conversation. Trying to come up with something, I said,
"How about the new due date for Ms. Davis' project?"
The change in subject worked like a charm and Mila went off on the unfairness of it all. Sighing in relief, I risked another side glance over to Derek and found him watching me. I arched my eyebrows slightly, silently asking if it was okay that I stepped in. He gave the smallest nod and resumed eating.
"How is anybody supposed to get an A now?" Mila asked. "She moved it an entire month!"
"Like you could really expect an A to begin with," Matt argued. "Ms. Davis does not give A's on the project. In all her classes last year, I think like two people got A's out of everybody."
"What did they have to do to manage that?" Tori asked. "Sleep with her?"
I almost choked on my burger as I tried to stifle a laugh at the look on Derek's face, knowing full well that he had been one of those students that had actually got an A on the project. Everybody looked at me in concern as I chugged my soda, partly to stop my coughing, but also to stop myself from laughing at Derek glaring at me.
"I'm okay," I managed, my voice a little hoarse.
"She seriously needs to get some," Tori said, ignoring my close call. "Because clearly she's a little wound up. No one is that much of a bitch."
"Then what's your excuse?" Matt asked.
She glared at him and Simon burst out laughing. Even Derek cracked a smile. Huffing, she picked up her empty plate and set it in the sink on her way out of the room.
"I was just kidding," Matt called after her.
"Ignore her," Simon said.
I glanced out the window and was shocked to see that while we were eating, the sun had disappeared. Everybody followed my eyes and looked out the window.
"Fire, anyone?" Simon asked.
"I'll grab a flashlight," Matt offered, standing up and putting his plate in the sink.
"I'll find the matches," Simon said, following him out.
"I've got the sticks," Liz claimed.
"Where's the marshmallows and stuff?" Mila asked, standing up.
The room when silent and Liz glanced at Derek, who stared back.
"It wasn't on the list," Derek said. "I assumed you were bringing it."
"I remembered the chocolate," Liz offered, offering a weak smile.
He looked towards the cabinets. "We might have something."
"Didn't we still have an unopened bag of marshmallows from Labor Day last year?" Liz asked.
"Maybe," Derek said. "You guys head out and get settled. I'll see if I can find it."
We all followed behind Matt, the keeper of the flashlight. Between Simon and Matt, the fire managed to be lit and soon took off into an acceptable blaze. Simon settled down on one side next to Liz, while Matt and Mila claimed another. I sat down at the last available log.
Drawing my knees to my chest, I watched the fire eat away at the wood, crackling and popping. A log broke and fell into the fire, sending embers up and floating towards the sky. Looking across the fire, I smiled as Matt laid his around Mila's shoulders and pulled her closer. Simon and Liz appeared just as cozy.
"Well, the graham crackers might be a little stale, but I think they're still good," Derek said, emerging from the darkness.
"Find the marshmallows?" Simon asked.
Derek held up the bag of spongy sugar. He settled down next to me and laid out the supplies. He also handed each couple a ratty, old blanket. He laid the last one over me without a word.
"Hand me a stick," Matt said, reaching over.
I picked one up and opened the marshmallows. Sticking two on the end, I passed the bag to Liz and held the stick over the flames. Once the outside was the perfect shade of golden brown, I pulled it back. Peeling them off with graham crackers, I topped each one with chocolate and another cracker and bit into the gooey snack. Melted chocolate squished out onto my fingers and I licked them clean. Sticking another marshmallow on, I held it over the fire a little longer. I pulled it back, but before I could eat it, Derek snatched it off the end.
"Hey," I said. "Thief."
He plopped it in his mouth. This time, I stuck two on. He did the same thing again, but he left me the second one.
"Keep it on longer next time," he said, sucking the sticky mess off his finger.
"No backseat roasting," I said. "You get what you steal or wait your turn."
Simon snickered and Derek snatched the stick from my hand.
"Hey!"
"You don't toast them long enough," he said.
"Don't tell me you like them black," I said, scrunching up my nose.
"They're better that way," he said.
