Page 22 of Stranded

“She took the rock.”

I frown, turning to the table where it had been left.

“Hey! That was mine!” Bower says with a pout. I give him an incredulous look and he frowns at me. “What?”

“How do you figure it’s yours?”

“She left it for me while I was sleeping.”

“Are you really upset she took the rock back?” West asks, moving back outside to watch the trees.

“Now I know she gave it to me, and not some guy named Steve, yeah, I do.”

“You’re ridiculous,” I say with a shake of my head. But one thought has me asking the question out loud. “I wonder who Steve is?”

“It’s the rock, obviously,” Bower says. Now he's the one to look at me like I’m insane. I open my mouth to say something but snap it shut quickly, deciding it’s not worth it.

“What do we do now?” I ask as we all look around for any sign of movement.

West turns to face us, a worried look on his face. His eyes move down to the ground, then his eyebrows lift in surprise. “I think she left us more fruit.” I glance down and sure enough, there is a pile of what looks like plums near the fire.

“I don’t get her,” I say, scratching the back of my head. “She doesn’t seem hostile.”

“She’s not,” West says, turning back around to face us. “She’s scared.”

I frown, thinking about the fear I saw in her eyes when she looked at us.What happened to her?

“Is she scared of people or something?” Bower asks.

“I think it’s more than that,” West says quietly. “Remember the grave?”

Bower nods as he recites, “Beloved father. Wait—Do you think she dug that grave? That she buried her own father?”

West nods as he answers. “That wasn’t a fresh grave. If she did…” His concerned eyes meet mine.

“If she did, it means that she might have been stuck here alone ever since.”

Chapter thirteen

Darla

Icurl up on my side in my hammock, hugging Steve tightly to my chest as my mind races.

They saw me.

“Crap shells!” I whisper angrily to myself. Mo-Mo took off as soon as I started running, but I’m not surprised. He might be my best friend here, but he never hangs around for too long. He has his family to get back to.

Family.Crab sucker, it’s been years since I let my mind drift back to mine and yet I’m thinking about my dad all the time now. Mom died when I was a baby, so it was always just dad and me. It didn’t mean there weren't other people I lost when I ended up stranded here, though.

“Steve, you’re my family now, right? You’re all I need.” I sniffle, then cuss myself out for crying over a rock, literally.

“Why did I risk extra time grabbing you, anyway? It’s not like you appreciate my conversation skills.” Silence hangs in the air as my mind drifts back to the three men I don’t want to think about right now.

They saw me. And they didn’t immediately try to attack me. I definitely saw surprise on their faces, or perhaps it was shock. Either way,they didn’t have that evil glint in their eyes like I expected, not liketheydid.

“Kingsley, Weston, Bower.” I say their names out loud, deciding I like Weston and Kingsley’s full names better than the shortened versions.

Is it possible these three wouldn’t hurt me? I’m not sure I can ever trust people again, but I used to, a long time ago. Before the island, I trusted everyone: women, men, boys, girls, dogs, cats, you name it. I’d never had a reason to be weary before.

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