Drama Queen

Helen

how was the party last night?

Emma

omg helen

Emma

it was lit af

Helen

😩

Helen

tell me everything

Emma

we went thru 2 kegs, 5 handles, soooo much weed

Emma

i fucked that hottie starbucks barista haha

Helen

whhhhhaaaaat?! 😳

Helen

u go girl 🙌 ☕️

Emma

chris was asking about u all night

Helen

shut up

Emma

dead serious

Emma

until that thirsty ho brittany got all over him in my parents jacuzzi

Helen

noooooooooo

Helen

that shoulda been me ho’in it up in that jacuzzi 😭

Emma

how was the wedding ?

Helen

good i guess

Helen

until my mom and stepdad went on a last minute honeymoon

Helen

now im stuck up here alone w my stepbrother until they get back

Emma

is he cute? 🤓

Helen

omg gross!

Helen

hes a fucking redneck and he creeps me the fuck out

Emma

u didn’t answer my question 😘

Helen

ughhhhhhhh youre so nasty

Emma

whats he doing right now

Helen

hes in the backyard chopping wood

Emma

🌶🌶🌶

Helen

🤮

I literally LOL’d. Finding out that Chris and Brittany had hooked up was a cunt punch, but Emma could always cheer me up.

Texting with her made Bear Creek more bearable—even if she was teasing the shit out of me.

After Mom and Jack had left, I’d searched the house high and low for a cell signal. I ~had~ to get the latest gossip from Emma’s party last night.

I’d found the staircase to the attic. I got a bar up there, but for some reason I still couldn’t text.

That was when I noticed the skylight.

I'd slid a chair beneath it, cracked it open, then pulled my fat ass up onto the roof. Damn, I was out of shape.

Now I was sitting up here, giggling like a tween as my best friend and I caught up on the last forty-eight hours. Any passerby would think I belonged in an insane asylum.

Luckily, the only person around was Sam.

Not that I felt particularly lucky about that…

I looked down, putting up a hand to shield my eyes from the wind.

Like I’d told Emma, Sam was down in the backyard chopping wood. He was shirtless again, swinging the heavy axe like it was nothing.

Sweat had broken out across his wide chest, dripping down to the waistband of his jeans. His biceps bulged as he swung.

I had to admire his strength—even though cutting wood seemed like the most boring shit in the world. He wasn’t even listening to music!

Sensing my stare, Sam turned in my direction, resting the axe head on his shoulder. I immediately went back to my phone.

I didn’t want him to think I was checking him out.

~You mean ADMIRING him,~ a pesky little voice said in the back of my head.

I told that thought where it could go, then pivoted my body in the opposite direction. Sam wouldn’t get any more ideas from me.

“Hey!” I heard him shout. “What the hell are you doing up there?”

I glanced back. “Trying to get a signal.”

“Be careful, okay? It’s windy!”

“Thanks for the weather report, but I’m an idiot!” I shouted.

Sam put his hands up innocently. I went back to my phone. A moment later, I heard his chopping resume.

~Ugh. Shut the fuck up, George Washington. I’m trying to text here.~

~BANG!~

I shot up from the roof.

~What the fuck was that sound?! Is the roof caving in?~

No, it couldn’t be. Jack seemed like he knew his way around a hammer and nails. He was probably one heck of a carpenter.

Then I saw it.

The open skylight had blown shut in the wind.

~Damn it!~

I crawled over, trying my best to wrench it open.

But of course I couldn’t.

I was trapped up here.

And there was only one person I could turn to for help.

I groaned and crawled in the direction of the backyard.

~Okay, Sam. Here’s your chance not to be a total dick. Surprise me.~

“Ummm… Sam?” I called down.

He turned around, lowering his axe.

“I uh… I…”

“Spit it out, sis! I’m busy down here!”

I winced.

~You deserved that, you rude bitch.~

“The skylight. The wind blew it closed, and…and…”

Even up there, I could see Sam’s shit-eating grin. Hell, you could see it from space.

“You need my help?”

I nodded. “…Yeah.”

“Be up in a jiffy, sis,” he said, a slight chuckle in his voice.

I rolled my eyes. I could already tell he was going to lord this over me forever.

~Fucking Bear Creek.~

I waited up there a few minutes, shivering in the wind, until I heard the skylight creak open. Sam’s head popped out. I stifled a laugh—he looked like a whack-a-mole.

He held out his hand. “Right this way, ~sis~.”

“You know ‘Helen’ is just fine,” I said, crawling toward him.

“Aw, don’t be like that.” He frowned mockingly. “I’ve never had a sister.”

He moved aside as I came over to the skylight and then helped me back inside. I braced myself for a fondle or an ass-grab, but his hands were safe and sturdy—no funny business.

I felt the tiniest pang of disappointment.

I stepped down off the chair, and Sam released me. I struggled to meet his eyes.

“Um… Thanks.”

“You’re welcome, ~Helen~.” He laughed. “Nope, sorry, I’m sticking with ‘sis.’ I like the way it gets your goat.”

I gave a hollow chuckle and tried to move past him down the stairs. Sam blocked my path.