"It's like eating ash," I argued.
"But they're gooier on the inside," he said.
"I've got to go with Derek," Matt said. "The gooier, the better."
"No way," Mila said. "Lightly roasted to a nice golden brown is the only way to eat marshmallows."
Derek pulled his out of the fire and blew out the remaining flames. He held the stick out to me and I shook my head, holding up my hands.
"You have to try at least one," he said.
"But it's burnt," I argued.
"Just eat it," he said.
Grimacing, I peeled the black marshmallow off the stick. After a moment of hesitation, I put it in my mouth. After the initial burnt taste, I found it actually wasn't as bad as I thought. I still preferred them my way, but Derek's way wasn't bad.
"Told you so," Derek said. "Take the other one."
I tried to take it, but the outside fell off and I got all goo.
"Ugh," I said, pulling my hand back. "You did that on purpose."
"It's not my fault you can't take a marshmallow off a stick."
"Who wants to hear a ghost story?" Simon asked, drawing my attention away from Derek.
"Is it scary?" Liz asked. "Because it needs to be scary."
"It's terrifying," he said, smiling down at her.
"Let's hear this terrifying ghost story," Derek said.
"Alright," Simon said, his voice getting low. "Many years ago, on a night just like this, three friends ventured into the woods. The only things they had on them were a box of matches, a dying flashlight, and a red bandana."
"A red bandana?" Mila scoffed.
"Shush," Simon said. "You're ruining the mood."
She rolled her eyes, but shut her mouth.
"As I was saying," he continued. "These three friends ventured into the woods on a night just like this. You see, they had a job to do. In the middle of the woods, there was a box buried deep in the earth. Nobody knew what was inside. Nobody had ever been alive long enough to open it."
Simon paused to take a breath. "So, these friends went in search of the box. They didn't make it far before the clouds rolled in and the moon disappeared. With only the flashlight to see by, the friends gathered wood and built a fire.
"After an hour, one of the friends began to hear something. From deep in the woods, a woman began to sing. The words were in a language the man couldn't understand, but the melody was soothing. It pulled at him. The voice became louder and closer. And just like that, the fire was out."
Simon snapped his fingers as he said it and I jumped.
"The friends rushed to relight the fire. Soon the light returned and they could see, but the man was gone. In his place were drag marks into the dark. The two friends called for him over and over, but they were only met with silence.
"Night dragged on and still the man did not return. When morning came, the two friends were tired, but they set off in search of the box. They searched all day, but found nothing. When night once again returned, a fire was built and the friends waited for morning.
"After an hour, the second man began to hear something. From deep in the woods, a woman began to sing. The words were in a language the man couldn't understand, but the melody was soothing. It pulled at him. The voice became louder and closer. And just like that, the fire went out.
"The friend rushed to relight the fire. Soon the light returned and he could see, but the man was gone. In his place were drag marks into the dark. The friend called for the man over and over, but he was only met with silence.
"When morning returned, the friend went in search of the box. He searched for hours until he found a rock with words carved in a language he couldn't understand. With only the use of a sharpened stick, the man dug into the undisturbed earth. Six feet down, the man came across a locked, wooden box. Breaking the lock, the man opened the box. Inside was a single, red bandana."
When he finished, we were silent. A strong gust of wind shook the trees and blew the fire out. We erupted in screams and I grabbed Derek's hand without thinking.
"Who has the matches?" Simon asked.
"I do," Matt said. "Somewhere."
"Well, hurry up," Mila said. "I can't see a thing."
"Hold on," he said. "I've got them."
I heard a scratch and saw a flickering light. Matt held it to the wood until it caught. The fire regrew fast.
"What the hell was that?" Mila asked.
The instant she finished her sentence, the wind gusted again and rain came gushing down on us, dousing the fire and plunging us back into darkness. Mila and Liz screamed as we quickly became drenched.
"I thought it wasn't supposed to rain!" Liz shouted over the wind and rain.
"It wasn't!" Simon answered.
