Eight
“Thanks for walking me,” I mumble to Danny, who’s hiking slowly beside me. His hands are shoved in his jean pockets as he stares up at the sky. “I’m not sure I’d be able to find my way in the dark.”
Danny shrugs, giving me a small smile. “It’s nothing, really.”
“So,” I reply, stretching out the word after a few moments of awkward silence. “I guess you got sent here for lighting something on fire?”
He looks down, meeting my gaze with a grin. “Not just something,” he chuckles, turning onto another trail. “A house.”
“Yours?” I ask with raised eyebrows. He shakes his head no.
“This guy who used to beat me up.” He stares straight ahead into the darkness, remembering. “One day I just got sick of it and lit his house on fire.” He looks at me briefly and smirks at my wide eyes. “Don’t worry, he was the only one in it at the time. Oh, and he got out alive.”
“That’s…good?” I ask, not sure of how to respond. Danny rolls his eyes and shoves me playfully.
“Anyways, it’s nothing compared to your story.”
I stop, caught off guard. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Danny stops a few feet in front of me and turns around to face me. “I’m just saying that if I ever went through what you did, I don’t think I’d be very sane.”
“Well,” I smile, starting to walk again. “You’re already insane so I guess you’re halfway there.”
“Nothing gets past you, does it Gemma?” He laughs, stepping into pace beside me. In the dark I can see the faint glow of the clearing’s lamp light up ahead.
“Nope,” I grin, popping the ‘p.’ “I’m quite the detective.”
Danny stops, rubbing the back of his neck with his palm once we reach the clearing. I stare at him, confused.
“I guess Rhyson will walk you back?”
Instead of giving Danny a remark about how I’m perfectly capable of being by myself, I shrug, watching him closely.
“You’re not going to walk me the whole way?” I hear footsteps approaching us as I say this, however I don’t let my gaze waver. Danny on the other hand, keeps looking back and forth between me and where Rhyson is coming as if he’s a cop about to bust him for drugs.
“I’ll see you around, Gemma,” he says, avoiding my eyes. He gives a small wave before turning and speed walking down the trail before I can even say goodbye.
“What was that about?” I mutter when Rhyson takes Danny’s place. As I stare after him, Rhyson stares at me with a smirk.
“Let’s just say that I know a few secrets about him that he wouldn’t want to leak out.” I raise my eyebrows and Rhyson shrugs. We start walking towards the playground when I ask him what he knows. “I can’t tell you right now, but when I can, I will.”
I have no idea what he means by that, but I let it float to the back of my mind as I settle on a swing. Rhyson leans against the post on the other end of the swing set, staring out into the forest.
“So why don’t you like Ember?” I ask quickly, instantly regretting it. The question has been in my head ever since we talked and I can’t keep it in anymore.
“I never said I dislike her,” he replies, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket.
He holds them out to me and I shake my head, not wanting the distraction. “But you act like you don’t.”
“I don’t mean to.” He puts the cancer stick in his mouth and lights it. He takes a slow drag before continuing. “I just think she’s one of those people your parents warn you about. The friend, who seems really cool and acts like she gets you, but whenever you’re with her, she brings you down; sinks you to her level.”
I chew on my bottom lip while I think about what he just said. “How do you know all this?” I don’t meet his gaze but instead down at my shoes in the sand as I slowly push myself back and forth.
Rhyson sighs, sounding aggravated. I move my eyes to him briefly as he avoids looking anywhere near me.
“Last summer, Ember and I…” He pauses, looking for the right words. “We were close.” My swing squeaks as I stop it abruptly. “Really good friends,” he carries on, trying to make me feel better.
I roll my eyes, climbing to me feet. “So what? You two broke up and now you don’t want me being friends with her because you’re bitter?” I snap, annoyed.
“No, Gemma,” he groans, stepping towards me. “We were only friends. Just after getting to know her, I she’s not a good person to have in your life.”
“Yeah, my life,” I tell him angrily, gesturing to me with my finger. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly the best person to be around either. In fact, look around!” I snap, gesturing to the camp around us. “No one here is!”
“Just listen-“
“Why should I?” I ask, cutting him off. “You haven’t given me any reason to think Ember is such a bad girl.” I pause for Rhyson to respond, but he doesn’t. “So if you seem to think she is, tell me why. Give me the big reason why Ember is so bad for me to be around.”
