A suicidal young woman falls for a man with the supernatural power to control her mind. With it comes freedom from her anxiety and depression, but is he real and can he be trusted?
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My phone chimes again while my head is halfway inside my car's trunk. I finish shoving the tenting gear in the far back before pulling out my phone and leaning my weight against the bumper.
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I haven't heard from Braydon in two weeks. I'm surprised he's reaching out after what happened.
I hesitate, giddy with both anxiety and joy. My mind seems to want to squash the joy.
I'll ruin this.
Still, I start to type a reply when Brianna calls me from the front porch.
"Alison," she says. "The cooler is really a two-person job. Care to help me lift it?"
I glance up from my phone, momentarily glaring at Mia and her friend, Sophie, who sit on the porch swing sipping iced tea. Of course, she wouldn't think of asking Mia. It was hard enough convincing her to go to Devil's Lake with us, plus there's the risk of her ratting us out to her mom. Asking her to lift a finger could put a permanent hold on the entire trip. Still, you'd think—
"I can—" Sophie starts.
But, then Mia says, "Sophie, don't. Alison needs to learn some independence. If we do too much for her, she won't grow. After all, this isn't a vacation. It's therapy."
"But— " Sophie mumbles.
"You can handle it, Alison. Can't you?"
"Uh. Yeah, sure."
I tuck my phone in my purse and head back into the house.
"Who are you texting, anyway?" Brianna says as we head into the kitchen. "I thought you had no one else to invite."
If I tell her about Braydon, she'll never forgive me for going on and on about my lack of friends. Brianna's agreed to go on this camping trip because she's turned me into her project. Mia's going because Brianna doesn't trust Mia enough to keep her mouth shut while we're gone.
I shrug. "No one really," I say. "Just . . . no one."
Brianna lifts her end of the cooler and gives me a sympathetic smile.
"Well, we'll get you meeting some real people. Did you buy the Valerian herb Sophie recommended?"
I lift my end of the cooler a little shakily.
"I don't really know how that'll react with my medication," I say. "Ju—just don't push too much on me, okay?"
"Hey, don't do that. You know, you're going to have to pull your weight on this too, take some real chances. We're not magicians. This whole thing is useless if all you're going to be is a wallflower."
I swallow. "Right."
Brianna smiles just as we start to move forward with the cooler.
Just then, the front door opens, and my aunt bursts into the room with an air of mild irritation as she unbuttons her organic cotton vest.