We were momentarily illuminated as lightning erupted above us and the resonating thunder quickly followed. Everybody made a break for the house, tripping over logs and slipping in the mud. Derek pulled me up and helped me over our log, but my foot hit a soft spot and I went down, grabbing the back of his shirt fast enough that I didn't face plant, but not fast enough to completely break my fall. I landed on my hand and winced as I felt a rock break the skin. Derek's arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me back to my feet. Another flare of lightning and we were able make it to the door and crashing inside.
Simon flipped the light switch and we looked around at each other. All drenched and covered in mud, with the exception of Liz and I who also sported blood from cuts, hers on her knee.
"I call the first shower!" Liz called, racing upstairs.
"Don't take too long!" Derek called up after her. "The power might not be on long and I'm not wasting the generator on your shower!"
"Towel?" Mila asked, shivering.
"Upstairs," he said. "Follow me."
He picked up his bag and headed up the stairs. We did the same and followed him to a closed door.
"There's a second shower, but you probably won't have hot water since Liz is showering."
"Don't care," Mila said, pushing through and closing the door behind her.
"I'll show you to our room," Simon said, gesturing Matt to follow him with their bags.
Derek nodded forward and I followed him into a bedroom. Looking around, I saw two beds on either side of the room. A dresser in between seemed to split the room in half. On one side, there were torn posters hanging from the wall, dirty baseball mitts on the floor, and if I'm not mistaken, I swear I saw a playboy peeking out from under the mattress. On the other side, model cars lined the shelves, a ratty football stuck out from under the bed, and dusty medals hung from the wall.
"You can stay here," he said. "I know the bed's kinda small, but you're kinda small, so…"
"Thank you," I said.
"I'll bring you a towel," he said.
Before he walked out, I asked, "Which side was yours?"
"The left," he said and disappeared.
I looked at the side with the medals and smiled. Walking over to the bed, I sat down and looked around the room, trying to imagine Derek staying here: spending his summers going hiking through the woods, having campfires. My eyes wandered to the dresser and a picture caught my eye. Standing up, I picked it up to get a better look. It was obviously taken years ago. Derek looked to be about twelve in the picture. He was standing in front of a lake with his arms over Simon's and Liz's shoulders. On Simon's other side was Tori and on the other side of Liz was Carter.
"When was this taken?" I asked, hearing footsteps behind me.
"Summer before seventh grade," Derek answered, setting a towel down on the bed.
"Thanks," I said.
"There's a half-bath downstairs if you want to wash up, otherwise you can wait for a cold shower," he said. "When you're cleaned up, I'll wrap your hand."
I looked down at the red slash across my palm next to the white scar from when I cut my hand on his desk. When I looked back up, Derek had already left the room. Picking up the towel, I pulled out my pajamas from the duffle and headed downstairs to find the other bathroom. Luckily no one had claimed it yet, so I shut the door behind me and quickly stripped from my rain drenched clothes. After rinsing off the mud and blood from my hand and changing, I stepped back out into the hallway and bumped into Simon.
"Hey," he said. "Bathroom free?"
"All yours," I said.
"You can toss your wet clothes in the basket in the laundry room with the rest of them," Simon said. Pointing down the hall, "Third door on your left."
"Thanks."
After tossing my clothes on top of Derek's in the basket, I wandered into the kitchen. Derek was sitting at the table with a first aid kit in front of him. When he heard me walk in, he looked up from where he was unfolding a bandage.
"Ready for my checkup," I joked.
He nodded at the empty chair.
"I already got Liz's knee," he said.
I sat down in front of him and laid my hand on the table, palm up. I was getting serious Deja vu as he cleaned off the blood that had spilled since I washed the wound and wrapped it in a bandage.
"Ever considered becoming a doctor?" I asked. "Seems like you're getting a lot of practice."
"I have my hands full with you," he said, packing up the kit. "I should start charging you. It'd pay my rent."
I stuck my tongue out. Someone coughed and we turned to see Liz, Mila, and Tori standing in the doorway.
"Get a room," Tori said, walking in and pulling a Coke from the fridge.
