Back Roads | ✅ completed

Chapter 26

The pile in the center of the campsite was growing as they unloaded their cars. Jasmine leaned against the back bumper of her car as her crossed arms tightened over her chest. Garrett and Carter were shoving each other jokingly as they continued to unload Garrett's truck.

As Garrett turns around with the milk crate containing dishes in his hands, he caught Jasmine's glare and quickly dropped the crate by everything else. Cater kept his head low feeling his sister's eyes shifted to him.

"There's no way a bug crawled up your ass that quickly," Garrett teased as he went back to his truck to slam the tailgate shut.

"You weren't supposed to stay here," she answered. Sweeping her arm to point toward the lake. "You were supposed to settle in on the other side of the lake, remember? It was part of the deal."

"You've got to be kidding me, Jazz?" Watching her for a minute Garrett shoved his hands in his back-pant pockets. "You are not staying here by yourself. We can space the tents out, but we are staying on this side of the lake."

"No," Jasmine crossed her arms again, pushing herself off the car. "You shook on it."

"Yeah, technically we didn't shake hands. Besides, it's way too populated this weekend for me to feel comfortable with leaving you alone."

"Jerk," Jasmine growled through gritted teeth. She quickly slammed her own cars trunk and then walked off into the tree line.

"Love you too," Garrett called after her. She held her hand up in the air, a single finger standing at attention.

The shrubs and trees had begun to grow over the well-worn path from the campsite to the hiking trail. Although she knew the trek well, it was always easier with the smooth ground below her feet. With the anger still bubbling in her, she kept up her momentum. Jasmine mumbled to herself, calling Garrett all the names she could think of. She slowed her pace at the top of the hill and listened; water.

After a few more feet, she weaseled through one more line of trees and stared happily at the lake before her. It was surrounded by a natural stone wall that curved around half the lake. The clear water welcomed the sun rays, reflecting it against the rock wall and shimmering. She approached the water's edge and quickly slipped off her shoes and socks.

Taking a deep breath, Jasmine entered the water an inch at a time. The crisp chill sent goose bumps over her arms. Once the water reached her knees, she stretched her arms out wide and tilted her head back embracing the sun's warmth.

"So, this is why you wanted to come up here," Carter spoke at a normal volume, but it sounded louder thanks to the wall.

"The hell," Jasmine jumped, slapping her hands over her chest. Looking over her shoulder, she saw her brother. "Stalking is a bad habit."

"Garrett went to the store in town for food and firewood," Carter ignored her words. "I thought maybe we could talk."

"What about," Jasmine sighed as she waded back out of the freshwater. She sat on the tiny pebble beach and began pulling her socks and shoes back on.

"You," her brother replied. When she didn't get to her feet right away, he sat beside her. She looked at him, indicating she wouldn't be the one initiating the conversation. "You and Liam -"

Jasmine groaned and laid flat on her back, her hands covering her face. Carter shook his head.

"Stop being dramatic," he rolled his eyes and continued, "You know I'm a fan of Liam's. At least as a person, he's a good guy. The history though, that's a track record that needs to stay there. Garrett though, he's the real deal you know. You deserve someone like him, Jazzy, not Liam."