Rhyson stares down at the ground, avoiding my angry gaze. “I can’t right now.”
I groan, throwing my hands up in the air. Turning on my heel, I start to trudge towards the trail, wanting to go to bed. I absolutely can’t stand when people try to control my life and don’t give me solid reasons to even consider listening to their suggestions.
“Gemma, wait!”
I ignore Rhyson’s calls as I quicken my pace, lightly jogging onto the trail. I’m not even that far in the forest when I collide into another body, causing both of us to lose our balance.
“What the hell…?” I mutter, as someone’s arms steady me. I look up, only to see Danny staring down at me. His eyes seem a bit surprised, but his lips are curled in an excited grin. “Danny?” I snap. “Were you listening to our conver-“
“Shh,” Danny mutters, covering my mouth with his palm. I struggle as he pulls me into the trees, hiding us behind a thick birch. I’m about to try and kick him in the pants when I hear running coming towards us.
“Gemma, please!” Rhyson calls, running on the trail past us. In a few seconds he’s gone and Danny lets me go. He doesn’t step back, leaving us almost pressed together. We’re so close that I can feel his warmth, and I’m thankful for the darkness when my cheeks get hot.
“Thought you might not want to deal with him right now,” Danny shrugs, and I find footing a few steps away from him.
“If I wasn’t annoyed that you were listening to us, I would thank you,” I mutter, picking a leaf out of my hair. I let it fall onto the forest floor, barely creating a sound. “Why were you doing that anyway?”
“I don’t trust him,” he explains, pulling something out of his pocket. A small flame comes from his hands as he flicks his lighter. “I think you should be careful around him.”
“Oh great,” I snap, starting to walk away. “Another person telling me to not to do something without giving me a reason.”
Danny grabs my arm, gently pulling me back to face him. “I’m not telling you not to hang out with him,” he says gently, dropping his hands and playing with the lighter. “I’m just saying that there’s something off about him; something not good.”
“Stop that,” I mutter, covering his hands with my own to stop the lighter. Immediately, Danny stops, but I don’t move my hands. “What do you mean?”
He meets my eyes. “Well, when I was in Michelle’s office once, she had to go out to deal with something,” he explains. “I was in there alone for a few minutes, and decided to look through the files. I saw a few that weren’t all that interesting, and then I came to Rhyson’s.”
“What did you see?” I ask quietly, curious.
Danny shakes his head. “Not a whole lot. Right after I looked, Michelle opened the door. He has a really thick file and what I did see, I could tell wasn’t good.”
“What?”
“He has a tracking chip implanted in him, Gemma.”
I shrug, feeling slightly relived. It’s not that bad, is it? “So?”
“You know how some of the kids here have GPS tracking bracelets?” I nod, remembering Ember’s. “Well, it’s like that, but only the people who do really bad things get them. They’re drugged to sleep and then they put them somewhere in their body.”
“And they don’t tell them,” I continue, remembering seeing something about this on TV. “So that they can’t take them out without basically dismembering themselves.”
For a few minutes, we’re both quiet.
“So whatever Rhyson did,” Danny whispers, “had to be really bad.”
Danny walks me back to my cabin, sticking close to the edge of the trail in case Rhyson is still looking for me. It’s not that I’m afraid of him or mad at him, just annoyed and I need time to think.
“What are you doing tomorrow after dinner?” Danny asks when we reach my cabin.
“Nothing currently,” I shrug. “What do you have in mind?”
He shoves his hands in his pockets, smiling. “Meet me at the dock after dinner and bring your bathing suit.”
“You’re not going to lite me on fire and throw me in the lake, are you?” I ask with raised eyebrows and a smirk.
“Why, Gemma, are you scared of fire?” He asks, pulling his lighter out of his pocket. In a second, he sparks it directly in front of my face and I flinch, jumping backwards.
“You suck,” I mutter,” lowering his hands. I start to pull mine back but Danny grabs onto it, not letting me go.
“Promise you’ll meet me there?”
“Of course,” I nod. He starts to walk back, letting his hand loosen until it drops, no longer in reach of my fingers.
“See you then, Gemma,” he calls, looking back over his shoulder. He grins at me before leaving, and I can’t help but wonder why I have butterflies in my stomach.