Liz jabbed her with an elbow when she walked past and out of the room again.
"We're gonna head upstairs for the night," Liz said. "Wake us up if the storm gets worse, otherwise we'll see you in the morning."
Derek nodded and stood up, putting the first aid kit under the sink. Mila gestured to the stairs to let me know she was heading up, too. I nodded and she walked out. Looking over at Derek, I watched him as he walked around the kitchen making sure windows were secure as the storm raged on outside. The thunder was almost deafening at times, but I was doing my best to keep my cool. In actuality, storms freaked me out.
"Are we okay in here?" I asked.
"In the kitchen?"
"I meant the house. There's a lot of trees around us that can blow over."
"We're fine," he said. "If the storm gets bad, we'll move into the basement. Until then, we should probably get some sleep in actual beds."
I nodded. "Okay."
Looking over at the doorway, I fiddled with my thumbs.
"I guess I'll head up to bed, then," I said, reluctantly.
"Good idea," he agreed.
I was almost out of the kitchen when he said,
"If you need anything during the night, I'm in the room at the end of the hall. Just wake me up."
"Thanks," I said.
I found Mila already in bed on her phone. Sitting on my bed was a folded blanket that Derek must have put there while I was washing up. Turning off the light, I unfolded the blanket and crawled under. I didn't have to worry about the thunder at all. I was out when my head hit the pillow.
….,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,...
Derek's arm tightened around my waist. Sighing in contentment, I leaned into him and wrapped my arms around him. Looking up, I gazed at him as the light danced across his face. In front of us, the fire crackled and popped. Derek looked down at me and smiled. He leaned down and his lips brushed mine.
The fire went out and hands grabbed me. Screaming, I fought to get away as they dragged me away. Looking up, I saw Liam standing over me with a predatory grin.
Gasping, I shot up. Looking around me, I saw I was still in Derek's bed. Looking to my left, I saw Mila asleep in the other bed. Running my hands over my face, I tried to get my breathing under control. Outside the storm was still raging. The wind was howling between the roar of the thunder and the curtains did nothing to block out the lightning.
Throwing my blanket aside, I tiptoed out of the room and down the hall. I started to knock but decided against it. Easing the door open, I stepped inside. It was dark inside, but the lightning helped to see a little. I quietly walked over to the side of the bed with the large lump and leaned down. The light wasn't enough to make out his face, but I knew he was facing me. Standing in front of him, I had second thoughts. He had said anything, but I doubted that applied to nightmares. I was contemplating going back to my own bed when he spoke.
"What is it?" he asked, startling me. His voice was low and laced with sleep.
"I-I had a nightmare," I whispered, wincing and wishing I could take the words back as soon as they left my mouth.
I held my breath as he just laid there, trying to think of a reasonable excuse. Derek inhaled sharply as he crossed completely into the land of the consciousness. I opened my mouth to tell him to forget it, but he pushed back the blanket and sat up. I bit my lip and watched as he ran his hands through his hair and rubbed at his eyes. Standing up, he gently wrapped his hand around my arm and guided me around the furniture and out into the hallway.
He let go of my arm once the door was shut behind us, but the lack of contact didn't last long. He reached back and took my hand to lead me through the darkness. I still ended up tripping over a shoe and I stumbled forward, my free hand grasping his arm to stop myself from falling. Derek stopped momentarily to make sure I wasn't going to tip over and kept going. I didn't let go of his arm, though.
He led us down the stairs and into the living room. I swallowed as lightning flashed outside and leaned my head against his bare back, eyes closed. He led me to the couch and wrapped a large blanket around me before walking over to the window and securing the curtains, which didn't block the lightning, but did help block my view of the trees blowing around. I waited for him to say something, but he came back to the couch and sat down next to me, facing me with one leg folded on the couch and one off.
"You okay to talk about it?" he asked.
I took a shaky breath before telling him about the dream. I didn't have to think hard to remember it. It was just another variation of the same dream I've been having since Halloween.
