Page 58 of These Rough Waters

I point out her clothes and direct her to the bathroom, advising her that the water should be good to use for a shower and then she hurries away, slamming and locking the door.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” I cross the room to my brother, grabbing him by the shoulders of his sweater and shove him.

He just laughs, “Good to see your cock still works, Tor, I was worried you wouldn’t be able to get it up after five long years.”

“My sex life has nothing to do with you.”

“You’re right, but it’s good to know you’re finally getting over Grace.”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“So touchy,” Rett teases, “That’ll be all the anger you refuse to unleash doing what you were raised to do.”

“Get out, Everett, I’ll deal with you when I get back.”

He rolls his eyes, “I promised poor old Ruthie and little Harper I’d get you both back safe and sound. Can’t go breaking my word now, can I?”

“Stay away from them, Rett.” I warn, “I mean it.”

He laughs, casually strolling through the cabin before he stops and bends, picking something up from the floor. My blood heats a thousand degrees when he holds up the lacy white panties Maya must have dropped on the way to the bathroom.

“I have to admit,” He says, curling his hand around the underwear as if to keep them, “She’s very pretty. Killer body.”

I don’t think. I just react, which is why I have my brother by the throat and pinned to the nearest wall in the next second.

And all he does in return, is smile.

Twenty-Eight

Everett watches.

That’s the first thing I’ve picked up on him. He watches everything, from each tiny movement Torin or I make, to the rustling in the trees.

We’ve been hiking for an hour now, the ground wet and slippery beneath our feet so Torin has stuck close to me, but now we’ve stopped for a quick break. Everett is standing off to the side, arms crossed and face emotionless, long gone was the boyish grin he was showing off back at the cabin.

He was very similar to Torin, except younger and less facial hair. I supposed he was more playboy rather than rugged like Torin was. But there was something behind that mask of mischievousness that screamed red flags. And as I watch him now, as he evaluates and analyzes everything, tells me he wasn’t just some boy from the city, but what he did, I couldn’t tell you.

Torin had the same vibe but his was quieter, less obvious.

His eyes meet mine where I’ve been watching him from the rock I was perched on. He was incredibly attractive, with high cheekbones and a sharp jaw, his dark hair perfectly styled where it was shaved short on the sides and left longer on the top and his eyes matched Torin’s. A glacial blue grey color, so vivid and bright they almost looked otherworldly set against his darker features.

“So, Maya,” He says and Torin stiffens besides me, “What brings you to Ravenpeak? Other than screwing my brother of course.”

My cheeks flame remembering how he caught us this morning, not that I was ashamed of being with Torin, but I didn’t exactly want the whole world to know just what we had been up to.

“That’s enough,” Torin grunts.

“I’m just making conversation, brother,” Rett says nonchalantly, “Don’t you want me to get to know your little girlfriend?”

I squirm between them, where Rett stands on my left, the shit eating grin plastered back on his face like a mask, Torin is at my back, sipping from a bottle of water.

“I said that’s enough,” Torin warns in a tone that broached no argument but earns a chuckle from his brother. I couldn’t tell what kind of relationship they had, I wanted to suggest it was frosty, but I didn’t get that vibe from them. It was tense for sure but not in a hostile way.

Unusual. This whole situation was unusual.

The rain had stopped though the sky was still grey and the temperature not much above freezing. “We should get going,” I say, standing from the rock I was sat on. Harper was waiting for me with Ruthie. I knew she was safe and well cared for, but guilt was eating at me for how reckless I was the day before. Why did I do that? What would happen to her if I didn’t come back?

Now the new day was upon us I realize how stupid I was. I just needed some time and fresh air to clear my head, I hadn’t wanted to put myself in danger, but I should have known something like that was bound to happen. I didn’t know Ravenpeak Bay, couldn’t predict the weather like the locals could and I should have told someone what I was doing. They would have told me to not go, which would have been the smart move.

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