Chapter 48
I didn’t wait for Karl to say anything.
I turned around and walked fast, eyes straight ahead. The trail crunched beneath my sneakers. I didn’t care where I was going. I just needed to get away from them, from that image, her mouth on his and his hands on her.
I had only ended up on that path because I got separated from the rest of the group. A wrong turn after a water break, I wasn’t trying to find him and I wasn’t following him.
But there he was with her.
1 gripped the strap of my backpack tighter and blinked hard. I hated how much it hurt. My chest felt tight, but I kept my head up. I wasn’t going to cry, not here, not in this stupid forest.
Eventually, the trail opened up again, and I caught sight of a few familiar staff members standing near a ranger post. They were gathering for the hike, I slipped back into the group without saying anything, pretending I’d just lagged behind.
The trip leader, some guy in a bright green vest and too much sunscreen, started explaining the route.
My eyes stayed on the dirt, but I could feel Karl’s gaze on me from across the group. I didn’t look at him, not once.
The rest of them were talking in pairs, laughing, comparing water bottles and gear like they knew each other. I stood there alone, my arms crossed across my chest, wishing I could disappear, wishing I never signed the contract and wanting to quit this stupid job right this damn instant-
I didn’t belong here, I didn’t belong anywhere anymore.
The hike started with a short incline. Everyone moved at a slow pace, staying together in one long line. 1 kept to the middle, walking behind Kent and some guy from finance. Karl and Gypsy were at the front. She kept touching his arm, laughing like she was trying too hard.
Every time I glanced up, she was leaning into him, brushing invisible dust off his shoulder, or tugging at the straps on his bag
“I hate this,” I muttered under my breath.
The sun kept pushing through the trees, heating the back of my neck. My foot slipped once on a loose patch of gravel, but I caught myself before falling.
We stopped near a break in the trees to regroup.
“God” Gypsy whined, farining herself with her hand. “How are we not done yet? I swear I’ve lost five pounds already.”
Karl didn’t say anything, He handed her his water bottle without looking annoyed, She took a sip and made a face like it was the most romantic gesture in history.
I turned away and stared at a tree, picking at the skin near my thumb.
Then it happened.
Gypsy screamed.
“There’s a snake!” she shrieked, jumping up so fast she nearly knocked over someone’s hiking pole
Everyone turned around.
“Where?” the guide asked
“There!” She pointed to a rock near the trail, then ran straight toward Karl.
Before anyone could react, she threw herself into his arms.
“I think it bit me,” she cried. “I swear it touched me. I felt something”
My heart was thudding. I scanned the ground, eyes darting, but I didn’t see anything. Still, I took a fast step back and caught my heel on
a root. My ankle twisted slightly, and I hissed under my breath. The sharp scratch tore into my skin above my sock.
Karl kept his arms around Gypsy, holding her carefully. His voice was low. “It didn’t bite you, there’s nothing there, I checked.”
Chapter 18
“But it felt like it did,” she said, clinging to him like her life depended on it.
“You’re okay,” he said, brushing hair out of her face. “You’re not bleeding, you’re okay.”
She leaned her head into his chest, milking the moment but he didn’t push her off
“I don’t want to do this anymore,” she said, “I can’t finish this hike, what if there are more?”
Karl turned toward the rest of the group
“We’re done for today,” he said, “It’s getting late anyway, we’ll head back.”
No one argued.
As we started heading back down the trail, I heard the whispers.
“Wait, isn’t she his wife?”
Then why’s he holding that other woman like that?”
“Don’t you know? That’s his actual girlfriend, the wife’s just for show.”
I didn’t turn around but I saw the smirk on Gypsy’s face over Karl’s shoulder, she’d heard it too.
By the time we got back to the campsite, the sky was already dimming. Rows of tents had been set up in a clearing, lanterns flickered along the edges, everyone grabbed their bags and started picking spots
I stood near the edge of the group, unsure where to go. My legs ached, the scratch on my ankle was throbbing, the idea of spending the night here made my skin crawl.
I wanted a real bed, I wanted silence and wanted to stop pretending I was okay,
Then I heard Karl’s voice behind ine.
“Let’s go, you’ll sleep in my tent.
I froze.
Gypsy looked up from where she was fixing her sleeping bag, her eyes lit up, she stood and started walking toward his tent.
Karl turned his head slightly, “where are you going?”
She stopped, confused, “you said…..”
“I was talking to her,” he said, reaching his hand out toward me, “Ellen.”
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