"You never mentioned that you were having nightmares about him," Derek said, his voice low and soft.
I smiled halfheartedly at my lap. "Yeah, well, I was putting on a brave face. I was tired of being the damsel in distress."
"Then what am I supposed to do?" he asked, offering a small smile. "The knight in shining armor has to make a living somehow, right?"
I smiled back. Thunder erupted outside and I winced, screwing my eyes shut. Derek reached forward and pulled the blanket up and over my head. As he leaned forward to unfold the rest of my blanket, my nose was practically against his bare chest and I let out a shaky breath. I closed my eyes and let my head fall forward until my forehead was leaning against his chest.
Something dropped against the kitchen floor and I groaned, fighting consciousness. Pulling the blanket up tighter around me, I sighed and settled back against the mattress. The really warm, slightly hard mattress.
"Why are you always laying on me?" Derek's sleepy rumble said beneath me.
Unlike the last time I woke up on top of Derek, I didn't immediately jump up in embarrassment. I didn't open my eyes, but I knew we were still on the couch and I somehow managed to sprawl across him with the blanket around us.
Inhaling sharply, I turned my head until my forehead was flat against his shoulder. I cracked my eyes and immediately squeezed them shut when the morning sun threatened cornea murder. Mumbling sleepily, I said,
"You need new curtains."
"Or some plywood," he grumbled, lifting his hand to cover his eyes.
Sitting up, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and struggled to adjust to the light. Once I could see, I realized I was straddling Derek with my butt firmly planted over a case of either 'he's happy to see me' or morning wood. The knee of his leg not hanging off the side of the couch was bent up and prevented me from sliding back. He didn't make a move or say anything as I stared down at him sprawled out beneath me. His arm was crossed over his eyes to block the sun and the other was propped behind his head.
"And me without my camera," I said, smiling.
"Who's really the photogenic one right now?" he asked, not moving his arm from his face. "The one being straddled or the one doing the straddling?"
This time I did blush. I mumbled a sorry and attempted lifting myself off him, but my foot caught on the blanket wrapped under his knee and I crashed my face into his arm, smashing my nose against his with an 'oomph.' He lifted his arm just enough to peak out from under it at my extremely red face that was mere inches from his.
"Somehow I feel like I'll be safer when I'm off to college," he said.
"Safer, yes," a voice said from right next to us, "But think about how much less exciting your life will be."
We both turned our heads to find Liz leaning over the back of the couch with her head right next to ours.
"As comfortable as you both look," she said. "Perhaps the living room isn't the best place or else there are certain people who will never let you live this down."
The sound of footsteps in the hallway upstairs had us scrambling up. Simon came bounding downstairs, still in his pajamas, just as Derek and I managed to look a little less conspicuous.
"What's for breakfast?" he asked, stopping to peck Liz on the cheek.
"Waffles," Liz said. "And I cut up some fruit."
"Great," he said, "Need help with the waffles?"
"No," she said, following him into the kitchen. "Matt's working on it."
When they were out of the room, I glanced down at my wrinkled Monkees t-shirt and shorts and suddenly felt self-conscious. Pulling down my shirt a little, I cleared my throat.
"Um."
"Communications major?" he asked, walking toward the kitchen.
I did the most adult thing I could think of and stuck my tongue out at his back.
"What time did you wake up?" Mila asked, coming down the stairs.
"Couldn't sleep," I lied.
"Yeah, the thunder kept waking me up, too," she said. "Breakfast?"
"Waffles," I said, gesturing to the kitchen.
I followed her in and accepted the already waffled plate Matt offered. He was busy popping them out one by one as everybody served themselves and started to eat. I sat down next to Liz and poured an unhealthy amount of syrup on my waffle.
"That was some storm last night," Simon said, "I bet we lost some trees last night."
"We should go on a hike later and see," Liz suggested.
"I'm game," Matt said. "Though I think sleeping beauty won't be participating."
We all glanced at the last empty plate.
"We should escape while she's still asleep," Simon said, grinning.
"Is it dry enough yet for a hike?" Liz asked Derek.
