Page 8 of Creed

Somewhere in the woods I hear a twig snap and I drop, hunching down into a tight ball as my body releases a silent scream. Tears track down my face and I squeeze my eyes shut. I don’t like being alone and right now I’m downright terrified because I can’t find my brother, or my way back to the house where this dumb party is.

I just want to go home.

“Ash, please! I’m scared!” I cry as I start rocking back and forth on the ground.

I hear more leaves shuffling and twigs snapping, the sounds growing closer. I panic and scoot myself back, tripping and slipping along the way until my back hits the trunk of a tree. Except the tree happens to be wearing two heavy boots and the bark is made of denim.

It’s a person.

I try to scream again and try to crawl away when I feel a warm hand rest on my back, followed by soft shushing sounds.

I’m beside myself and wailing in fear for whoever this stranger is that’s found me.

“Hey, sweet girl, it’s okay. Shh, it’s okay.” It’s a man. His voice is soft as he removes his hand from my back and continues speaking in low tones. “I won’t hurt you. What are you doing out here alone?”

I manage to turn around on my hands and knees and shift to sit back on my bottom, wrapping my arms tightly around my knees. I say nothing as I look up through my wet lashes at this giant of a man. I can barely make out his silhouette in the moonlight shining through the trees. He looks like he’s even taller than Creed.

So slowly, he crouches down in front of me, his hands held out in front of him to show he’s no threat. “What’s your name, sweet girl?”

I sniffle, swiping at my wet face with the sleeve of my jacket as I tell him, “C-Collins. Collins Weston.”

“Hi, Collins, I’m Barrett, but my friends call me Bear. Who were you here with? Who left you alone out here in the woods?”

“M-my big br-brother brought me h-h-here,” I stutter as my chest hiccups in between sobs.

“Who is your brother, sweet girl?” he asks, his voice still gentle.

“Um, A-Asher Sutton.” I swipe at my runny nose, likely just making my face dirtier.

Bear swears softly under his breath before standing to half his height, still bent forward as he speaks to me. “I know where he and Dani went, but I didn’t know he’d brought you with him. I don’t want you out here all alone, do you feel comfortable walking with me back to the house?”

This man may be nice, but he’s still a stranger. I’m not comfortable going anywhere with strange men, even if they’re at the same party as my brother and Creed.

I keep myself planted on the cold, damp ground and shake my head. Bear exhales and backs up a few steps before sitting cross-legged in front of me. I hear him shuffle around before his face illuminates with the light of his phone.

He looks a little older than Creed and Asher by a few years, but has a handsome face with a short, trimmed beard. His hair is blonde, and it’s shorter, cropped on the sides and slightly longer on top. I can’t tell much more about him since he’s looking down, but he doesn’t seem so scary now that I have a better idea of what he looks like.

He puts his phone to his ear and sits silently for a moment before he breathes a heavy sigh. I guess whoever he called didn’t answer. He dials again, then speaks to whoever answers the other line. “Hey, can you meet me in the woods?” Silence as he listens. “Yeah, the second trail that leads to the fire pit.” Another pause. “I found a little girl out here and says she’s Asher’s little sister. Yeah. No. She’s okay, she just looks shaken up and she’s scared.” Pause. “She’s not comfortable following me out of the woods, can you meet us? Okay, thanks.” He hangs up and is silent for a moment.

“My younger sister is home and she’s going to meet us back here and you can walk with her to the house. You can stay with her until we find Asher. Is there anyone else we can help you find?”

“Creed, he’s Asher’s best friend.” I say quietly.

Another low curse falls from Bear’s lips. I can’t help but giggle at it. In the faint moonlight I see his head cock to the side. “What's so funny, sweet girl?”

I giggle again but before I can tell him why, I hear the crunch of shoes running in the woods and immediately my smile falls, and I start to scoot back.

“Bear!” I hear a female voice shout into the dark.

“Ayla, over here.” He calls back.

Just around the corner a lantern appears and with it, a girl who looks to be a little younger than Asher and Creed. She stops just short of Bear, and they speak in soft whispers that I can’t hear as she helps pull him to his feet. After a moment of them murmuring back and forth, she turns to me.

She slowly approaches me and crouches down in front of me, her pretty face illuminated by the lantern she holds.

She’s Bear’s sister? They look nothing alike, as Ayla’s hair is as black as night and dark eyes. Her hair is cut short above her shoulders and she’s got a red bandana tied in a knot at the top of her head. She’s really pretty and she smells like cupcakes.

Bad people don’t smell like cupcakes, right?

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