Page 70 of Adrift

The next hour makes me grateful my dad liked fishing and not hunting. We’re back in the woods, and I look up over half ofthe butchered boar. As bossy as the asshole is, I’m also grateful we have him with us. But that reminds me of Emily, and I shiver. I hope my sister is okay. And as stupid as it was, I’m holding on to Zane’s Schrödinger’s cat theory. Until I know she’s dead, she’s alive. And that’s what I’m going to go with.

Zane has come and gone a bunch of times with more and more firewood, and now he’s back again.

“Stop.” Calvin leans against a massive tree.

I’m holding the bunch of bananas Zane handed down from the tree he shimmied up. He drops to the ground with a big stack of leaves under his arm, but he’s frowning like he knows what Calvin’s going to talk about.

“Haley,” Zane says. Like I should understand.

“Exactly.” Calvin nods.

“What about her? Her ankle will heal. A day or two of rest. She’ll be fine.” I’m ready to walk back to the fire now that the boar is dangling from the tree.

“Yes. She’s going to be fine. But you like her.” Calvin scowls at me.

“Yeah, I like her.” If this is some sort of Neanderthal claiming of the damsel, I’m out of here. Not that I can leave.

“We all like her,” Calvin says.

“Obviously. What’s there not to like?” I agree with the giant. Haley’s kind, smart, and has curves I would like to know a heck of a lot better.

“No, we alllikeher, like her. And if any of us go after her to form a relationship, it’s going to be an issue.” Zane cocks his head to the beach.

I scowl. “How is it an issue? The girl likes who she likes, and that’s it.”

“Exactly. I’m glad you’re on board.” Calvin crosses his arms, the hatchet resting on his bicep.

“On board?”

Zane nods. “If she wants to date all of us, or some of us?—”

Calvin interrupts, “Or none of us.”

“Or none of us, we need to be cool with that. Are you good with that?” Zane continues.

None of us? No way in hell is that going to be a thing. I want her. And I always work hard for what I want. My heart slams into my stomach. I thought about maybe asking Haley out on a proper date once we were back in Florida. But the word here seems preposterous. Date? “I suppose. As long as it’s up to her. Did anyone talk to Dante?”

Calvin laughs. “It was his idea.”

“Of course it was,” I say.

“Like Swimmer Boy said, it’s up to her.” Calvin puts another palm frond under the swinging carcass. I can’t help thinking it’s a lot cooler in the woods.

I glance at the boar in the tree.

“This will work.” Calvin cocks his head. And I’m not sure if he’s talking about the meat or Haley. I nod, but I’m not sure I mean it.

We trudge our load back to our little camp.

“We need to smoke some of the meat.” Dante points to the tree and stands. He moves stiffly but joins us around the fire. “We can roast it in the ground. Hell, we can do that tomorrow, maybe.”

“We can dig the hole now, get it started. Tomorrow we work on making jerky.” Calvin’s got a stripe of boar blood across his chest. He looks like a warrior Viking ready for battle.

“Or we get some rest and then we can smoke the shit out of it tomorrow.” I raise my eyebrows.

A few minutes later, Zane and I are on our knees digging a hole. We’re down three feet.

“That’s good.” Dante’s standing on the edge of the pit. “I’ll get some more fronds.”

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