“I was thinking,” he said, fidgeting with his hands. “In return for saving your life and all—”

“You didn’t save my life!”

“Six of one, half-dozen of the other,” he shot back. “The point is, I thought maybe we could go for a little hike. I’m sure you don’t want to spend ~all~ your time here cooped up inside.”

“You don’t know me very well,” I said, going for the stairs. He blocked me again.

“Look, Helen. We should get to know each other, for our parents’ sake. And…our own.” His voice sounded earnest. I met his eyes again. I saw nothing in them but friendliness.

~Well, maybe I COULD go on a little hike. He is family after all.~

“Okay,” I sighed. “What did you have in mind?”

Sam’s eyes twinkled.

***

“Hurry up, sis!”

Sam blazed ahead through the woods. There was barely a trail to follow, and he was practically running.

~Asshole.~

I hung back, slogging along in my pink Doc Marten shit-kickers, denim shorts, and a vest top that had “Drama Queen” spelled out in diamanté crystals. My pink glittery backpack hung over my shoulders, a shitload of keychains jingling from the zippers.

Feeling truly ridiculous in my outfit, I regretted not dressing more appropriately for the occasion. I thought “a little hike” meant a short jaunt around a tree or something—we’d been bushwhacking out here for going on three hours.

I’d never done so much walking in my entire life.

~Oof!~

I tripped over a tree root. I looked down at my boots and saw a scuff mark.

~Shit, that won’t polish out!~

“Can we turn around?” I whined. “I’m tired as shit.”

Sam turned back. “You want some water?”

“I ~want~ some Smirnoff.”

He rolled his eyes and handed me the Nalgene water bottle from his pack.

“Do you always complain this much?”

I turned around, lowering my backpack to reveal the words written on my vest. Sam chuckled. “Right. I should’ve guessed.”

“Why do you like it out here?” I asked, swatting the millionth black fly of the hike. The little bastards were worse here than back at the house. “Nature’s so boring.”

“Nature is ~not~ boring,” Sam said. “This is the way life should be. Breathing fresh air beneath the open sky.” He gestured above us. “Listening to the rustling leaves. Feeling a cool breeze on your face.”

I swatted another fly. “Getting gang-banged by a bunch of bloodsuckers.”

Sam frowned. “Just give it a chance, will ya? It’s not like Boulder is New York fucking City.”

“Next to Bear Creek it is,” I shot back.

“You must spend ~some~ time outside.”

“Well, yeah. Emma and I go to the park on nice days sometimes.”

“There you go. So you ~do~ like nature.”

“We just go there to smoke weed.”

“Weed’s part of nature too. It comes from the Earth.”

I smirked. “Do you grow weed up here?”

Sam gave a nonchalant shrug. “Not personally. But I may or may not know a guy…”

“Holy shit. Do you have weed?” I pressed. “Ohmygod, this trip would be ~so~ much better!”

“Wow, sis,” he chuckled. “Do my ears deceive me, or are you actually taking an interest in nature?”

“I’m not—fuck, Sam, are you holding or not?”

He answered with a sphinx-like smile.

“Ugh! You bastard!”

Sam laughed. “Sorry, sis, but riling you up is turning into my new favorite hobby.”

“Yeah, well, when the alternatives are walking through the forest and chopping logs…”

He laughed again. “~Touché.~”

I handed Sam his water bottle. He tucked it back into his pack.

“I promise this is gonna be worth it. Just a little further.”

I sighed. The joking tone had left his voice—it was clear that he wanted to show me something.

“Okay. Just a little further.”

Sam slowed down as we hiked further along the narrow trails. Now we were side by side. The trees began to thin out, and soon, we found ourselves in a clearing.

My jaw dropped.

The ground was ~covered~ in a rainbow of wildflowers!

It was one of the most beautiful sights I’d ever seen. My artist’s brain went crazy for the palette of colors.

Reds, blues, violets, golds…I felt like we were in a Monet painting.

I noticed Sam watching me with his stupid grin. I did my best to hide my delight. No way he was getting ~another~ one over on me.

“The ground’s been moist on account of all the snow we got this winter,” he explained. “In this temperature, with the sun out like this, we were sure to get a nice bloom.”

“You really know your stuff,” I admitted.

“This place is in my blood,” Sam said, looking around. “Larsens have been in Bear Creek for generations. My ancestors helped found the place back in the Gold Rush days. I know everything there is to know about these woods.”

I sat on a rock, resting as I took in the flowers.

“You know a faster way back to the house? It’s gonna be dark soon, and I’m starving.”

Sam hoisted the pack from his back.

“Yeah… Meant to tell you about that earlier…” He opened his pack. “I was thinking we’d camp out here tonight.”

My eyes bulged.

~No, no, no, no, no, no.~

~This CANNOT be happening.~

“Camp?” was all I could manage.

Sam took a long, narrow nylon bag from his pack.

“I only have one tent. Hope that’s okay.”

~UMMMMMM…~

~What?!~

I was NOT spending the night alone in a tent with this nasty Neanderthal!

...Was I?