Don't Go. (Short Story)

I watched the three of them trudge ahead of me, leaving me to think on my own. I shoved my hands deep into my pockets, unaware of what they whispered to each other, what they laughed about. What their intentions were. The sky was darkening, the air was cold, and I couldn't help but feel as if I were in my own world.

Rebecca looked back at me beside John, and I saw her say something quietly. My memories immediately went to my asking Rebecca out for the first time. Back to when John first started threatening me, pushing me when he saw me in school, glaring at me when I wasn't close enough to be physically threatened. Yesterday, asking her out again hadn't exactly been my best idea. I was sure she told John, and his hatred was probably much more intensified towards me. Jermaine walked off to the side, not really in their conversation, but not fully gapped out like I was.

I didn't even know Jermaine. I only knew he was friends with John and Rebecca, and they had invited him around the same time they invited me to this camping trip. I had to admit; it worried me a little that John wanted to go on a camping trip with me, considering he hated me. Or strongly disliked me, whichever best fit the description. Either way, being here in the woods with three people I really had nothing to do with, gave me a weird feeling.

Ahead of me, Rebecca stopped with John, and he pointed to the area ahead of them, where we were most likely going to be spending the night. Now that I realized it, we were pretty deep into the forest. It would be difficult to get out of here when dusk came. I walked closer, watching as Jermaine helped John set down the camping tools. As I stepped forward to try and help, John shot me a look, and I realized I had gotten close to Rebecca. I stepped forward, more towards them, and offered my help.

"What can I do?" I asked, observing the materials they had around them.

"Lay out the tents or something. Actually," John stood up from where he was, motioning Jermaine to do the same. They both stood and came closer, looking at Rebecca. "We should go back to the truck and pick up some extra food. In case we run out or lose it somehow."

I nodded slightly, and was about to offer to make the trip, when Rebecca spoke up.

"Terry, you stay here. It'll be best for you to set up the tents and make sure there's enough fire wood while we go out to get the stuff. The more people we have going, the better." She said, as if it made perfect sense. In reality, it didn't, but I wasn't going to start dwelling on that too much.

"Wouldn't it be easier if we all went, got what we needed, and came back to set up?" I asked.

"Don't be a retard," John said, laughing at me. "You finish up here; we'll come back and have everything ready." He said. I sighed quietly, used to his insults by now, and went to the camping equipment.

"Mm'kay." I said, starting to take one of the tents out. The three friends began laughing and murmuring under their breath, walking away from the clearing, leaving me alone. The silence that engulfed me when the sounds of their crunching footsteps faded away soothed me. I felt like I didn't have to hold my breath, or watch what I said since I had nothing to say at all. I was finally able to rest in peace here.

For the next hour, I walked around the clearing, searching for logs of wood good enough to burn for fire. After getting a decent pile together, I started putting the tents up. The setting up of the two different tents took me nearly 45 minutes, and I knew I'd be sharing it with Jermaine. The time flew by, and finally, I had to start a fire because I couldn't see a thing. Checking my watch, I saw that two hours had passed, and not a sound had emitted from the woods surrounding me. Briefly, I wondered if it would be such a crime to get some sleep, and have them finish everything else.

After pondering the idea for a few moments, I put a few more logs in the fire and went to my tent, grabbed my sleeping bag, and lied down. The night was cool, and the woods were so quiet, it didn't take long for me to start drifting away...