Page 112 of Heart So Hollow

“Well, well, well…” Bowen dismounts his quad and saunters to the edge of the bank.

Jay stands next to him, arms crossed, staring at Hildy’s submerged vehicle wedged in the middle of the creek, “I told you,” he shrugs with a shake of his head.

“It didn’t look that deep!” Hildy yells, her excuses falling on deaf ears.

“Happy birthday to me…happy birthday to me…” Jay croons, kicking a stone into the water.

“Shut up and get us out!” Hildy hollers impatiently from our precarious perch.

Jay and Bowen turn to one another, probably discussing what to do. A minute later, Jay starts unwinding the cable from the winch on the front of his quad and hands the end of it to Bowen. Bowen pulls his grey t-shirt over his head and tosses it onto his seat before he starts wading into the creek with his boots and jeans still on. Jay continues unwinding the cable as Bowen makes his way toward us, the current breaking hard against his hips.

When he finally reaches us, he grabs onto the handle bars and bends down. By the time he gets low enough to hook the winch onto the front of Hildy’s quad, he’s fully submerged except for his head, the water lapping at his chin. Bowen stands back up, creek water dripping from every contour of his body, and eyes us with amusement.

“I told you,” he turns to me with a smug grin, “you should’ve ridden with me.”

“Whatever,” Hildy rolls her eyes, “just tow us out.”

“No,” Bowen shakes his head, “I don’t know what you’re caught on. If it flips when we start pulling, you’re toast. You have to come back with me.”

“Can we walk?” I dip my hand into the water to test the current, knowing full well it’s always stronger than it feels.

“No way,” Bowen shakes his head again, “it’s too strong for you.”

“Even if we hold onto each other?” Hildy hitches her leg up and swivels around on the seat.

Bowen glances around, surveying the situation. After a minute, he motions to us, “Come on,” he gives a nod and points to Hildy, “you, on my back, and you,” he points to me, “I’ll carry in front.”

“Are you fucking serious right now?” Hildy scoffs.

“Yes, I’m fucking serious right now,” Bowen asserts, “just get on my back. It’ll be easier walking back with the two of you weighing me down.”

Hildy and I look at each other and then at Bowen, standing waist deep in the water, waiting for us to do as he says. A minute later I’m clinging to Bowen around the shoulders while he grips me under my thighs. Hildy’s body is draped over his back with his waist clenched between her knees.

“Oh my god,” Jay laughs as he whips his phone out of his pocket, “I have to get a picture of this.”

I can’t believe we make it to the bank without tumbling over into the water and washing downstream. And even though the three of us are thoroughly soaked, I can feel my shorts starting to dry out by the time we emerge from the tree line in Hildy and Jay’s yard. This time, I’m riding behind Bowen on his quad. And by the time we trudge up the hill after parking them in the pole building, Leona is already at the patio table with towels, Hannah right behind her with another armload.

I groan to myself and consciously refrain from rolling my eyes back in my head. I knew this was coming. It’s Jay’s birthday, so of course Hildy’s best friend will be in attendance. But the last time I saw Hannah was just over a week ago at the Rickhouse, after narrowly escaping an attempted assault and exchanging sordid accusations with her in a public restroom. Not to mention all this happened while I was trying to evade my newly acquired stalker who’s already broken into my vehicle and is obviously the one who left garden bricks piled behind my car months ago. Seeing Hannah only reminds me of all the things I’m actively trying to avoid.

Because that’s what I do.

Leona’s shrill voice cuts through the air, turning my attention away from another awkward encounter with Hannah.

“Girl, what is wrong with you—you drove into the creek?” Leona chides from the other side of the table, “You could’ve died!”

“You told my mom on me?” Hildy whips around to Jay.

“Hey, all I said was that we got held up down by the creek…” he averts his eyes, “and that you might need a change of clothes.”

Hildy swipes a towel off the table with an irritated growl and starts drying off.

“And where were the two of you when your wife and your sister were driving off to their death?” Leona turns her ire to Jay and Bowen.

“Towing their asses out!” Bowen tosses his balled-up shirt onto the table, “Well, Jay towed the quad. I towed them.”

Jay holds out his phone to Leona, unable to speak as he’s overcome with laughter again. She squints and cranes her neck to look at the ridiculous picture of Bowen carrying Hildy and I across the creek.

Her eyes fly open, “Brett was stuck in the creek, too?” Leona reels back and smacks Bowen across the shoulder, giving him a start.

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