"Doubt it," he answered. "We'll just have to be careful."
"I'll pack a first aid kit," Liz said, standing up and depositing her plate in the sink. "I'll pack a bag."
"I'll help," Simon said. Looking over at Matt, "You good here?"
"Yeah, I'll just finish up the last few for Tori if she decides to wake up and pop them in the fridge."
We all shuffled out and to our respective rooms, changing into actual clothes. I was rifling through my duffel, swearing when I realized I hadn't packed a sweatshirt or anything.
"You okay?" Mila asked, pulling hers over her head.
"Yeah, just my bad planning apparently. I forgot my sweatshirt."
She stopped to think. "I didn't pack an extra."
I sat back on my heels, thinking. I looked one last time at my duffle bag and a light bulb went off. Standing up, I walked down the hall and peeked into Derek's room as he was buttoning his jeans. He glanced over in his shirtless glory and raised an eyebrow.
"I need to get into the garage."
He nodded and pulled his shirt over his head. Plucking his jacket off the bed, he led me out and down the stairs. Everybody was waiting for us, minus the obvious.
We all followed Derek over to the garage, where he unlocked and lifted up the door. I pulled open my hatch and unzipped my overly stuffed emergency bag. Smiling at the reason it was overly stuffed, I pulled out Derek's sweatshirt I had forgotten I'd stuffed in there and pulled it over my head.
"Ready."
Mila gave me a look as I walked out but didn't say anything. Derek led the way into the woods and onto a slightly overgrown trail. We let Derek stay in front to test out how safe the trail was while we followed behind. Mila began to lag and I slowed down to make sure everything was okay. She shook her head when I started to speak and I got her message. Derek turned his head when he noticed we weren't right behind them and I shook my head at his questioning look. I waited until we were far enough behind before I said anything.
"Something wrong?" I asked, keeping my voice low.
"What's going on between you and the quarterback?" she asked, giving me a suggestive smile.
I rolled my eyes and picked up my pace. "Nothing."
"Oh come on," she insisted, keeping step. "He's been staring at you the entire trip. And you guys were all cozy at the bonfire last night."
"I'm surprised you noticed anything beyond Matt's face on yours," I said.
She snorted, "You've got to be blind not to see it. He's fallen hard. For you."
I ignored her and it was her turn to roll her eyes.
"And don't think I haven't noticed the doe eyes back at him," she argued. "You're totally into him."
"And?" I responded, keeping my gaze forward.
She stopped in her tracks and yanked me to a stop with her, spinning me around to face her.
Wide eyed, she said, "And? Did you just admit it?"
I shrugged. "What's the point of denying it?"
She gaped at me. "You're actually telling me that you're into him? No maybes?"
"No maybes," I said. "I like Derek. I've liked him for a while."
She started to freak out a little and I held out my hand to stop her from cheering.
"I'm not going to do anything about it," I said. "So don't start planning double dates."
Her jaw dropped. "What?! Why the hell not? He's right there!"
"I've already made an idiot of myself around him," I explained. "I'm not doing that again. And I know that I didn't actually 'like' him before, it was just some stupid crush. And if he liked me, he'd do something about it."
"But he's a guy!" Mila said, throwing her hands out in frustration. "He doesn't know how to emote!"
I gave her a look.
"Okay," she said. "He's Derek. He doesn't know how to emote."
I started to walk away. "I'm not changing my mind. And don't say anything to him!"
She sighed. "Fine. I won't violate the bonds of our friendship."
I rolled my eyes.
"But I'm telling Sam," she said, pulling out her phone.
I turned my head to say something just as her foot hit a soft patch while her attention was elsewhere and she pivoted, losing her balance. She let out a scream as her arms spread out in a vain attempt to stop herself from falling. She managed to grab hold of my arm, but not fast enough and she pulled me down with her as the slope failed beneath her feet and we slid down the side of the hill on our backs. I tried to curl up to protect my head as I slid, but I couldn't get enough traction to control my body. Mila caught a tree and stopped herself, but I kept going and she called after me. I felt my wrist collide with something hard and sharp pain shot through my arm as I let out a scream of pain.
