Around the Corner (Discontinued)

Chapter 33

I'm not one to walk into trouble if I can help it.

Standing before the group, uneasiness trickles down my body to shaking hands by my sides. Words are not required, for their unfriendly faces whisper what's left unsaid. Overcome by the urge to return to the flowery home and sit upon the splintered doorsteps with Chester drinking by my side, I nearly turn away. Even Kam, who had treated me to his casual way of kindness and love, makes no move to greet me beyond a lingering look. They stare, waiting.

I'm not one to walk into trouble if I can help it.

I step towards their camp, aware of the sets of eyes against me, moving with me, curious and distrustful. I conjure bravery through imagination, and ghostly presences give me power to speak.

"Can I talk to June?" Sticky, my words blend together into unclarity. I repeat the question with flushed cheeks.

"I wouldn't want you to bore her again." Jessie's hatred licks her voice like the crackling embers of the campfire before her. I draw in a shaky breath.

"May I, June?" I ask.

"You weren't suppose to be here." Dimply bark pulls at Eliza's shirt and hair as she leans against the cottonwood tree. Among the leaves were her green eyes, inspecting me. "No one thought of you except her."

"June." Perhaps my internal urgency finally reaches my voice, and she meets my gaze. "I need to speak with you."

Attention rivets onto the girl curled up beside Jessie, with the crook of her finger against her lips. June stands silently, and we walk to a more private area some distance away. Behind me, everyone resumes chatting, more quietly than when I arrived.

When we're alone, I say, "You told everyone?"

"Yes. Why? Are you ashamed?"

"No." I shake my head. "It complicates."

"Sorry for complicating everything for you. Is that why you're here? For an apology?" June begins to look back at the camp, a gently pulsing light lost in the trees.

"There's a lot going on that you don't understand."

"I have a sister. I understand."

"You're wrong."

"And you're right?" A scowl emerges on her girly face. "And you're some saint, aren't you?"

"No," I admit. "I haven't been saying the whole story, beginning to end."

"Out with it then."

I open my mouth, but no sound exits. Most explanations have a beginning and an end. This has neither. I got tangled up somewhere in the middle by accident, and must decide the ending.

"Bruno's a cheater. A liar," I begin. "He lied to me. He lied to you. He lied to Fernanda. He's going to ruin her. And I let him. I let him because I didn't want to be the one to ruin her."

"What?" She might have glanced my way, but my eyes found company in the ground beneath my dirty sneakers.

"Bruno is all she has. I kept his secret thinking I was doing something right." I explain to June how the events unfolded. His promises. Raul. Fernanda's reaction.