Page 51 of Brambles and Bellflowers
I pulled it, testing its springiness under my fingers, before stepping forward and letting the branch swing back, smacking Damen in the chest.
“Ow!” he complained again. “Why?”
“What are you whining about?” Julian, who was behind Damen, was more than amused. “Maybe you wouldn’t keep getting hurt if you weren’t so clumsy. You should pay more attention.”
“I’m not clumsy!” Damen protested. “She’s doing it on purpose!”
“I highly doubt it.”
Yes, the longer we moved through the woods, the lighter the atmosphere became.
However, the mood shifted when Titus called us all to a halt as the sky began to darken. We’d come across a small, flat clearing and had to stop without locating Miles first.
I knew there was a possibility that we wouldn’t find him immediately, but my heart still sank.
“We’ll camp here for the night.” Titus looked around the area. Then he turned to me. “Here, princess. Unless you want to also ‘accidentally’ stab Damen with a spike, it might be better if you collect some firewood while we set up the tent.”
I gasped—stabbing was never an option—but he had rejoined Damen and Julian, who were already hard at work unpacking supplies and setting up the tent.
I stood awkwardly watching the boys and feeling quite out of place before remembering my instructions.
Firewood.
I could do that.
This was also the perfect opportunity to check the area for predators—though I highly doubted Titus would have missed any—and give in to my biological needs.
It was easy enough to slip out of the clearing, poking around the nearest woods while I accomplished all three of my tasks. The others were close enough… There was no need for panic.
So imagine my surprise when Damen stumbled over himself to get to my side the second I returned with an arm full of sticks.
“Let me help you, baby,” he said, his tight expression a picture of restlessness as he collected the wood from my arms. They’d set up two modestly sized, rounded orange tents, and Julian had already begun to trace a circle into the dirt for the firepit. Titus was crouched beside Julian. The both of them looked up at Damen’s outburst.
“You shouldn’t go off alone,” Damen lectured. “What were you thinking?”
I chewed the inside of my lip and met Titus’s gaze.
“I asked her to get firewood.” Titus placed another rock around the circle. “You talk about Julian, but you’re doing the same thing.”
“I’ve gotten better,” Julian responded smoothly. “And our motives are different. I’m not overcompensating in my struggle with unresolved, deeply-seated psychological issues.”
“What am I overcompensating for?” Damen shot Julian an annoyed glance.
“Besides,” Julian continued, “she needs to go to the bathroom at some point. It’s not like you can follow her everywhere. Unless, of course, you must go with her.”
I gaped, horrified that Julian would suggest such a thing. He wouldn’t—
“Good idea!” Damen pressed his mouth into a thin line and nodded. “I never would have thought of that.”
“No!” I poked my finger into his chest. There were many things I’d put up with, but that was not one of them. “I will do my…stuffalone.”
“But what if you get lost or hurt yourself?” he asked. “It was fine this time, baby girl. Titus could hear you. But what if you trip over a rock and scar that beautiful face?”
My throat closed, and my eyes shot to Titus, who pointedly looked away from us.
He could hear mepeeing?
How could I not have thought of that possibility? How could he not even have the decency to lookashamed?
