Small

Lake

"Are you sure you don't want to get in the water? I packed extra clothes for you." Darren asked, sitting down in the sand beside me. The sky was starting to get dark and our window of time at the small beach was running out.

I nodded.

"Have you ever been swimming before?"

I shook my head.

"Swimming is... like jumping on a trampoline. You push off the ground then try your hardest to stay away from it."

"I've never been on a trampoline." I said softly.

"I guess we'll have to change that then, huh?"

I sprinkled sand over my leg, watching it roll off just as soon as it touched my skin. My bear sat beside me, specks of sand sticking to it in various places.

Darren stretched his legs out in front of him then laid back, crossing his arms under his head.

I played with the sand for a few more minutes before I made up my mind. I got to my feet and took my shoes off. I put my socks inside the shoes then walked down the beach to the water. I knew it wasn't the typical sand like by the ocean but it was still good enough for me. This water only moved in small waves, hardly covering the sand up on the beach. I waited until it reached its furthest point before I took a step forward, letting the water brush up over my toes.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The light breeze brushed my face and my arms, sending shivers down my spine. Goosebumps covered my skin, raising the hair on my arms.

When I opened my eyes, I was back in my room at Owen's. The crib sat in the center of the room, the main focus. The blankets were bunched up and left tangled. The paint on the crib was chipping, revealing the wood underneath. The floor was just a plain wooden floor, with no rug or carpet covering it. Blinds covered the windows, keeping all the light to a minimum. The closet door had been taken off and the clothes inside hung oblivious to their surroundings. And on the other side of the crib stood Owen.

But he, we, wasn't alone. A small girl stood behind him, cowering. Her brown hair covered most of her face, hanging down to her waist. Her nightgown was hanging off her shoulders, stains covering the front. Her feet were bare. Just barely visible on her face was a bruise surrounding her eye.

I opened my eyes and the lake was in front of me once more. My feet were in the sand, cold from the water. The wind whipped around me, picking up as night was falling around me.

I slowly turned around and saw that Darren was watching me. It didn't seem scary or menacing in any way. Just... like he was keeping an eye on me.

I walked over to him and stopped a few feet away from him, my arms wrapped around myself. "Why did you bring me here?"

"Why did I bring you here? I don't know what you mean."

"Here. Camping. Why?"

He shrugged his shoulders casually. "I wanted to do something nice since the weather was supposed to be good. I figured it'd be a good way to unwind."

"Why did you wait until you got me to come?"

He opened his mouth to talk but paused when he caught on to what I was saying. His brows furrowed and he dropped his arms. "Aly, I promise you that's not what this is. I just wanted to do something nice. That's it. There's nothing more to it. I promise."

I wasn't sure I could believe him when I still barely knew him. He needed to prove himself to me before I could trust him.

I swallowed and looked down at my bear. "Can we go back to the tent now?"

He reached beside him for the towel he'd brought with us. "Put your shoes on first."

I sat down to put them on. I grabbed my socks and slid them on my feet. When I went to put my first shoe on, the heal slid down and I huffed in frustration.

"Let me help."

I pulled my hands back as he knelt down and lifted the heal up, helping me get my foot inside the shoe. Then he put the other one on me effortlessly.

He stood up and held a hand out for me.

I hesitated before taking his hand. As we walked back to the tent, neither of us spoke a word.

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Edited 01/07/2022