Page 33 of Clouded by Envy

Taking out two plump peaches, Bray placed one on the counter for Brenik and brought the other up to her mouth.Delicious. She would never grow tired of peaches.

“We need to figure somethin’ out, Bray,” Ruth said as she sliced up a peach, “whether you want to go to college one day or what.”

Brenik stopped biting into his fruit, and Bray grew nervous. She would love to be able to do something like that. They had discussed this before, but it just wasn’t fair. “I’ll think about it.” She could think about it, but she knew what her choice would be.

Ruth stared her straight in the eye. “You’ve been saying you’ll think about it for two years. You just turned nineteen. What are you gonna to do if somethin’ happens to me, huh?”

“Stay in the tree, I guess,” Bray replied with a shrug.

Ruth’s hands flew to her hips, knife tucked in hand. “And what if someone chops down that tree?”

“We’ll be okay. We have each other.” Bray shot Brenik a glance, but he was glowering at the peach without looking up.

“I know but…” Shaking her head, Ruth focused on Brenik. “Come here, tiny prince, I need ya to help me finish cuttin’ these. This arthritis is killin’ my fingers.” Brenik rushed over, giving Ruth a peck on the cheek and helped her finish preparing the pie.

Bray transformed back to her smaller size and took off into the living room, plopping down on the table to stare at the checker game. Ruth chuckled from the kitchen, and Bray thought maybe one day, somehow, both she and Brenik could be happy.

Brenik and Ruth had joined Bray in the living room, until the timer buzzed, pulling all three of their attention from the TV. “It’s ready,” Ruth said as she hurried into the kitchen and took out the warm pie. “And it sure smells damn good.”

Brenik was practically licking his lips, and Bray closed her eyes, taking a huge whiff—amazing.

A loud crash came from the kitchen and then a bang on the floor. Brenik was the first to find Ruth on the floor clenching her chest, pie scattered across the tile, already planting a dark tainted memory in Bray’s head.

“Do something, Bray,” he cried hysterically, tugging at Ruth’s dress sleeve. “I’m too small to lift her.”

Hastily, Bray transformed herself and bent down to Ruth, who was still clutching her dress and attempting to speak. “Ambulance,” she rushed out.

Hurrying to the corded phone above the counter, Bray dialed the ambulance. She pretended to be Ruth, told them where to come, and to please hurry. Nervously, she hung up and bent back down to Ruth. She was struggling worse than before Bray made the phone call, her breaths ragged.

“The tree hole,” Ruth rasped. “You two have to go to the tree while they’re here.”

That was the last thing Ruth said before the clenching stopped, her twitching stopped, and her heart stopped. Brenik howled. Bray moaned. She transformed back to her small size after opening the back door, and they rushed up to their tree together.

Brenik held Bray as she sobbed against his chest. While he held her, tears of his own rained down on her. This was worse than when they left Junah because at least they knew she was still alive, but this—this was different. Ruth was gone.

“Hey,” a male voice whispered. Bray’s eyelids flickered open to big brown eyes staring down at her.

“I don’t want you to make peach pie,” she responded and closed her eyes, immediately opening them again. Bray gazed up at Wes and then looked around the large space—a bed, dresser, messy desk with landscape sketches scattered across, and framed musician posters on the walls. She was in Wes’s room, but she remembered falling asleep on Luca’s shoulder.

A tear slid down her cheek, and she wiped it away. “Sorry, I know I’m not supposed to fall asleep in there.” She was resting softly in the middle of one of Wes’s comfortable pillows.

“That’s not why I moved you. Luca isn’t a still sleeper—he tosses and turns the whole night, and I didn’t want you to get crushed. Trust me, I know. He’s kicked me a few times when we’ve had to share a bed before.”

Wes was sitting up in the bed, studying her, and all she could think about was that stupid memory. Would Ruth have had a heart attack that day if she and Brenik had said no to pie when she’d asked?

“Just so you know, I don’t even like peaches, so I won’t be making a peach pie anytime soon. Blueberry might be another story.” He smiled. Something in his expression hinted that he was trying to make her feel better. She had obviously mentioned more than she should have during her sleep. Bray would never eat another peach pie again, but she would eat a blueberry one.

She sat up in a flash. “Can we make one today?”

“I don’t even know how to make blueberry pie, much less apie,” Wes said.

“Did someone say pie?” Luca asked as he strolled into the room, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

“No pie,” Wes said with a tone that didn’t invite further discussion.

Luca glanced at Bray with a grin. “Two against one,” she said, smiling mischievously at Wes.

“Fine. I’ll buy the ingredients, but you two can do all the work,” he said, his voice filled with amusement.

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