Page 14 of Envy

“It’s a hammock. I found it at the top of my closet today. Thought it would be better than rowing out to the middle of the lake.” He points at the little copse of trees that are growing away from the rest of the forest. “I’m gonna tie it up between those trees, and we can lay in it under the shade while we read.”

“We’re going to lie in that?” I ask skeptically as he unfolds a thick piece of canvas.

“It’s really comfortable. We can try different spots until we find one that we like the best.” He starts walking over to the trees, and I have to run to keep up. He’s almost twice my height, and I have to take nearly three steps for one of his.

“Have you ever done this before?” I ask him, not convinced that we’ll be safe in a piece of cloth hanging between two trees.

“It’s been a while. I used to do it with my sister.”

I gasp in surprise. “You have a sister?”

“She died.” He shoots me a quick glance and does a double take.

“Why are you smiling like that?” he asks, not angry but more like surprised and confused.

“I don’t … mean to smile.” I bite my lip. “I, uh … my sister died, too,” I say.

His eyes widen. “Oh,” is all he says before he turns around and starts tying the hammock up.

“Don’t you see? We both lost our papas and our sisters. We’re meant to be best friends, don’t you think?” I ask him.

“I guess,” he says and tightens the knot he’d just tied.

He makes it look so easy. I didn’t even know how to tie my shoes myself until I was eight. I can’t imagine what it must be like to know how to do stuff.

He pulls a huge thick book out of the waistband of his shorts and throws it into the hammock.

“Toss that in there first.” He nods at my backpack. I walk over and stand on my tiptoes to try and drop it in.

“Gimme that, short stuff.” He plucks it from my hand and drops it in for me. “Come on, let me boost you up.” He starts to grab hold of me, and I panic and take a step back

“It’s kind of high.” I eye the hammock. “You sure it can hold both of us?”

He grabs my shoulders and turns me around to face him. “I promise, if it wasn’t safe, I wouldn’t put you in it,” he says. His eyes are serious. “Do you believe me?” I can tell he really wants me to say yes.

I glance back at the hammock and then look at him again. This is the boy who saved me yesterday. Who carried me on his back to keep me safe from snakes. “Yes, I do. I'm just a chicken,” I confess.

“That’s okay, you’re a girl. You’re allowed to be scared,” he says.

“Boys are allowed to be scared, too,” I tell him as I turn back around and grab the edge of the hammock.

“If you say so,” he mutters. He puts his hands around my waist and boosts me up without any warning.

I tumble into the hammock and gasp in relief and excitement when it doesn’t collapse and only sags a little under my weight.

“See, I told you,” he says right before he vaults himself in beside me. It swings a little, but I can tell it’s not going to fall.

I open my backpack and pull out the book I brought for him and hand it to him.

“So … This is good?”

“It’s great. It was the first book my Papa ever gave me.” I smile at the top of his head and watch him trace the worn black and gold spine of D’Auliere’s Book of Greek Myths.

“The Hobbit.” I read the title of the book he brought and flip through it. Its spine is even more worn than my book.

“You’ve read this a lot, so I’m guessing this is your favorite,” I say.

“Yeah. It’s the first book my mama ever gave me, too.” He looks up and smiles at me. It makes a warm glow spread across my chest.

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