I don't know how far I slid down, but when I finally stopped, I screwed my eyes shut from the pain as I cradled my wrist to my chest and curled into a ball. Tears streamed down my face and I struggled to keep the sobs of pain from escaping. I could hear my name being called from somewhere far away, but I couldn't move.
A hand touched my shoulder and I jerked, crying out when I jostled my wrist. The hand didn't move and another pushed away the hair plastered to my face with mud. They were saying something, but I couldn't focus on the words. The hand on my shoulder slowly moved down my arm and firmly held my forearm, pulling it into my chest as they wrapped their other arm under my and pulled me up. The arm wrapped securely around me and I buried my face into their chest, trying to control my breathing.
"Can you move?"
I looked up to see Derek leaning over me. He was on his knees next to me, holding me to his chest. He was covered in mud from sliding down the hill after me.
"I don't know," I said, softly. Letting out a sob, "I think it's broken."
"We need to get to the hospital," he voice low.
I nodded dumbly.
"Can you handle getting to the top of the hill if I help you?" he asked.
"Maybe."
"Just keep holding your wrist, okay?" he said.
He stood up slowly, keeping his arm around my waist as he pulled me up with him. He kept his arm around me as we slowly slipped our way up the hill, him keeping me standing as we ascended. When we got to the top, Simon and Matt reached out and helped me onto solid ground. Everyone started to crowd around me, but Derek shot them a look. He placed his hand on the small of my back and gently prodded me towards the house.
We all walked back in complete silence. The mud was starting to dry on my skin and my face was beginning to itch. I really wanted out of these muddy clothes, but I didn't know if I could manage it with my wrist. As we neared the house, the door opened the Tori stepped out. She was about to make some smart ass comment when she saw me gripping my wrist and she snapped her mouth shut.
"We need to get to the hospital," Derek told her.
"Can I wash first?" I asked. "The mud is really itchy."
"Can you manage?" he asked.
"I'll help her," Liz said, "Tori, go grab a change of clothes and an ice pack."
Tori disappeared upstairs as Liz led me to the downstairs bathroom.
"We'll have to be careful," Liz said. "Just a rinse, okay? And a change of clothes if you can?"
I nodded. She helped my carefully pull my arm through the arm of Derek's sweatshirt and she pulled off the rest of the way. Luckily my t-shirt was clean underneath. The same couldn't be said about my jeans and she pulled off my shoes and helped take off my jeans just as Tori slipped into the bathroom with new clothes.
"Just the pants," Liz said.
They helped me into a new pair of jeans and then carefully cleaned off the mud, including washing it out of my hair over the sink. When I was clean, Liz and I met everyone in the living room. Derek was standing in clean clothes with his car keys in hand and both our bags slung over his shoulder. He held out the ice pack Tori had forgotten wrapped in a cloth. I held it to my wrist and winced. Matt and Mila were also standing with their bags, but Simon was noticeably missing from the group.
"We'll stay behind and finish cleaning up," Liz said. "We'll bring back your car."
I nodded. Derek gestured us out and I followed behind and to his car which he had already pulled out of the garage. He helped me into the passenger seat and then he secured my seat belt for me. Once everyone and everything was buckled up and packed away, Derek pulled out of the yard and down the long driveway.
"I called your Dad while you were changing," Mila said quietly from the back seat. "He said he'd try to catch a flight back but the weather is bad so it might not be tonight."
"Thanks," I said, smiling slightly into the side mirror back at her.
We rode in silence back into town and I spent the ride with my eyes closed trying to focus on something besides the pain. The ice pack was helping, but it was starting to warm up. I knew I shouldn't, but I kept feeling guilty for cutting the weekend short for everyone. I wasn't kidding earlier. I really was getting tired of being the damsel in distress. I felt like Daphne from Scooby Doo: danger prone. It wasn't that I didn't try to stay safe and not get hurt, but somehow I always ended up on the wrong end of something.
