Page 54 of Freshmeet
The man twisted the knife in my side, the pain so severe that my vision tunneled. I sobbed into his palm, my lungs screaming for a breath of fresh air. Instinctively, my hands went to my face. No matter how much I clawed at him, he didn‘t budge.
He pulled the knife from my side and sank it back in higher. The pain was blinding as I screamed and begged for help, but no one heard me. No matter how much my throat strained, the sound was snuffed out by his hand.
Red taillights created a devilish halo around my attacker, marking my final hope for rescue.
My limbs grew weak from blood loss, and I went limp against the wall. Darkness crept in, and I fought against the easy slide into unconsciousness.
“Good morning,” he said, hefting me up and into the dumpster.
I only caught a quick glimpse of a streak of purple in the night sky as he slammed the lid closed.
Surrounded by the sickening smell of maple syrup garbage, my body grew cold.
ELEVEN
WHATEVER. WE’RE CUTE.
SARAH
“Making friendship bracelets while hungover should be a crime,” I complained, tightening yet another knot.
Mona, being the superhuman she was, finished her fourth bracelet and handed it to me. “The trick is vitamin B and a gallon of water.” She gave me a sly look and added, “And not staying out until four AM with certain bartenders.”
I scratched my nose with my middle finger, and she cackled.
“Where’s Meg?” Carter asked, plopping down next to me.
“Um, she called in sick,” Mona said, picking up the unused thread.
Carter offered me a chip from his open bag, but I shook my head. There was no way I could eat with how messed up my stomach was.
“Hailey’s been bugging me about giving Meg a ride to the lake. I mean, I guess it makes sense. Meg is subletting a room in Hailey’s apartment this summer.” He huffed. “But Meg better keep her ass at home tomorrow if she’s still sick.”
I gave him a sly smile.
“Stop it.” He laughed, chucking a chip at me.
“I didn’t say anything.” I brushed the chip off my chest. “It’s just interesting how cool you are with Hailey signing you up forchauffeur duty. I didn’t realize you guys had gotten so close. That’s all.”
Hailey was an Epsilon Zeta and best friends with the girl Kat’s ex cheated with. She’d gone to the same Catholic all-girls high school as Olivia and me. To say we didn’t get along was an understatement.
“We’ve been hanging out a lot since the girl I liked rejected me on Valentine’s Day.” He threw his hand over his heart as if he’d been shot.
Shoving his shoulder, I got up to help Mona pass out snacks to the kids. “Shut up.”
His fake pout quickly gave way to the easy smile that came so naturally to him. “I’m just messing with you. I actually really like her.”
“That’s great!”
What a relief. Maybe now we can go back to being friends.
“Less chatting, more passing out Goldfish,” Mona barked, shoving a box of snacks in my hand.
Carter and I shared a smile and got to work feeding the preteens, and then took the kids down to the lake to go canoeing and kayaking.
I had the privilege of sharing a canoe with the camp’s resident goth girl, Nia Clarke. While her warm brown skin glowed in the sun, my pasty ass was turning pink despite the heaps of sunblock I’d put on.
So much for a base tan.
