Free The Story of Us by AuthorStephanieHenry Page A

spits blood out of his mouth as Julie
runs over. She looks at us accusingly. “What the hell happened?”
    No one talks at first. When I realize
neither one of the guys are going to say anything, I begin, “Dave
took the joke a little too far,” I explain, never taking my eyes
off of him. He doesn’t say anything, so I continue. “He pushed me
down, grabbed my hair, kept me on the ground with his foot on my
back.”
    When Julie gasps in surprise, Dave
finally talks. “It wasn’t that bad. She’s exaggerating. Every one
of us was playing a part. I was just trying to scare her a
little.”
    “You’re a sick bastard,” Craig spits
out calmly but with clear disgust.
    “Alright,” Julie reasons, “It’s done
and over with. Let’s just try to salvage the rest of the night. For
the record, I think you guys are all assholes. That was a horrible
prank and you know it.”
    When I look around, I realize everyone
in our group had gathered around when I started yelling. Tiffany is
trying to tend to Craig, but he’s brushing her aside. Drew is with
Hailey. Tiffany’s friend, as well as Ashley’s friend, are just
standing around, unsure of how to proceed. Julie and Dave both
looked pissed. And Ashley still looks petrified, with her arms
wrapped tightly around herself and her eyes searching the woods.
Tyler walks over to me.
    “Are you alright?” I can see the
concern on his face.
    “Yeah. Let’s just go back,” I tell
him, as I start walking.
    Everyone seems to follow suit, heading
back to the campsite. We all sit around the fire and try to return
to the way it was before the stupid prank.
    Tyler puts his arm around me and
whispers in my ear, “I’m so sorry. I had no idea it was going to
end up like that. It was supposed to be fun.”
    I don’t say anything, but I snuggle
closer to him, letting him know he’s off the hook. It wasn’t his
fault Julie’s boyfriend was acting like a dick. I glance over at
Craig and get a chill down my spine when I see him staring straight
at me with an intense look in his eyes. I look away, but find
myself looking back again a few minutes later, only to find him
still staring.
    “Let’s go to bed,” I whisper to Tyler.
I figure my mood can’t be salvaged and I’m pretty sure everyone
else feels the same. They all sit around the fire drinking, but
there’s no more excitement in their voices. That stupid prank
brought everyone down.
    Tyler obliges, gathering up the
blanket and helping to clean up first. We settle into our tent and
into the over-sized sleeping bag he brought. He wraps his arms
around me and gently kisses my lips. He never pushes me to go
further and I’m grateful for that. I kiss him back and then lay my
head on his shoulder.
    I wake up early in the morning, before
anyone else does. I’m careful not to wake Tyler as I make my way
out of the sleeping bag. I gather my things and make the trek up to
the bathrooms and showers. When I get back to camp, the only one up
is Craig. He’s sitting by the empty fire pit, looking deep in
thought. When he lifts his head and notices me, he
smiles.
    “Hey,” I whisper to him so I don’t
wake anyone else.
    “Hey. You alright?”
    “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”
    “Last night,” is all he
responds.
    I nod in understanding. “Thanks for
that, by the way.”
    “For what?”
    “Defending me. Helping me with Dave. I
still can’t believe how far he was willing to take it.”
    “Yeah, me either. I had no idea he was
going to be that much of an asshole. It was supposed to be
fun.”
    “What were you guys doing out there
for an hour before we started looking?” I take a seat in the empty
chair beside him.
    “Coming up with a plan.” He shrugs.
“Just passing time. We thought you guys would look for us sooner.
You want breakfast?” he asks, changing the subject.
    “Shouldn’t we wait for everyone else
to wake up?”
    “Nah. Let’s go for a drive,” he
suggests.
    “To where?”
    “Dunkin Donuts. There’s one a