Page 62 of Avelina

Does he know I can hear him? I asked, my heart twisting in my chest.

She narrowed her eyes at Ward as if she wasn’t sure, then shook her head. I don’t think so, but he suspects something is amiss.

I felt my eyebrows climbing up to my hairline. This might come in handy at some point, but I’m not sure I should be doing it right now.

Ward’s gaze shifted to Aaron as he thought, I wish I’d been having sex with him all night instead of . . . then I saw his memory of what he had done instead, and my hands came up to my face in protest.

Stop, Spirit! I don’t want to know any more. Jesus. This is intrusive. I need to not do this to my friend.

The vision disappeared and Spirit burst out into another round of giggles. I gave her a flat stare. As it turned out, there had been a competition going on after all, but it had been over Aaron, not me. I had known Ward was gay, but the revelation that he was in love with Aaron was startling. I wasn’t sure that covering my face with my hand was enough to cover my shock, so I turned away from them.

“I need to, um, go organize my hiking pack,” I said. “I’ll let you men hash this out.”

I headed back for the stairs, glancing around the great room as I did. The walls were all lined with large, curtainless windows. The morning light streamed in to reveal the same level of craftsmanship I had seen in the attic. There was a long, rather Brobdingnagian table where we’d eaten the night before. It had been like sitting up at a high bar rather than a dinner table.

Though the room was much more understated than the attic had been, it seemed like someone had lovingly applied planks to the floor and walls to create a seamless expanse of rich hardwood. A woodburning stove rose up to the ceiling in the corner with large, cushioned chairs arranged around it. The room was simple yet rich with warmth and practicality. It was as if the love of many generations was infused directly into the fabric of the house. I loved it, but it made me think of my own home, now reduced to ashes.

Mom. Dad. Where are you? Please be safe.

I looked over my shoulder as I trotted up the stairs and said, “Ward, will you spend some time with me today? I need your help with something.”

Both men turned to me. Ward said, “Of course.” Aaron narrowed his eyes at me and looked back at Ward, pensive.

Wow, I can’t even talk to Ward without him getting jealous. Ward is jealous of me. Aaron is jealous of Ward. This is getting out of hand. Spirit, do you have any ideas?

Yeah, dump out your bag, she thought to me.

Oh, yeah, I forgot about that.

Of course, you did, she thought back. Multiple orgasms will do that.

It was only two, I thought to her, and then I remembered that two had been the same number she had given me. The memory flashed through my mind before I could stop it, and I thought, I can’t believe I’ll never get to do that again. I knew she heard my thoughts, but she didn’t comment. I pushed the thought away. Okay, I’ll go get my bag.

Chapter Eighteen

And she knew all of Emeris was connected by the threads of creation just as she was connected to Syndeth. She saw the threads with her eyes when she used the key, and with her heart when she flew astride her friend’s back.

I made my way to the hidden closet, though I had more trouble opening the door than Aaron had. I climbed up the ladder and into the attic, then reached for my hiking pack. At long last, I sat down and dumped the contents out on the floor into a pile.

An extra pair of socks and underwear landed on my knee, which made me laugh. I also found the bear spray, which I had forgotten about, and which also made me laugh. I attached it to the quick-release strap, where I’d had it for two years. There was a small ziplock bag with cords, one of which had the solar charger and cord that were meant to connect to my phone. The attachment for my watch was also in there. I didn’t remember packing that. I found the watch and attached it to the charger, then set it in the little sunny patch in the middle of the floor.

The water bottle was empty, but there were five granola bars left. My keys were in there, a credit card with a twenty-dollar bill wrapped around it and secured with a rubber band, the first aid kit, the useless satellite GPS, extra batteries, the leash and collar, and the book. Still no freaking toothpaste.

I stuck my hand into the bottom of the pack to see if anything was left in there that hadn’t fallen out. I wrapped my hand around a piece of cloth and yanked on it, pulling out a windbreaker scrunched up into a ball. It was my waterproof, fleece-lined Columbia jacket.

I could have used this last night. I wish I’d known it was in there.

I poked my nose into the bag again to make sure I hadn’t missed anything else, and to my surprise, I found a small survival kit stuffed in the very bottom. It had a lighter, a silver emergency blanket, a windup radio with a compass, an orange whistle, a small bottle of sunscreen, a LifeStraw, and a Leatherman multitool. I didn’t remember putting any of that in there either. It was almost as if I hadn’t been the one to pack the bag at all.

“What the hell?” I said. “Spirit, are you here?”

“Yeah,” she said. She appeared across from the pile of belongings, sitting cross-legged. “So, you finally found the treasure hoard.”

“What? You knew this was in here the whole time? Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.

Spirit snort-laughed. “It’s your own fault you never listen to me.”

“Oh, come on, that’s not true. I value your opinion.”

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