Page 29 of Squatch Out!
“Bullshit!” Brian scoffs. “The way his schlong was wagging, there’s no way that was a suit.”
My cheeks start to burn red-hot. Oops, I forgot about that part. “I don’t know how to explain that, but he changed right in front of me.”
Tony slouches down in his seat with a deep frown. I can’t tell what he’s thinking. Does he believe me, or is he placating me? Ihate that I might have planted a seed of doubt into his mind. But if it protects thesasq’ets, then I’ll do it.
“It’s awfully convenient that you come back and suddenly change your story,” Darren snorts from the other side of Brian. “At least the bear story was halfway believable.”
“Sorry this doesn't fit with your narrative,” I clap back at him. “The first time he dumped me in a cave and left. But this last time… he dropped me on the ranger’s doorstep and … revealed himself.”
“So that’s it?” Darren scoffs. “They don’t exist because you got embarrassed by some guy in a ghillie suit.”
“Hey, back off, man.” Brian jumps to his feet, putting himself between Darren and myself. “Olivia isn’t a liar, so if she says it happened like that, then it did.”
“Then you’re an idiot too.” Darren jumps up and stabs his finger in Brian’s face. “I didn’t come here for this shit. I thought you guys were professionals.”
“Dude, what’s your problem?” Tony jumps in, stepping up beside Brian. “None of us ever claimed to beprofessional. We came here to camp andhopefullyfind what all of us thought we’ve seen before.”
I appreciate the way these guys are willing to stick up for me, but it’s not necessary. Pushing myself to my feet, I place a gentle hand on Tony’s shoulder.
“It’s fine. I’m used to no one believing I saw what I saw, but I’m not lying.” I look past him to Darren. “You can believe whatever you want. No one here is going to stop you from doing that. But me? I think I need a break.”
And with that, I turn and make my way across the campsite to my tent. When I push open the mesh door and step inside, my breath catches at the sight of the shredded clothes kicked into the corner from when Sean was here and then shifted.
All of it was true. You’re not crazy. It really happened.
Picking up a piece of Sean’s shirt, I lift it to my nose and I’m hit with the calming scent of pine after a heavy rain.
Dropping it back to the ground, I look around my normally tidy tent. My sleeping bag is a tangled mess and strewn across the small space. My neatly stacked items are spread all over the floor.
The last words I said to my friends echo through my mind.I think I need a break.
And I realize they are true.
Dropping to my knees, I start picking up the scraps of Sean’s clothes. Then I move to my bag and sleeping area. For the next hour, I pack up everything inside my tent. When I start to pack that up too, Tony comes over to me.
“Liv?” he says quietly as I push the tent poles into the bag.
When I look up at him, I don’t try to hide the tears in my eyes. “Can you give me a ride to my car?”
I’m not sure why I’m so upset over this. It’s probably just everything that’s happened over the last couple days. And today… today I learned a lot of truths. The kind that make you rethink everything you thought you knew. The kind that you just need to be alone with, so you can get your head straight again.
Tony drops down so he’s kneeling in front of me. “Shit, Liv. Did someone—did that guyhurtyou?”
My heart twists when I realize that he thinks Sean might have— “Oh, no. No, no, no, nothing like that,” I assure him.
Tony lets out a relieved breath. “Is it Darren? Please don’t feel like you need to leave because of that asshole!”
Leave it to Tony to get me to smile when it’s the last thing I feel like doing. “I’m not—it’s not—” He drops his chin and cocks an eyebrow at me. I’ve never been able to get anything past him. “Ok, it’s notallbecause of him,” I admit.
“What if we ask him to leave?” he suggests, but I’m already shaking my head.
“No. I need some time to think. I’ve got a lot of things to process.” I offer him another smile. “This campsite cost an arm and a leg, so don’t waste it. I’ll see you at the lodge when the week is up.”
Tony helps me finish packing and then we load it all into the SUV. Brian also tries to talk me into staying, but in the end, I think they both understand why I’ve decided to duck out early.
Darren is, not surprisingly, missing when Tony drives me back down the ridge to where my little hatchback is waiting for me.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