Derek pulled into the parking lot of the emergency room and we all got out. When we walked into the lobby, I stopped in my tracks and smiled, instantly feeling the smallest bit better. Ben stood up from the chair he was sitting in next to Amy. She glanced over and kept her seat, but smiled at me as Ben rushed over.
"Are you okay?" he asked. "Steve called and said you'd gotten hurt and to meet you at the ER. What happened?"
I gestured down at my wrist. "I fell."
He winced down at it. Wrapping his arms around my shoulders, he led me to the help desk. I glanced back to where everyone was standing in the entry and allowed the nurse to lead me into a small room. It took a while for them to poke and prod me and take X-rays to confirm that my wrist was in fact broken. Luckily it was a clean break so they could just plaster me up. I wasn't thrilled about my wrist being out of commission for six weeks, especially when I didn't have gym to get out of, but I was grateful it was just my left wrist and not my right one.
After what felt like forever, we were finally released from the emergency room. Amy was sitting in the same chair talking on the phone. She glanced over when she heard the door open and mouthed 'Lauren' when Ben gave her a questioning look. We both winced. Matt and Mila were nowhere to be seen, but Derek was sitting across from Amy and he stood up when we walked out.
"I'll run over to the pharmacy real quick and grab your meds, okay?" Ben said to me.
I nodded. He gave Amy an apologetic look as she continued to deal with Aunt Lauren over the phone. Derek walked over and looked down at my wrist.
"It's not completely set yet," I said, gesturing to the cast. "But if should be sign-worthy by tomorrow if you want to be the first one to sign it."
His lip quirked. "Sure. I'll write 'If found, return to Derek' in permanent marker."
I rolled my eyes. "Aren't knights supposed to 24/7 or something?"
"You might wander off during bathroom breaks or something," he argued.
"You're so dramatic," I said. "You should have totally taken theatre or something."
"I think we both know how that would end," he said.
"Yeah," I agreed. "Badly."
"You ready to go?" Ben asked, walking up behind me. "You're bunking at our place tonight."
"I really don't need to be looked after," I argued.
"The meds might make you a little sick," Ben explained. "I just want to make sure you don't react badly or something."
"Fair enough," I said. "I just need to get my bag from Derek's car."
I followed Derek to his car and he unlocked his trunk for me.
"Thanks," I said.
I pulled out my bag and Ben walked over and took it from me.
"Thanks for driving her to the hospital," Ben said to Derek.
Derek nodded and made sure I was tucked away in Ben's car with him and Amy before he took off. I watched his tail lights and sighed. Some weekend.
I took my first dose of painkillers when we got to Ben and Amy's house. I also decided it was my last dose of this painkiller. The nausea was not worth it. And neither was being knocked out cold. As I drifted off, I called Derek.
"Shouldn't you be passed out by now?" he asked, picking up.
"Working on it," I said smiling. "I'm sorry for ruining the weekend."
"You didn't ruin it," he argued. "Just bad timing for a hike. We'll try again this summer when the ground is sturdier and you don't have a paper mache arm."
"Ha ha," I said, sarcastically. "You should start a comedy club. You'd just kill it."
"You'll be happy to know Ricky is back home."
I groaned. "Oh, don't you start, too."
"I'm not ordering a wedding present," Derek said. "But if Liz wants to occupy her time coming up with backstories for inanimate objects, more power to her."
"It's so sad though," I said, sighing.
"What is?"
"They never got a proper wedding," I said. "And live so far apart from each other. Torn apart."
"I see your meds are kicking in," he said. I could hear the smile in his voice and I smiled stupidly.
"Hey, Derek?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you stay on the line until I fall asleep?" I asked. "I want to make sure I don't do anything stupid."
"Anything stupid?" he asked.
"It's happened before," I groaned.
"Tell me about it," he said, his voice sincere.
I started to tell him about the time I sprained my ankle in middle school and didn't react well to the meds. I don't know how far I got into the story or when I drifted out, but I know that Derek listened to every word.