Page 18 of Ring Around the Rosie

Sabbath gently pushed my head back in the direction of the table and pointed to Solomon. “That one.”

“Sol?” I asked. “We’re just friends, Sabbath.” I rolled my eyes and groaned. “And even if we weren’t, what business is that of yours?”

I tried to walk past, but Sabbath grabbed my arm and stopped me. He leaned in with a smile and whispered. “Let’s hope for Sol’s sake you’re telling the truth and you two are nothing more than friends.”

I tried to rip my arm free, but he was too strong. “Let go of me.”

Sabbath blew against my ear. “Never.”

He released me and I yanked my arm away, spinning around to glare up at him. He only smiled and looked down at me. “If you want me to pretend, then you better start behaving yourself. And stay the hell out of my way.”

“I’ll play nice.” He walked past me as he slipped something into the pocket of my shorts. “For now.” He winked and joined Foster.

I rushed to the counselors’ table and reached into my pocket to find a perfectly rolled joint wrapped in a small note. I carefully unrolled the note and silently read it to myself.

For tonight.

My eyes widened as I stuffed them back into my pocket.

Tonight? What the hell did that mean? And why did he give me a blunt?

“Alright campers!” Willie blew his camp whistle, and the campers gathered around. Rotations had officially begun, and each counselor took their separate groups around the camp to their scheduled activities. My schedule for the day began with archery outside the woodshop. Willie was explaining the rules of everything as Solomon stood to the side and whispered to Wolfe. I noticed them smiling and couldn’t help but to stare. There was something about those two… Something?—

“You’re staring again.” I snapped my head to see Sabbath next to me. Again. Only this time, Foster was sitting on his shoulders. It was weird seeing him act so brotherly.

My eyes rolled with contempt. “You call this behaving?” I asked.

Sabbath turned to look at me as Foster’s hands remained tucked under his chin for support. “For me? Yes.” He looked past me to Sol, and my eyes followed. “Why do you keep staring at him, Rosie?”

“It’s Aster,” I growled. “And I wasn’t staring.”

Sabbath and I both focused on Willie and pretended to listen. “You’ve always been a bad liar, Aster.” He stepped closer. “Stayaway from him.” My eyes shot to him with a light gasp. He was no longer smiling and had this cold, serious expression painted across his face. This wasn’t just some petty jealousy. This was something else.

I stepped closer and whispered to him, “Why? Why should I stay away?”

Sabbath looked down at me and then quickly up at Foster before our eyes locked. “Just trust me.” He moved with stealth and gently touched my hand. Chills ran down all over my flesh as I stared into his dark eyes. “Stay away.” And just like that, Sabbath walked away as I remained there confused.

Stay away from Sol? Why?

My mind kept going over Sabbath’s words, and I half focused on the daily activity. The campers were learning archery and had been split up into small groups based on skill level. Willie took charge of the beginners while Solomon monitored the more skilled campers. Wolfe and I simply stood back and watched everyone as we hung out by the redwoods.

Wolfe cleaned his glasses on the hem of his camp t-shirt. “What’s the deal with your brother?” he asked.

My head fell back and rested against the redwood as I sighed. “What do you mean?”

Wolfe joined me. “I mean… He’s just so… Odd. You two don’t really act like brother and sister.”

“Because we’re not.” My head turned to face him. Despite being similar ages, Wolfe was a lot shorter than me. “We’re step siblings. That’s all. I barely know him.” At least, this fake persona he was trampling around in.

He made a face. “Okay. So I take it you two didn’t exactly grow up together?”

I nodded. “I didn’t even know he was my stepbrother until—” I choked back the painful memory. “Well, much later in life.”

Wolfe looked from me to Sabbath. He was whispering in Foster’s ear as Solomon stood in front of the archery targets. I noticed Wolfe smile ever so slightly as Sol caught his eye.

Interesting.

Wolfe cleared his throat and turned back to me. “I get the feeling you’re not exactly fond of him. Your brother.”

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