Don't Touch Her Act 2: Finding Peace

Chapter Twenty-Six

𝓥𝓲𝓸𝓵𝓮𝓽

I went along with Katie and Macy, following them as we went hiking that Saturday. The morning was cool and there was a slight breeze. It was pleasant and beautiful.

I looked at the trees with their bare branches, quivering in the wind.

Macy complained about Mark, her boyfriend, while Katie listened almost reluctantly. I tried not to listen to their conversation.

We climbed up the steady slope of a mountain overlooking a river. In the distance was forests in a landscape that looked monotonous, only different shades of brown and grays.

Along our path was old wooden fencing, keeping you pinned to the trail.

I kept my eyes on the surrounding landscape as we walked, admiring the colorless scenery, listening to the far-off river.

It was calming.

I watched as Macy took off her hat to fix her messy braid as we walked, and not watching where I was walking, I tripped.

I scraped my hands and knees. Looking back, I saw a small hole in the trail.

Both Macy and Katie looked back. Katie tried hiding a laugh as Macy came over to help me up. "Are you okay?" She asked, giving Katie a glare.

I nodded, wiping off the dirt from my clothes, a pain in my hands and knees.

"Oh, you're bleeding," Katie said from where she stood.

I looked down at my knees to see a red liquid seeping into my now ripped jeans. "Oh."

Macy pursued her lips, her brows furrowing as she thought. "Well, let's go back. We made a pretty good distance. What? Two miles?" She said, looking back at Katie.

Katie looked up at the sky in annoyance. "It's just a few scratches."

Macy ignored Katie, picking off a leaf that had stuck to my hair. "Come on. I'm getting hungry anyway." She looked at me, "I haven't had breakfast yet."

Katie followed along after us, stepping in beside me.

After a moment, stuck between the two, Macy started talking about Mark again, and then it drifted to Addison, who was a friend of both Katie and Macy. They lost touch with her a long time ago.

I looked at my hands, trying not to make it obvious and saw the scratches that reached to my wrist and stretched just under my fingers. They were still bleeding.

"I think I have some band aids in my car," Macy said, noticing.

"Oh," I smiled quickly. "Thank you."

Katie peered over, glancing between Macy and I with an almost jealous look. She was quiet the rest of the walk back.