Page 60 of Trouble

“In our defense, it’s a little startling to wake up in what looks like a crime scene,” I offered, rubbing my hand across my face with a sigh. “She’s gonna need those feminine product things—I don’t suppose you happened to pack anything that cansubstitute?”

Liam shook his head but headed for his pack. “The gauze from the first aid kit will have todo.”

“Bet she’s gonna love that,” Imuttered.

We found her by the river, waist deep in the water. When she saw us, she turned her back on the shore, but not before we’d seen the embarrassed flush on herface.

I kicked my boxers off and left them next to her bloodstained clothes, and then I waded out toward her while Liam dipped the sleeping bag in the river to rinse itout.

“You okay, love?” I asked Audrey when I got out to her. She still had her back turned to me, and for a moment I thought she might try to ignore me. But then her shoulders sank and she lost her stiffposture.

“I’m really sorry,” she croaked, still without turning around. “I didn’tknow—”

“Don’t be daft.” I put my hand on her shoulder and made her turn around to face me. She did so reluctantly, and when I finally made her look at me, she looked so mortified, as if she’d done something wrong. “It’s just something that happens to birds, isn’t it? Nothing to do aboutit.”

“I guess you did sit through a biology class or two,” she muttered, clearly trying to make light of the situation. I gave her a wry smile and—ignoring her startled protests—pulled her into ahug.

“Ugh, stop that!” she hissed, but her hands on my torso only pushed for a moment. Then she relaxed and let me hold her, even if she did still grumble under herbreath.

“I’m only allowing this because you’re warm and this river is liquid ice,” shewarned.

I pecked the top of her hair, ignoring her little huff in response. I’d been so fucking scared she’d die on me or something, I needed to feel her just breathing against me for a littlebit.

Audrey let me hold her for a minute or so before she finally wrested free of me. “The water is giving me cramps,” she said, in way of explanation, before she waded back in againstshore.

I followed her with my eyes and caught Liam’s dark stare. He’d watched me hug her, obviously, and from the looks of it, he wasn’tpleased.

I felt a stab of guilt, but the sooner he realized she wasn’t supposed to be with him, the sooner he’d be able to get over what I’d done.Maybe.

It wasn’t like he minded too much that we took turns sleeping with her at night, anyway. We’d not discussed it, but it’d seemed like the natural solution. And, strangely, I didn’t really mind seeing her in his arms. I just didn’t like going to sleep alone when I could see them together mere feetaway.

* * *

Audrey spentthe rest of the day trying to keep her distance from both Liam and I, and it was obvious she wasn’t feeling too good. I felt like shit for not being able to make her comfortable, but there wasn’t much to do aboutit.

Except when I came into our makeshift home around seven that night with the fish I’d spent the last hour gutting and cleaning for our dinner, she was lying curled up on her side with her head in Liam’s lap. He was stroking her hair and speaking softly to her, random stories from old fairy tales our mother used to read to us when we were little, as far as I could tell, and she looked…peaceful.

He’d managed to do what I hadn’t, and the hot stab of jealousy in my gut at the sight of them felt like pureacid.

I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of that before… why the idea had never even crossed my mind. I’d known she was meant to be mine since the night we climbed the cathedral, but I hadn’t paused to think that maybe… maybe, if given the choice, she’d… chooseLiam.

He was the one she’d fallen for first, after all. She’d thought I was him when she told me she lovedme.

What if Audrey didn’t want me? What if she wantedLiam?

“Your turn to cook,” I snarled, throwing the fish at my twin with more force than wasnecessary.

He caught them and gave me a glare. “I’mbusy.”

Audrey sat up, wincing as she did. Judging from her worried frown, she’d picked up on the animosity between my twin and I. Not that it was hard—I hadn’t managed to hide it thistime.

“I can cook, it must be myturn.”

“No.” We cut her offsimultaneously.

“You’re not feelingwell.”

“Lay back down,love.”

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